Auburn swimming coach Quick has inoperable cancerous brain tumor

Some very sad news came out of Auburn today on the swimming and diving front. Men's and women's swimming and diving coach Richard Quick has been diagnosed with an inoperable cancerous brain tumor, according to the school.

Quick is a six-time United State Olympic coach who has won 12 NCAA titles, the most in Division I history.

“We’re currently in the process of looking for the best care possible to fight this,” Quick said. “I want to thank the countless individuals that have passed along their well wishes, thoughts and
prayers.”

Quick, who served as Auburn’s head coach from 1978-82, won seven NCAA titles at Stanford and five at Texas. He re-joined the Tigers again in 2007.

"Richard is such an energetic person, has an incredibly positive attitude, and is bound by his faith,” Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said. “I know that he’s going to meet this challenge head on, just as he has done with every endeavor he’s encountered. We ask the Auburn Family to keep Richard and his family in their thoughts and prayers.”

Brett Hawke will oversee the men's team in the interim, while Dorsey Tierney-Walker will run the women's program.

Marks to enter NFL Draft

I'm on the road to New Orleans, but the news from Auburn doesn't stop. Defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks will make himself eligible for the 2009 NFL Draft, the school confirmed this morning.

Marks finished his Auburn career of 37 games with 114 tackles, 30 tackles for a loss and 7.5 quarterback sacks. A highly-regarded prospect entering the year, he fought through an injury-plagued season to finish with 32 tackles, 10 of which were for a loss.

“I’ve had a great experience during the last four years at Auburn,” Marks said. “However, I feel that it’s in my best interest to enter my name into the 2009 NFL Draft. It’s always been a dream of mine and I feel that I’m ready to advance to the next level.

"Auburn is, and always will be a special place to me. I want to thank all of my coaches at Auburn for giving me the opportunity to play college football and get an education. The Auburn family and my teammates have always been very supportive of my family and me, and for that I’m very appreciative."

Marks is a near lock to be a first-day pick come April and could go in the first round. ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. had Marks ranked as the fourth-best junior defensive tackle, behind Alabama's Terrence Cody, Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh and Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy.

Fellow defensive lineman Antonio Coleman will announce his intentions for next year at a press conference Jan. 3.

Moving pictures: Malzahn introduced as Auburn OC

OK, I finally was able to get this video posted after having connection problems earlier. It's the first 10 minutes of Gus Malzahn being introduced as Auburn's new offensive coordinator.

It's off to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl for me tomorrow, but I'll try to keep posted with the goings on at Auburn from afar.

Malzahn speaks, the bulletpoint version

Guz Malzahn was officially introduced as Auburn's offensive coordinator this evening. He and head coach Gene Chizik answered questions for about 20 minutes.

Here’s the bullet point version:

• Chizik on his discussions with athletic director Jay Jacobs: “I told him, I said I have a plan. And part of that plan was your hires. That has to be part of your plan. And as we talked about it, one of the guys I was very adamant about was Gus.”

• Three main reasons for this hire:

1. Chizik was looking for the “mark of the man,” how he treats players.
2. Someone who can relate to players and put players where they’re best equipped to win.
3. Success at every stop in his career.

• “As Gus and I talked through this process, it was very evident to me that I had the right guy in all of those ways,” Chizik said.

• Malzahn opening statement: “It is a true honor for me to be here. You know, I've been in college football and I've been in a lot of places, and the one stop when I was here when I was with Arkansas, I came away from this place being the most impressive place, from the tradition, the class of the people, the fans, the quality of the football. So this is a big moment for me to come here to Auburn, represent this university.”

• Malzahn stressed that Auburn would be a “run, play-action team,” despite his offenses being tagged with the “spread” term.

• He evaluated film of Auburn’s current players Monday, looking for strengths and weaknesses. He also looked at some film of recruits.

• Chizik had no background with Malzahn other than watching film of his offenses and being impressed.

• Malzahn will have some input on the offensive coaching staff. “Staff chemistry to me is paramount,” Chizik said. There apparently will not be another Tony Franklin-BBQ Mafia situation here.

• Malzahn on his one year at Arkansas: “I really think anytime you have experience in league, it does nothing but help you. It was a great experience for me. I got a chance to get familiar with some of the defensive coordinators and the speed of the game. The SEC is the best conference in college football and I got a chance to see the actual speed. I think that's very important when you're out looking for players to fit what you're looking for. To be familiar with that would be nothing but a positive.”

• Chizik is not concerned with finding assistant coaches familiar with the spread. He just wants to find the right “fit.” (There’s that word again.) Still no timeline on when he wants to hire anybody else.

• Malzahn on how much of Tulsa’s offense you’ll see at Auburn: “I think you'll see a lot of similarities as far as our philosophy, our pace. Our pace is so important. You will see a little bit different. The first year I was at Tulsa, we had to throw the football. I think we actually ran it one more time than we threw it. This past year we actually had some offensive lineman step up and we could run the football more. You see us, we ran a lot more. That's what I was talking about earlier about assessing our strengths, what we have here. We will build around our strengths for next year but you will see the same philosophy – the pace, the run play-action, the throwing the ball vertically down the field. That won't change.”

• “Anytime you come in a new situation, it’s a new state,” Malzahn said. “Everybody’s got a chance to step up and earn a position.”

• Malzahn repeatedly stressed a commitment to run the ball. “You won’t see a whole lot of straight drop-back pass. It’s not who we’re going to be. We’re going to run downhill.”

• Chizik vowed not to be meddlesome on the offensive side of the ball. “The bottom line is, when you hire great people, you got to give them the opportunity to run their show. … I feel very comfortable with Gus running the offense. Period. Working knowledge, absolutely. Micromanaging, absolutely not.”

• Malzahn called this his dream job (anybody think that phrase gets thrown around a bit too much?). “I take you back my experiences going to different places,” he said, “and there's certain places that you go away from and say, 'Man, that's an awesome place.' We actually won that football game that day and the crowd was different. They were classy. The atmosphere was second to none. And I went away from this place, talked to my wife, and said the same thing, you know, in the stands. And I just knew it was something special.”

• Chizik has spoken with Antonio Coleman, Sen’Derrick Marks and Jerraud Powers about their future plans, but he didn’t elaborate much, saying it is ultimately going to be their decision.

• Malzahn didn’t hear from Chizik until sometime around Christmas. It took him about an hour to decide to take the job, once he met with his family.

• Malzahn will split time between Auburn and Tulsa in the upcoming weeks. As soon as Tulsa’s bowl game is over with Jan. 6, he’ll be full-time at Auburn.

• Malzahn on Tony Franklin’s system: “I'm not very familiar with him. I've never met him. I'm not very familiar with his system and can't tell you much about it.”
  

It's official: Malzahn's on staff

Just got official confirmation from Auburn. Here's the release that was just sent out:

AUBURN NAMES GUS MALZAHN OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR

AUBURN — Gus Malzahn, who has served as the assistant head coach and co-offensive coordinator as well as quarterbacks coach at the University of Tulsa the previous two seasons, has been named offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Auburn, announced head coach Gene Chizik Sunday.

During his two seasons at Tulsa, Malzahn’s offenses have been among the nation’s finest, ranking first nationally in total offense in 2007 and second in 2008. Prior to his arrival at Tulsa, Malzahn was the offensive coordinator and receivers coach at Arkansas in 2006.

“This is an exciting opportunity to coach at Auburn, get involved with the Auburn family and work for Coach Chizik,” Malzahn said. “I can’t wait to get to Auburn and get started.”

Two of Malzahn’s three offenses have ranked in the top 10 nationally in rushing, including the 2008 Tulsa team that is eighth averaging 254.9 yards per game, and his 2006 Arkansas offense that was fourth nationally (228.5 ypg) behind Heisman Trophy runner-up Darren McFadden and fellow All-American Felix Jones.

Under his direction, the 2008 Tulsa offense is averaging 565.1 yards per game and 47.4 points per games, both second nationally. Entering their bowl game, the Hurricane offense is first in the country in third down conversion percentage (57.7 pct.) and yards per play (7.29 ypp) and is also seventh nationally in passing offense (310.2 ypg).

In 2007, Malzahn’s first Tulsa offense ranked as the nation's top offense, gaining 543.9 yards per game. The Hurricane also led Conference USA in passing, scoring, touchdown passes and passing efficiency, while ranking third nationally for passing, fifth for pass efficiency and 10th for scoring offense.

“Gus is one of the great offensive minds in college football and we are very excited to having him join the Auburn staff,” Chizik said. “His track record at all levels of coaching is remarkable and his offenses have been extremely successful both running and passing the ball. It’s truly impressive that he oversees an offense that is in the top 10 nationally in all five major offensive statistical categories. We’re looking forward to having Gus on board.”

Tulsa's offense in 2007 established nine team school records and 12 individual records. The Hurricane also set nine Conference USA team records, while Tulsa quarterback Paul Smith established new C-USA single-season marks for total yards, TDs responsible for, passing yards
and TD passes.

A Fort Smith, Ark., native, Malzahn will join the Auburn staff after Tulsa’s GMAC Bowl game versus Ball State on Jan. 6 in Mobile.

Malzahn spent the 2006 season as offensive coordinator and receivers coach at Arkansas. During his tenure, the Razorbacks finished with a 10-4 record, were SEC West Division Champions and were ranked 15th nationally.

Under Malzahn's direction, Arkansas not only had the nation's fourth-ranked rushing offense, but also ranked among the top-35 nationally in total offense and scoring offense. He was named the Rivals.com National Offensive Coordinator of the Year in 2006.

Malzahn spent 14 seasons as a successful Arkansas High School head coach, from 1991-2005, where he led five teams to the state championship game and won three titles.

Before becoming a college coach at Arkansas in 2006, Malzahn was the head coach at Springdale High School for five years (2001-05). He led the Bulldogs to two state championship game appearances, 2002 and 2005. Malzahn’s 2005 team posted a 14-0 record, won the state's Class 5A championship, outscored its opponents 664-118 and was ranked among the top-10 teams in the country.

Prior to his stint at Springdale, Malzahn coached five years at Shiloh Christian High School where he transformed that program into one of the most dynamic offensive prep squads in the nation. He led the Saints to back-to-back state championships in 1998 and 1999.

On the prep level, Malzahn coached two quarterbacks, Josh Floyd and Rhett Lashley at Shiloh Christian High School, both of whom set national passing records. Malzahn also tutored 2005 Gatorade, Parade Magazine and Rivals.com National Player of the Year Mitch Mustain at Springdale High School.

Malzahn began his coaching career in 1991 at Hughes High School, where he stayed for five seasons including the final four years as the head coach. In 1992, Malzahn became the head coach and in 1994 his team reached the state championship game.

Malzahn, 43, earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Henderson State (Ark.) in 1990. He and his wife, Kristi, have two daughters, Kylie and Kenzie.

Reports: Malzahn to be hired as offensive coordinator

Multiple outlets are reporting that Gene Chizik will hire Tulsa's Gus Malzahn as Auburn's next offensive coordinator. An official announcement is expected this afternoon.

Malzahn has spent the last two years at Tulsa, where the Golden Hurricane have put up gaudy offensive numbers. Tulsa is second in the nation, averaging 565.1 yards per game.

Chizik promised to install an offense that runs the ball. the Golden Hurricane ran for 254.8 yards per game this season.

The 43-year-old Malzahn spent 14 years as a high school coach in Arkansas, leading five teams to the state championship game and winning three titles.

He joined Houston Nutt's staff at Arkansas in 2006. The Razorbacks went 10-4 thanks to the running back duo of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. Malzahn left amid reports of tension with Nutt about the team's offensive direction.

Here's a brief bio:

Alma Mater: Henderson State '90
Birthdate: October 28, 1965
Hometown: Fort Smith, Ark.
College Coaching Experience: 3 years (2006-08). Entering second year at Tulsa.
Playing Experience: Played two years at Arkansas (1984-85). Was a two-year letterman as a receiver and punter and started one year at Henderson State (1988-89).

Some numbers:

Arkansas 2005 (pre-Malzahn): 360.6 ypg, 25.7 ppg

Arkansas 2006 (Malzahn's first year): 378 ypg, 28.9 ppg

Tulsa 2006 (pre-Malzahn): 388.4 ypg, 27.7 ppg

Tulsa 2007 (Malzahn's first year): 554.9 ypg, 41.4 ppg

Willis back on staff; Searels reportedly not

Well, of course some action would happen on the Auburn coaching front as soon as I leave town for Christmas.

Here's the (late) word about Gene Chizik's coaching staff:

James Willis, who served as a linebackers coach on Tommy Tuberville's staff, will remain as a defensive assistant. Here's the full release from Auburn sports information. Willis was instrumental in the Tigers' recruiting efforts for 2009. Keeping him on board was one move expected from Chizik.

Chizik also elected to keep strength and conditioning coach Kevin Yoxall, director of football operations Jimmy Perry, director of NFL relations Phillip Lolley and team chaplain Rev. Chette Williams. Perry and Lolley helped Chizik recruit the first week after he was hired. Yoxall continued the team's offseason strength and conditioning program as usual after Tuberville's departure.

Georgia offensive line coach Stacy Searels will not be a part of Chizik's staff, electing to stay with the Bulldogs, head coach Mark Richt told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday. Searels, who does not speak to the media, will reportedly receive a pay bump.

Men's hoops: Auburn 77, Alabama State 72

Auburn nearly went into its Christmas break a little early Monday but managed to pull out a 77-72 win against Alabama State because of a smothering fullcourt defense.

The Tigers forced 24 turnovers, turning them into 31 points to erase an 11-point second half deficit against the reigning SWAC regular season champions.

Tay Waller hit six 3-pointers to finish with 21 points. Korvotney Barber had 10 points and 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double.

Some thoughts:

• Interestingly, Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo said he was surprised the Tigers' trap defense worked as well as it did. Alabama State has senior guards with Brandon Brooks and Andrew Hayles, who are both capable of breaking just such a press. But they didn't. In fact, Brooks committed six turnovers, the only demerit on his 24-point, 7-assist night. "It got the pace of the game going," Lebo said of the press. "We kind of got a little bit of juice."

• Alabama State's 24 turnovers were the most Auburn has forced against a Division I team this year. Division II Tuskegee committed 29 turnovers against the Tigers last week.

• At one point, Alabama State committed eight straight tunovers. Auburn capitalized with a 17-0 run. Now that is being opportunistic.

• Waller did more than just hit 3's. He had five rebounds, four steals and an assist too.

• Lebo praised Rasheem Barrett for having one of his best games of the year. The senior, who battled a groin problem early in the season, finished with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal.

• Two unnerving signs for the Tigers. Alabama State out-rebounded them 39-34. And Auburn went 16-for-30 from the free throw line. Those are bad indicators if a team is going to be playing a lot of close games.

Quick laugh on a slow day

There's not much happening in Auburn today. New coach Gene Chizik is presumably putting together a staff now that recruiting is in a dead period, but he's been a no-show in Auburn, leaving us writers with not much to report right now.

When a hire is made -- or we at least get to talk to Chizik -- it'll be up here as soon as possible.

In the interim, here's a video of everyone's favorite outspoken Auburn alum Charles Barkley on TNT that's pretty funny.

Barkley plays the role of President Bush to Kenny Smith's Iraqi journalist.

Iowa State hires Rhoads as head coach

A week after Auburn plucked Iowa State's head coach to run its program, the Cyclones hired former Tigers defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads as their head coach.

This one makes plenty of sense. Rhoads is a Ankeny, Iowa, native. He was an assistant under Dan McCarney from 1995-99. And quite honestly, from speaking to the man throughout the season, he seemed like he had all the makings of a head coach.

The biggest thing for Iowa State is it got a coach who probably doesn't view a job in Ames, Iowa, as a stepping stone.

Rhoads' contract is for five years and $5.75 million.

Here's Iowa State AD Jamie Pollard's quote about Rhoads. Think this is a subtle jab at Gene Chizik? I do.

"He was the one candidate that clearly demonstrated both extensive experience and an extreme passion for and familiarity with our institution. In addition, and most importantly, he also has a comprehensive plan for how to be successful at Iowa State."

Somehow Auburn and Iowa State need to play each other in the near future. I think everyone would enjoy that game.

UPDATE: Rhoads' introductory press conference is up on the Iowa State athletics Web site right now. (Watch it here) Rhoads gets choked up throughout his brief speech, especially when talking about having deep roots in Iowa. "I can see myself here for a long time," he said. He clearly is happy to be headed back to near his hometown. I honestly can't imagine the Cyclones coming out of this situation with a better hire.

Freeman becomes second juco to sign with Auburn

Gene Chizik has been around less than a week and he already got his second junior college signing Thursday, when Mississippi Gulf Coast CC linebacker Eltoro Freeman officially faxed his papers into the school.

Freeman joins defensive end Nick Fairley as Auburn's junior college signings.

Another, running back Onterrio McCalebb from Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., plans to sign with Auburn next week according to AuburnSports.com. He will enroll in January.

The 6-foot, 225-pound Freeman earned All-America honors in 2007 after helping Mississippi Gulf Coast to a national title. He made 65 tackles, with 17 for a loss and five sacks. He redshirted this year. He has three years of eligibility left.

Here's his full bio from Auburn sports information:

Eltoro Freeman
LB, 6-0, 225
Alexander City, AL (Benjamin Russell)
High School Coach: Carl Martin

JUNIOR COLLEGE: Junior College Coach: Steve Campbell … Played at Mississippi Gulf Coast CC in Perkinston, Miss. …. As a freshman in 2007, helped Mississippi Gulf Coast to National Championship …. Redshirted in 2008.
HIGH SCHOOL: High School Coach: Carl Martin … Recorded 140 tackles and 10 sacks at linebacker his senior year, while taking 15 carries for 223 yards and three scores at running back … Recorded 100 tackles, including 52 for losses his junior year … Named a PrepStar All-American recruit … Listed as tenth-ranked prospect in state of Alabama by The Birmingham News … Ranked No. 19 nationally at outside linebacker and the No. 10 overall recruit in Alabama by Rivals.com … Ranked No. 20 among outside linebackers by ESPN.com. … Selected by the AHSAA to play in the Alabama North/South All-Star game as a junior … Named Birmingham News and ASWA Class 5A All-State … Selected as a member of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super Southern 100 … Ranked the No. 78 prospect in the Mobile Register’s Super Southeast 120 … Named a Birmingham News Super Senior before the 2006 campaign.
PERSONAL: Born May 7, 1989 … Son of Greta and Rome Freeman.

Auburn speaking with Georgia's Searels

Macon Telegraph Georgia beat man David Hale informs us today that Auburn has received permission to speak with Bulldogs offensive line coach Stacy Searels about joining Gene Chizik's staff on the Plains.

Georgia coach Mark Richt confirmed the news today.

Chizik, who has hit the recruiting trail hard since accepting the job last Saturday, has not yet made any comments on his staffing situation.

Searels played at Auburn from 1984-87, earning first-team all-SEC honors his last two seasons and being named a first-team All-American in 1987. He started his coaching career at Auburn as a graduate assistant. He's since coached at Appalachian State, Cincinnati, LSU and now Georgia.

Here's his full bio.

Interestingly, Richt has not been contacted about recruiting coordinator/defensive line coach Rodney Garner, another former Auburn man who played with Searels and spent six years as a Tigers assistant from 1990-95.

Georgia DT Jeff Owens has reportedly said Garner told him he was staying put.

Whitlock: Gill wasn't right 'fit' at Auburn

It seems there have been dozens of anti-Auburn columns when it comes to the race issue, so in an effort to achieve some balance on the issue, here's one by Jason Whitlock that defends Auburn for passing up on Turner Gill.

Whitlock makes some very excellent points about Gill not being the right "fit" (and I know that word has been used to death lately, but it's the one he uses in the article).

Read the whole thing, especially the end about college football still waiting to find its version of John Thompson, but here's a blip about Auburn:

Turner Gill, the black head football coach at Buffalo, is one of the most promising coaches in the game. He has a chance to be a superstar. Auburn wasn't the right "fit" for Gill.

That word — "fit" — is frustrating to people outside the college football world. They don't understand the uniqueness of each college football environment.

They think college football isn't much different from the NFL, where the teams are all generally located in major cities, recruiting is a nonfactor, the style of play is pretty uniform and kissing the rear of a wealthy booster means lunch with Jerry Jones.

Head-coaching diversity is easier to achieve in the NFL because the clubs operate in diverse communities and the playing field is level. The "fit" in the NFL is all the same. It's a two-question test: 1. Can you be a consistent leader of young men? 2. Do you know the game?

There are far more variables in the collegiate game: 1. Can you connect with the high school coaches in the area? 2. Can you schmooze boosters? 3. Do you have the connections to put together a coaching staff appropriate for a particular conference or region? 4. Are you good at projecting and developing talent? 5. Do you have the discipline and passion to recruit?

The list is endless.

Turner Gill, a former quarterback at Nebraska and a native of Fort Worth, Texas, failed the fit test at Auburn, and that statement has nothing to do with his race. Gill likely would've destroyed a bright coaching future by winning the job at Auburn.

Hate to keep piling on, but ...

ESPN's Pat Forde is a columnist I greatly respect. He usually hits issues right on the head (I highly suggest you read some of his Bobby Petrino stuff).

And today he doled out grades for the coaching hires this offseason. Keep in mind that very few schools got good, if passable, grades. But he reserved his harshest comments for Auburn.

If you are squeamish, you might want to avert your eyes:

Auburn. The hire: Chizik. The grade: F.
Chizik needs to begin every morning by reciting the Lou Gehrig speech: "Today-today-today, I consider myself-myself-myself, the luckiest man on the face of the Earth-Earth-Earth." The fact that he somehow parlayed a 5-19 record at Iowa State into a job at one of the better programs in the country is astounding -- and reflects the glorious dysfunction that is Auburn athletics. Understand this: Auburn could have kept Tommy Tuberville and his 85-40 record (Resignation? Right.) but went with a guy who opened his tenure in Ames with losses to Kent State and Northern Iowa. Auburn could have gone after Leach, who knows something about winning in a brutal division, but instead hired a guy who went 2-10 in league play in the softer Big 12 North. Auburn could have landed the red-hot Gill, whose Buffalo team has won six of its past seven games, but instead embraced a guy on a 10-game losing streak. Maybe Chizik will be the next Bill Parcells -- he went 3-8 in his first year as a head coach, at the Air Force Academy in 1978 -- before turning out all right. But until that happens, this has the makings of the worst hire in SEC history.

Men's b-ball signs four ... finally

This release seems like it came out about a month late, but the Auburn men's basketball team finally announced its signings for the 2009-10 season.

The Tigers had four players sign national letters of intent. Here they are, with a mini-bio provided by Auburn sports information:

C Robert Chubb, 6-10, 220, Peachtree City, Ga., 3 star according to Rivals.com

• Chubb attended McIntosh High in Peachtree City, Ga., where he averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds as a junior last season. He transferred to Montverde Academy in Orlando for his senior season.

• "Chubb is a kid who is getting better and better and better," Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo said. "His upside is big, and he is getting tremendous coaching at Montverde Academy. He is playing against a lot of big guys. Hopefully, he still has some growing up to do."

SF Kenny Gabriel, 6-8, 200, Charlotte, N.C., 3 stars according to Rivals.com

• Gabriel signed with Auburn last year out of United Faith Christian Academy in Charlotte, N.C., but he went to Paris (Texas) Junior College for this season. He will have four years to play three seasons at Auburn. Gabriel averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks as a senior at United Faith Christian last year and 17 points and eight rebounds as a junior. He is averaging 15.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, leading Paris to an 8-0 record to start the season.

• "What is exciting about Kenny is his ability to shoot the basketball," said Lebo. "He can play a lot of different positions. He has the ability to shoot the basketball and has great range with his jump shot."

G Andre Malone, 6-5, 202, Atlanta, Ga., 4 stars according to Rivals.com

• Malone, who is ranked as the 19th best shooting guard in the country by Rivals.com and the 74th best player overall, averaged 16.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 2.1 assists as a junior at North Clayton High in College Park, Ga., last year. He will play his senior season at South Atlanta High.

• "Andre just gives us another deep perimeter shooter," Lebo said. "He has athleticism and style and his body is already ready for this league."

G Earnest Ross, 6-5, 215, Cary, N.C., 3 stars according to Rivals.com

• Ross averaged 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game last year as a junior at Panther Creek High.

• "Earnest, like Andre, has his body ready for this league and has tremendous upside," Lebo said. "He can take the ball to the basket and can shoot the ball from 3-point range and can play a multitude of positions."

Garner: No token interview

Props to Macon Telegraph Georgia beat writer David Hale for this story on Bulldogs assistant Rodney Garner, who interviewed for the vacant Auburn football job a few weeks ago.

Garner vehemently disagrees with outspoken Auburn alum Charles Barkley, who said he thinks race was the No. 1 factor in the Tigers hiring Gene Chizik.

"I definitely did not feel that my interview was a token interview," Garner said. "I thought that it was fair. I was in there two-and-a-half hours. I felt like they gave me a very fair opportunity to present my plan for the program.

"The process played out, and I think in the end, they hired who they thought was the best fit. Charles is entitled to his opinion, but the only people who know are the ones who make the decisions."

Many critics of college football's lack of minority head coaches have stumped for a similar version to the NFL's Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for a head coaching vacancy. (It should be noted that Auburn interviewed TWO minority coaches -- Garner and Buffalo's Turner Gill.) Garner didn't sound completely on board with that idea.

"You would like to see more diversity in the hiring practice, but I'm not sure that a Rooney rule would work in college," Garner said. "In the pros, you're dealing with management, ownership. You may be dealing with one person or a family. In college, you're dealing with a whole facet of people, and there are a lot of different factors that play into it. So I don't know if that rule will work, per se."

Auburn signs juco DE Fairley

Gene Chizik already added a player to his roster for next year. Nick Fairley was added Wednesday after the start of the junior college signing period.

The 6-foot-4, 295-pound defensive end originally committed in 2007 but did not qualify. He's spent the last year and a half at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Wesson, Miss.

The Mobile native will enroll in January and has three years of eligiblity remaining.

Here's his complete bio from Auburn sports information:

Nick Fairley
DL, 6-4, 295
Mobile, AL (Lillie B. Williamson)

JUNIOR COLLEGE: Junior College Coach: Glenn Davis … Played at Copiah-Lincoln CC in Wesson, Miss. … All-Region XII in state of Mississippi in 2008 at defensive tackle … Had 63 tackles including nine for loss and seven quarterback sacks in seven games … Redshirted in 2007.
HIGH SCHOOL: High School coach: Bobby Parrish … Spent time on both sides of the ball as a senior, grading out at 97 percent on the offensive line and catching five passes for 150 yards at tight end, while making more than 90 tackles on defense … Named a 5A Lineman of the Year finalist and to the 5A All-State team by the ASWA … Ranked 28th among offensive guards and 15th overall in Alabama by Rivals.com … Ranked No. 32 at the offensive tackle position by ESPN.com … Selected to the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic and played both ways in the game … Selected to the Mobile Press-Register’s Elite 18 Alabama recruits list and the paper’s Super Southeast 120 … Played in the AHSAA North/South All-Star game as a junior.
PERSONAL: Born January 23, 1988 … Son of Paula Rogers and Herbert Rogers.

SI's Mandel: Chizik has zero chance to succeed

I would put the odds slightly higher, but Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel penned an article today in which he said Gene Chizik has no chance to succeed at Auburn.

His underlying point? It might take Chizik a little while to right the ship at Auburn, and he won't have the public support of an inpatient Tigers fan base that is fractured over his hiring.

A couple things don't help Chizik:

1. The competitiveness of the SEC right now
   
2. Alabama's resurgence under Nick Saban
3. A general inpatience football-wise in this part of the country

Interesting read. Anybody have some thoughts?

Finebaum rips into Auburn on OTL

ESPN's Outside the Lines examined Auburn's hiring of Gene Chizik, framing it in racial terms. Montgomery columnist Josh Moon, Birmingham radio host Paul Finebaum and ESPN columnist Jemele Hill were the panelists.

Take a look here. (the video scroll on the right, "Did race play a factor in Auburn's hiring of Chizik?")

Finebaum had the most scathing remarks:

Jay Jacobs, first of all, is a pawn of the trustees at Auburn University and there was no way they were going to hire Turner Gill, even though he should have been hired. ... The plantation mentality exists at very high places at Auburn University and there was no way he was going to get the job.

He finished with another blast of Jacobs and the trustees:

Auburn's been run by trustees for a long time. This school has been under investigation. Everyoen remembers five years ago when Bobby Lowder and others tried to get Tommy Tuberville fired in the middle of the night by bringing in Bob Petrino. They were under investigation. They almost lost the accreditation. But they haven't gone away. They're still running this program. And Jay Jacobs, the athletic director who wouldn't come on, might be the most incompetant athletic director in America. He couldn't go to the bathroom without asking Bobby Lowder or the Board of Trustees for permission.

One hire, two opposite reactions

It's safe to say there is a pretty good rift in the Auburn fan base about the Gene Chizik hire. From the poll on the right, about 75 percent of the respondents don't think Chizik is the right man for the job.

Here are two more opinions, one wholeheartedly in favor of Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs' decision and one completely against it.

First, a letter from Auburn coaching legend Pat Dye to Tigers Unlimited members, calling for unity now that the Tigers have their coach. Here's an excerpt:

There is a lot of misinformation out there right now. The media people have their jobs to do and should have our respect for doing those jobs. But unless an individual has served as president of a major university, has been on the board of trustees of a major university, or has been athletic director or head football coach at a major university, it is hard to grasp how the people in these positions make the decisions that affect so many.

Unless you have walked in their shoes, you cannot begin to understand all that is involved in the process of making these decisions.

In addressing the current situation pertaining to our Athletic Director, Jay Jacobs, and his decision to hire Gene Chizik as our new Head Coach, I applaud all parties involved in the process for allowing Jay Jacobs to do his job.

Nobody is more qualified to make this decision than Jay. He is a true Auburn man to the bone and understands better than anybody the kind of man we need to lead our football program into the future. Gene Chizik is that man.

This Web site -- FireJayJacobs.com -- is not so favorable. It has a Top 10 list and an online petition aimed at getting Jacobs removed.

Something tells me this is going to be a point of debate at Auburn for quite some time.

Green accepts invite to Mobile

Senior offensive guard Tyronne Green has accepted an invitation to play in the 2009 Senior Bowl on Jan. 24 in Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Game time is 7 p.m. EST.

Green started 25 straight games for the Tigers and was on Phil Steele's all-SEC third-team offense this season.

Tuesday reset: Looking back at the Chizik hire

The dust has finally settled a little bit after Auburn hired Gene Chizik, who will put together a staff and hit the recruiting trail immediately.

We at the Ledger-Enquirer had a handful of stories today. Have a look:

In today's main story, Chizik talks about returning Auburn to a physical brand of football and defends his 5-19 record at Iowa State.

Athletic director Jay Jacobs is taking a lot of heat for this hire, and his legacy will be defined by it.

Chris White has a story about an Auburn fan base that is less than enthusiastic about the hire.

Chuck Williams has a column about Pat Dye, who thinks Auburn got the right guy for the job.

Chizik press conference breakdown

Wow. Lots to digest here. I'll break Gene Chizik's introductory press conference down as well as I can real quickly before I have to hack away at tomorrow's print stories.

• Chizik did not offer many details about who his staff would be. Reports surfaced late last night that those remaining Tommy Tuberville's crew were informed to seek new employment. No idea if that means they are absolutely out of the loop.

• In the interim, Chizik will lean onformer Auburn assistant Joe Whitt Sr., director of NFL relations Phillip Lolley and director of football operations Jimmy Perry to help him recruit. No word on whether any of those three will be added to the staff full time.

• He emphasized several times how important recruiting will be in the process, especially in the early stages.

• Money does not sound like it's going to be an object in the hiring of a staff. "It's just going to be the best people, in my opinion, who are the best fit at Auburn."

• Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Chizik said money wasn't an issue. "I don't coach for money. I mean, I'm already making more money than I thought I would make in my entire lifetime. That doesn't mean anything to me. That's who I am, so that wasn't important to me. What was important to me was the job."

• Jacobs said the contract will be largely incentive based. "Just like in the business world," he said.

• Chizik has not yet spoken to Tommy Tuberville.

• Former coach Pat Dye and Redskins cornerback Carlos Rogers were in attendance.

Some quotables:

Chizik, on why he left Auburn four years ago

"My desire was to be a head coach. That’s what I wanted to be, and I felt like four years ago, I was ready. As you go into this profession you try to gauge, ‘What is the best thing for me to get to my ultimate goal?’ My ultimate goal at the time was to be a head coach. I had been a defensive coordinator at that time for ten or eleven years. At the time, the University of Texas, where I went, had a great track record of moving guys on to be a head coach. As you make business decisions about your career, just like any of you that are in the business world know, you have to make decisions about what is best for you and your family to get you to the ultimate goal. So I made the move. If you go back four years right now, and I didn’t make that move, I don’t know, maybe I wouldn’t be standing here in front of you today. Would I do it again the exact same way? Yes, I would. Not because I wanted to leave Auburn, but ultimately, if you really look at it, it’s because I wanted to get back to Auburn.”

Chizik, on his offensive philosophy

"I think it is 200 years old to be honest with you. I think on offense right now you have to be able to run the football and I don’t think that has changed since forever. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t going to throw the ball, but in my opinion, in order to win you have to be able to run the ball."

Chizik, on losing 10 straight to finish the season at Iowa State

"Last year was a situation that I had never really experienced. What I learned was perseverance and to keep the kids playing hard, and let them always know what the goal is for every week. We were playing with eleven true freshmen and they played hard every week. But we kept persevering and we stuck it in there. We grew a lot, I grew a lot, and it was tough managing a football team that was under those circumstances because I had never done that before. I wouldn’t trade those two years for anything I’ve done. I did it right, and I enjoyed those two years, but learned a lot.”

Chizik, on balancing recruiting and getting a staff in place

"I think kind of all the way around – doing everything at once. I'll be in the car driving here and you've got to make 10,000 phone calls. I'm trying to get some guys in place. Again, it's kind of a storm. You've just got to do everything in a day as it goes. There'll be a lot of things going on in terms of recruiting and hiring a coaching staff. Those are the two main things, obviously. "

Athletic director Jay Jacobs, on hiring a coach who lost 10 straight games to finish last season

"He made the choice instead of just trying to be a quick fix, he made the choice in his third year he wanted to have a good team. So he started 10 or 11 freshman this past year. The other thing is he had to make some hard choices when he first got there, but he made those in a way that didn't impact them negatively APR. So coming in, to make those changes and get the right quality people in the program, and his vision for where the program was going, and the validation from the AD and president that it was goign in the right direction, all those things matched up with what he told us."

Jacobs, on the initial negative reaction the hire produced

"I'm not disappointed at all. I just stood on Exodus 14:14 and am just going to keep walking by faith and not by sight. And I know that at the end of the day, I'm going to put on my code of honor from Ephesians 6:10, and I know that we got the right guy here to do the right thing for Auburn and our student-athletes are going to have an unbelievable experience playing for a guy that loves them and is going to work them as hard as he can possibly work them, push them to a new limit. And all the people be proud and get on board."

Jacobs, on Charles Barkley saying race was the No. 1 factor in this hire

"Well, my reaction is I was picking the best fit for Auburn."

Jacobs, on if he had any advisers in the process

(Joking) "Some requested and some unrequested."

Video: Auburn introduces Chizik

Here's the opening statements of Gene Chizik's introductory press conference. There's a lot of material to sift through, but I'll try to get as much of it up here as fast as possible.

It starts with athletic director Jay Jacobs, who introduces Chizik. Enjoy.

Barkley rips Auburn for hire

The Gene Chizik era is not getting off to a great start in terms of media coverage.

One of Auburn's most outspoken alums, Charles Barkley, ripped into his alma mater in this ESPN.com article by Mark Schlabach.

He says the only reason Auburn didn't hire Buffalo coach Turner Gill is because he's black. Here's a quote:

"I think race was the No. 1 factor," said Barkley, who played basketball for three seasons at Auburn during the early 1980s. "You can say it's not about race, but you can't compare the two resumes and say [Chizik] deserved the job. Out of all the coaches they interviewed, Chizik probably had the worst resume.

"I'm just very disappointed. I just thought Turner Gill would be the perfect choice for two reasons: He's a terrific coach and we needed to make a splash. I thought we had to do something spectacular to bring attention to the program. Clearly, if we'd hired a black coach, it would have created a buzz."

Iowa State AD: Chizik said he'd turn down Auburn job

Interesting article in the Des Moines Register today. Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard said Gene Chizik told him twice that he would not accept the Auburn job, including the day he actually did accept the position.

A sampling:

Pollard expressed clear and consistent frustration that Chizik left the Cyclones after two seasons, five victories and the most recent 2-10 season.

“I know Jamie Pollard couldn’t do that to this place,” Pollard said during his first public comments about Chizik’s departure.

Could this be sour grapes? Sure. Are football coaches the most truthful creatures on earth? Absolutely not. Still, it's never a good sign when your former AD starts taking swipes at you 48 hours after you leave.

Iowa State's players, meanwhile, feel betrayed.

Chizik dismisses assistants; Cotton decommits

The dominoes have already started to fall since Auburn hired Gene Chizik as its head coach on Saturday.

Chizik informed all of Auburn's assistants under Tommy Tuberville to look for new employment late Sunday night, according to AuburnSports.com and the Birmingham News.

Surprisingly, James Willis was in that group. Willis recruited tirelessly, even once Tuberville was out, and seemed like the odds on favorite to be retained by the new staff. He wasn't. And one of his major recruits -- four-star Fort Meade, Md., quarterback Raymond Cotton -- decommitted as a result, Rivals.com reported. It doesn't sound like Auburn has a good chance of getting him back.

Cotton was the seventh decommit for Auburn since Tuberville resigned.

Press conference today at 1 p.m. CST. I'll have an update afterward.

What Auburn's players are saying about Chizik

Newly hired Auburn coach Gene Chizik met for 20 minutes with Auburn's players tonight. We got to talk to a few of them afterward. Here are some of the highlights:

CB Walt McFadden

His reaction to the hire
"I'm kind of happy by seeing him come back. He's the one who got me here. He's the one who gave me a comfort of coming to Auburn, with me being from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I didn't know anything about Auburn. He told me a lot. Just being around Carlos Rogers when I was here on my recruiting visit, he just comforted me and told me all about coach Chizik and just gave me a lot of hype about it. "

On tonight's team meeting
"He just said he was a loyalty person. There's going to be change, but it's going to be for the great. He's not looking to rebuild. We're looking for that 13-0 season again. When he left off, he was 13-0. He's planning on being 13-0 next season."

On the last few weeks
"Just trying to find out who we are again. Before Tubs left us, we were all trying to find what it takes to be a better Auburn Tiger football player. And then soon as he left, we were trying to gain that knowledge, that comfort and he left us. Who are we? Then you know, we've been sticking around with Brother Chette, you know doing our bible studies and Coach Yox is helping us out. Now tonight, Coach Chizik coming right in and talking to us gives us a lot of comfort."

On the mood of the team
"First we were wondering, 'Who's this guy.' The people who wasn't recruited by him was like who's this guy. He came in and everybody just calmed down and it was a big relief that we finally got somebody we could trust."

TE Tommy Trott

On Sunday's team meeting
"He really didn't introduce himself off the bat. I wondered if everybody knew who he was but I'm sure off T.V. and the internet had got familiar with his face. He just came in and said how pumped he was and how jacked he was to be back at a place that he loved. The last time he was in this room he was 13-0. He walked out of that room 13-0 and he plans on getting us back there."

On what Chizik's plan for Auburn is next year
"He said a lot of those seniors out there, he kind of spoke to me, a lot of those seniors out there don't be worried. This isn't a rebuilding thing. I'm not going to start from the ground up. We're coming out next year and we're going to be a lot better football team."

On Chizik's style
"You can tell he's going to be out there motivating us. He sounds like he's going to be a little more hands-on. He's probably going to snatch you up at a practice. He's going to have things done his way, he said. We're going to get back to being physical. If you don't love football, get out, because you better love football to what we're about to do. In a weird way that's very inspiring."

CB Jerraud Powers

His reaction to the hire
"I was just happy it was over. That was the most part. I'm glad they chose a guy like coach Chizik. I just think, from the players' standpoint, we're just happy it's all over. Now we can go back to no worries and just doing what we're doing. Lately, since the thing happened, it's been kind of crazy around here. We're just happy it's over. "

NOTE: Powers, who just finished his junior season, said he submitted his name to the NFL's advisory committee, a group of league scouts and officials who research a player and give an approximation of where he might go in the draft.

"It's still the same," Powers said about whether he's coming back. "I'm just going through the evaluation process and trying to get as much information as I can possible. I'm going to get to sit down with coach Chizik and get his opinion on things and just go from there. "

Chizik arrives!

Just got back from the Robert G. Pitts Airport, a beat writer's home away from home this week, and a crowd of about 200 was there greet new coach Gene Chizik after he stepped off a plane from Ames, Iowa.

Very pro-Chizik crowd. The crazy guy that showed up yesterday was nowhere to be found.

Chizik spoke very briefly with the media. Here's his comment:

"First of all, I am very, very overwhelmed. I'm back home. What can I say? I'm back home. I feel very blessed. My family, myself, this is a dream come true for us. And this is going to brief, but I'll tell you this -- these people of Auburn University and the Auburn family is what I got into coaching for. And I left it with a dream to one day come back to it, and today I'm living that dream and I want to thank you guys. And War Eagle."

Former Auburn linebacker and Shaw High star Antarrious Williams, who played for Chizik when he was the Tigers' defensive coordinator from 2002-04, was on hand as well. Here's what he had to say:

What are your thoughts of the hire?
Extremely elated. I think we got the right guy. All along, we interviewed 6, 7, 8 guys -- I don’t know -- before we hired Chizik. I said: Where is Gene Chizik? Where is Gene Chizik? He was my No. 1 choice before they even mentioned him. I think Jay Jacobs got this right on the head. A lot of people are underestimating Gene Chizik’s coaching ability and mo9tivating players and players buying into the system, which is the key right now. That’s why Alabama’s successful -- players are buying into Nick Saban’s system. It’s not that what they’re doing is so great. It’s that players believe what he’s saying. Players will buy into Gene Chizik.

What was he like as a coach?
He’s a fiery guy, I couldn’t tell you one time I can remember him cussing one players out, but he got on to us. He coached us hard. When Chizik left, it hurt us more to lose the guy than the coach. He’s a really good coach, but players were sad to lose Gene Chizik as a person as well. That just speaks highly of his character. I think he’s just the right fit for us right now.

We're getting current players in a little bit. I'll put their reactions up a little later.

It's official: Chizik hired as coach

Auburn finally released a statement Saturday night about the hiring of Gene Chizik.

A press conference is scheduled for Monday at 2 p.m. It's closed to the public.

To tide you over, here's Chizik's statement from the release Saturday:

“Through my travels in coaching over the last 23 years, there’s one place that I’ve always wanted to return to and that is Auburn. The tradition of the Auburn football program combined with the passionate fans and their love for Auburn are second to none. My family and I are Auburn through and through, and look forward to being part of the Auburn family and community.

“I am dedicated to working tirelessly to win championships. We will not be outworked in any facet of the building process. I’m excited to get on the recruiting trail, meeting with the current players and reconnecting with past players. We want to develop young men into champions not only on the playing field, but in the classroom and in the community.”

Here's Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs' comment in the release:

“I’m extremely proud and excited to have Gene returning to Auburn to take over as head football coach of this program. I know that we have found the right fit for Auburn. Gene’s body of work during his 23 years in this profession is remarkable. He has a strong knowledge of this athletics program, this university and the community, and he knows how to be successful in the Southeastern Conference. He is a high-energy coach that is an outstanding motivator and demands a tough, physical style of football. I’m confident that Gene can build upon the foundation that has been established and make this a program that competes for championships on a consistent basis.”

Here's the entire release.

Chizik hire not sitting well with Auburn fans

Just finished filing my story about Auburn's hiring of Gene Chizik.

To sum this hire up in a word: perplexing.

Judging from the responses on message boards and the few loyal posters on this blog (major props, Acid Reign and Scott H.!), it is not going to go over very well with the fans.

And I can see why. Whether or not Chizik was a great defensive coordinator in the past, he hasn't had any success as a head coach, even if the situation was as dire as it was at Iowa State (quick aside: Turner Gill won despite some pretty dire circumstances at Buffalo)

Des Moines Register columnist Sean Keeler doesn't sound too bummed to see Chizik leave.

Now, Tigers fans obviously hope that going to a school like Auburn, with all its resources, will bring out the best in Chizik. And let's face it, Auburn would probably be hailed as making a great hire of an up-and-coming coach if Chizik was still at Texas as a defensive coordiantor, even if it meant he didn't have any head coaching experience.

But that doesn't change the fact that he took the reclamation project at Iowa State. And these are the undisputable facts of his two years in Ames:

• He has a 5-19 record.
  

• He has as many career wins as head coach Tommy Tuberville did in his worst season as a head coach.

• His Cyclones failed to win a Big 12 game this year, despite not playing any of the conference's heavyweights -- Oklahoma, Texas or Texas Tech.

• Iowa State lost 10 straight games to end the season and was tied for the second-longest losing streak in the nation with SMU. Only Washington, which hast lost 14 straight and fired its coach, has a longer streak.

• His defense allowed 35.8 points per game, ranking 11oth nationally.

• He fired two assistants and demoted both his offensive and defensive coordinators less than two weeks ago.

Reading that, I can understand why some Auburn fans are upset with this hire.

Feel free to post your thoughts below.

Iowa State confirms Chizik's hiring at Auburn

Iowa State just released a statement saying Gene Chizik has accepted the position as Auburn's head coach.

Here is ISU athletic direcotr Jamie Pollard's quote:

"Gene Chizik confirmed for me today that he is accepting the head coaching position at Auburn. I'm disappointed for Iowa State fans and student-athletes that he has chosen to leave our program after only two seasons. I understand that Auburn is a dream job for him, but the timing and the way it played out has been hurtful and disappointing. Although this is a signficant set back, we will get through the challenge because the Iowa State University athletics program is far greater than one person."

Iowa State player 'irate' over Chizik's decision

This from the The Tribune in Ames, Iowa.

A source close to the Iowa State football team has told the Tribune the Cyclone players are "irate" coach Gene Chizik is leaving to become the head coach at Auburn.

The source said several Cyclones came to ISU to play specifically for Chizik and don't understand how Chizik could leave for another school.

Senior offensive tackle Doug Dedrick was shocked when he heard the news and said his heart goes out to the returning players.

"I understand why he did what he did," Dedrick said. "Coach Chiz really is a very good guy. I've got nothing negative to say about him. My reaction to this is I feel really bad for the players, the current team. I think Chiz could have done great things here, but he did what he had to do. It's his decision."

Jacobs: 'We're still in the process'

Just staked out Jay Jacobs at the airport. He returned from Memphis on a school plane withschool president Jay Gogue, senior associate athletic director Tim Jackson and associate AD Mark Richard.

Here's what Jacobs had to say to a group of reporters:

Do you have your man?
Nope, we’re still in the process.

How close are you to getting your man?
I think that if everything continues to go well then in the next few days, we ought to have the process narrowed down pretty well. We’ll go from there, but we’re still moving along. It’s been good so far.

Are you in the negotiations stages?
We’re just still processing right now. A lot of things going on.

Multiple reports have said Gene Chizik is going to be your next coach. True or false?
We’re just still working through the deal.

That’s it guys.

The public's response was, shall we say, not favorable. A group of about 20 fans also made it to the airport. One particularly vocal one booed the Auburn University plane as it landed, holding his arms out and giving two thumbs down as he yelled.

As Jacobs exited the tarmac, he shouted, "We want a leader, not a loser."

Just a bizarre scene all around.

Rivals adds fuel to the Chizik fire

Rivals.com national college football writer says Gene Chizik will be Auburn's next coach. There no source for the information.

We'll keep monitoring the situation.

There is an Auburn University plane that flew to Memphis today. Memphis is where agent Jimmy Sexton's Athletic Resource Management is located. Chizik is one of Sexton's many clients.

Then again, so are Will Muschamp, Steve Spurrier and Jimbo Fisher.

Bottom line: we'll be watching the return trip of that plane for sure.

Chizik's name buzzing, Dooley withdraws

There's a lot of buzz out there right now about Iowa State's Gene Chizik being the new frontrunner. The Opelika-Auburn News is saying has jumped to the top of Auburn's list and could be hired as early as Monday.

On the heels of that is this release from Louisiana Tech about Derek Dooley that I just received via e-mail:

In light of the continued speculation, Louisiana Tech head coach Derek Dooley confirmed Saturday that he has removed his name as a potential candidate for the Auburn head coaching position.

"As I have said on many occasions, we are very happy in Ruston and are excited about the continued investments that our administration is committed to making into our athletic program," Dooley said.

Now, that doesn't mean much. I don't think Dooley was ever a serious candidate. But it's common practice for coaches to withdraw their names from consideration for jobs they were never going to get anyway, especially when somebody else is on the cusp of getting the job.

Think Skip Holtz at Syracuse a few days ago. Do you think it's coincidence that within 24 hours of him pulling his name out of consideration that the Orange hired somebody else?

I believe Michael Scott used this same tactic for the corporate job he wasn't going to get at Dunder-Mifflin.

Michael: Let me know about the job.
David Wallace: Actually, Michael, I think we're gonna take it in another direction.
Michael: Good, I'm glad we're on the same page. I have a lot of ideas for new directions.
David: No, we're not giving you the job.
Michael: You know what? That... is actually good... because, um, I don't think I could take... my girlfriend's job. That's not being a good boyfriend. So, I respectfully withdraw my name from consideration. Do you accept my withdrawal?
David: I do.
Michael: Good. Very good. I'm glad we are finally on the same page. Still have my job in Scranton, though.
David: Yes.
Michael: Good. That's all I ever wanted. These two. [points at Jim and Karen] Either one of them... excellent candidates.

Fisher says he's staying at Florida State

While somewhat non-committal about his future with Florida State at a Montgomery Quarterback Club meeting earlier this week, Seminoles head coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher was more direct with his words to the Orlando Sentinel that he is not going anywhere.

“I’m staying here at Florida State,” Fisher said. “… I’m happy at Florida State. We’re building the right things.”

Fisher never explicitly said he would not be interested in the Auburn job if it was presented to him earlier this week, instead saying he was "happy" at Florida State over and over. He even uttered the line "never say never" during his speech to the club.

"You offend people when you say never,” Fisher said. “I mean, whether it’s 20 years down the road. Those things always come back to bite you.”

Chizik interviewed with Auburn

Jay Jacobs set aside some additional time on his Thursday trip to Fort Worth, Texas. In addition to reportedly interviewing TCU's Gary Patterson, he also interviewed Iowa State's Gene Chizik.

Here's a snippet from the Associated Press report:

Iowa State coach Gene Chizik is in the running for the Auburn job, Cyclones athletic director Jamie Pollard said Friday.

Pollard acknowledged that Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs recently contacted him to speak with Chizik about the Tigers vacancy. Pollard said in a statement released Friday that his understanding is that Chizik — the Tigers defensive coordinator from 2002-04 — has met with Auburn officials and is a serious candidate for the job.

Anybody else think the "serious candidate" portion of that statement seems ludicrous? Chizik was a fine coordinator at Auburn and Texas, but he's 5-19 in two years at Iowa State.

ESPN: Patterson not interested

ESPN's Chris Low has an updated article on the Auburn coaching search. He addresses the absurdity of the whole situation (including the media in that equation) and matter-of-factly mentions that TCU's Gary Patterson isn't interested in the job.

Here's the paragraph:

TCU's Gary Patterson is no longer interested after interviewing on Thursday. Auburn is supposed to talk to Wake Forest's Jim Grobe on Friday, and there are also rumblings that Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson and East Carolina's Skip Holtz could be targets.

Patterson and TCU never acknowledged that an interview took place, but athletic director Jay Jacobs and some of his advisers were in Fort Worth, Texas (home of TCU) for close to eight hours Thursday, probably not to enjoy the brisket (though I've heard it's fantastic).

Muschamp: 'I'm not interested in any jobs'

Texas has released an official statement from defensive coordinator/head coach-in-waiting Will Muschamp.

"I have not interviewed for any jobs. I'm not interested in any jobs. I'm happy here, my family loves Austin and I'm going to be at Texas."

Now THAT, my friends, is how you make a denial.

Just talked briefly to the Wake Forest media relations director, Steve Shutt, who said the school is not commenting on whether or not Auburn has asked for permission to speak to Jim Grobe.

AuburnUndercover.com and AuburnSports.com. have cited anonymous sources as saying Auburn will interview Grobe today.

Friday reset: Big names, big rumors

OK, this should be interesting. Two Alabama TV stations have conflicting reports about a couple of big names in the Auburn coaching search.

I wouldn't necessarily put too much stock into either of these reports.

• The Montgomery NBC affiliate says Auburn may (emphasis theirs) be close (emphasis mine) to offering South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier the job.

• The Mobile FOX affiliate says Auburn will likely name Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp as its head coach in a press conference today. (The site has since retracted the story following this statement by Muschamp released by the school: "I have not interviewed for any jobs. I'm not interested in any jobs. I'm happy here, my family loves Austin and I'm going to be at Texas."

That second one's a pretty bold report, considering Auburn hasn't made a peep about setting up a press conference today (and if school officials have already sealed the deal and are ready to present their coach, why wouldn't they want a media horde at that thing?).

Both are from anonymous sources, which we're finding out in coaching searches can be just about anybody professing to know a relative of a friend of a barber of the coach's wife. I think I've seen five or six reports claiming Auburn has made a hire, yet we're still chasing Jay Jacobs off airport tarmacs.

For what it's worth, Spurrier shot down questions about Auburn yesterday before a press conference for the Outback Bowl. Muschamp debunked rumors late last night in conversations with AuburnSports.com and AuburnUndercover.com.

So how will today's search unfold? Who knows? Maybe with another airport stakeout; probably not with an introductory press conference.

Then again, crazy things happen in coaching searches. We'll see how it all unfolds.

UPDATE: Muschamp made pretty emphatic denial to Tony Barnhardt of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution today.

"I have not talked to Auburn about this job and I have no interest in the job," said Muschamp. "I really don’t know what else to say. I’m going to stay at Texas until they fire me."

ESPN: Syracuse to hire Saints offensive coordinator

Apparently Auburn message board favorite Turner Gill isn't destined for Syracuse after all.

ESPN is reporting that Saints offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Doug Marrone has accepted the head coaching job at Syracuse. An announcement is expected Friday.

Interesting timing. Marrone and the Saints are taking on the Chicago Bears as I type this.

Marrone, who was a three-year letterman at Syracuse in the 1980s, reportedly interviewed with school officials two weeks ago.

Auburn releases Tuberville's resignation letter

Tommy Tuberville's resignation letter become public today. Here's what the Dec. 3 note entailed, according to an Associated Press report:

"This letter will confirm our recent conversations about my status as Head Football Coach. After long consideration, I have decided to resign. I understand that, notwithstanding my resignation, the University will make a total payment of $5,083,334 as outlined in Section 21 of my contract. I also understand that the structure and timing of the payments may be modified by mutual agreement.

"I deeply appreciate the opportunity to serve as Head Coach at Auburn and will continue to support Auburn's Athletic Program in any way I can."

Athletic director Jay Jacobs had a one-word response: "Agreed."

De plane! De plane! It's back from Fort Worth

Today had an interesting twist to the coaching search saga.

Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs made a trip to Fort Worth, Texas, today, presumably to interview TCU coach Gary Patterson. TCU and Auburn aren't commenting.

But a few crack reporters decided to stake out the Auburn-Opelika Airport. Jacobs and some of his advisers returned on flight from -- guess where? -- Fort Worth, Texas. On board were Jacobs, executive associate athletic director Tim Jackson, senior associate AD Mark Richard and radio sideline reporter Quentin Riggins, a former all-SEC linebacker at Auburn.

The plane landed at 5:54 and stopped on the tarmac. A brown SUV then drove out to pick them up and leave out of a secret airport exit. And here's the kicker! The crew drove off, only to return to the airport 15 minutes later to drop the party off so they could leave in their respective vehicles.

Riggins was the only one to offer a no comment.

Auburn is certainly going to great -- some would say ridiculous -- lengths to avoid any detection in this coaching search. The plane the group traveled in wasn't even an Auburn plane. It is registered to Warren Manufacturing Inc., a company based in Birmingham.

Very clever, Auburn. Very clever.

The game is on.

Holtz withdraws name from consideration at Syracuse

Another coach who might be entering the Auburn mix is East Carolina coach Skip Holtz, who withdrew his name from consideration for the Syracuse job today.

Here's his quote from the release:

"While it is always flattering for others to have an interest n your abilities, I simply am too focused on our preparations for the bowl game and many other of our short and long-term goals to fairly evaluate what I feel is a promising situation at Syracuse. I appreciate Syracuse's interest, but that cretainly is a direct reflection on what our players, coaches and the Pirate Nation have been able to accomplish, especially through a season that featured so much adversity."

Holtz is scheduled to be at a Liberty Bowl press conference today. I'll update with any comments he makes pertaining to the Auburn job.

ESPN: TCU's Patterson will interview

ESPN's Joe Schad is reporting that Auburn has arranged an interview with TCU coach Gary Patterson today. Still trying to seek confirmation on this from TCU.

Patterson is an interesting name. He's done about as well as you can at a non-BCS school, going 72-27 in eight years with the Horned Frogs.

A Kansas State grad, Patterson was hired by Dennis Franchione at TCU as his defensive coordinator in 1998. When Franchione left for Alabama in 2000, Patterson took his place.

Patterson's 10-2 Horned Frogs are preparing to play undefeated Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 23 in San Diego.

One voter's Heisman pick

Through a bizarre turn of events that probably included some sort of clerical error, I was awarded a Heisman Trophy vote this year. (Actually, the two voters Columbus had last year left for other papers, so I was given a vote in their place.)

Although I have voted for the Naismith Award in basketball, I've never voted for the Heisman. It seems like I picked a good year to join the fun.

Honestly, you couldn't go wrong if you picked any of this year's three frontrunners -- Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, Texas' Colt McCoy or Florida's Tim Tebow.

Two other players I considered briefly were Texas Tech's Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree. The Red Raiders' stinkbomb of a performance at Oklahoma certainly didn't help their cause. Harrell dropped off my radar because of that game. Looking closer at Crabtree, he didn't have as good of a season statistically as he did last year, so I kept him off my ballot (you get to vote for the top three places).

That left Bradford, McCoy and Tebow, all of whom have put up ridiculous numbers this year.

• Bradford: 302-443, 4,464 yards, 68.3%, 48 TD, 6 INT, 186.3 rating, 65 rushing yards, 5 TD
• McCoy: 291-375, 3,445 yards, 77.6%, 32 TD, 7 INT, 128 carries, 576 rushing yards, 10 TD
• Tebow: 174-268, 2,515 yards, 64.9%, 28 TD, 2 INT, 176.7 rating, 564 rushing yards, 12 TD

This is where it got tricky. Tebow's numbers aren't as great as the other two, but in 10 of 13 games this year, he played against a defense that was ranked in the top 37 nationally. Bradford only faced three defenses in the top 50. McCoy didn't face one ranked higher than 65th.

Now, I take that with a grain of salt. Are SEC defenses ranked so high because it was a brutal year for SEC offenses? Is the Big 12 really that big of a sieve on defense or are the numbers skewed because the conference has a class of quarterbacks that are truly outstanding?

Ultimately, this is what my ballot looked like:

1. Bradford
2. Tebow
3. McCoy

I went with Bradford for his consistently great production all season. The sophomore threw for more than 300 yards in all but two games. He had three or more touchdown passes in 10 games this year. And down the stretch, when Oklahoma needed to win -- and do so impressively to move up in the BCS -- he was nearly perfect, throwing for 1,378 yards, with 14 touchdowns and no interceptions in the Sooners' final four games, including a 34-for-49, 384-yard performance in the Big 12 title game.

You could argue that Bradford had more weapons at his disposal at Oklahoma than Tebow did at Florida and McCoy did at Texas, but I don't see why that should be a detriment. You play the hand you're dealt, and Bradford did it to near perfection.

Even in Oklahoma's one loss -- a 45-35 defeat to Texas -- he went 28-for-39 for 387 yards and five touchdowns. The Sooners defense lost that game. I don't hold that against him just like I don't hold it against McCoy that a safety dropped a sure interception that would have prevented Texas' only loss to Texas Tech.

Anyway, I can see the case for Tebow or McCoy as well and wouldn't argue against any voter that put either of them No. 1 on his or her ballot.

Tebow performed great down the stretch and was magnificent in the SEC title game. He did get off to a relatively slow start this year, though, and in a tight race like this, that hurt him a little bit in my opinion.

McCoy was every bit the passing and running threat that Tebow was and, as mentioned before, didn't have the same supporting cast as Bradford. Still, he played an even easier schedule than Bradford, who faced two tough non-conference defenses in TCU and Cincinnati. And despite facing practically the same Big 12 schedule, his stats, while amazing, aren't quite up to par with Bradford, who threw for 16 touchdown passes and over 1,000 yards more than McCoy, which I thought more than made up for McCoy's sizeable rushing advantage.

So there you have it. My reasoning for the Heisman.

Feel free to post your thoughts on how you would have voted and rip my reasoning to shreds.

Mississippi State tabs Florida OC as coach

Well, Mississippi State wrapped up its coaching search in a short 11 days, hiring Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen according to the Clarion-Ledger.

Mullen has been attached to Urban Meyer's side the last eight years, with Bowling Green, Utah and Florida, so he knows a thing or two about winning.

Interestingly, Mullen's name came up Sunday when Meyer admitted that Mississippi State made contact with the Florida assistant. Mullen denied any contact on Monday.

I would guess that's how this Auburn search will unfold, with the eventual hire denying any interest up until his introductory press conference.

Wednesday update: Graham in the mix

The Birmingham News reported late last night that Tulsa's Todd Graham interviewed with Auburn on Tuesday.

I'm trying to get verification on that, but it's probably not going to come from Graham. Check out this line from a Tulsa World article about Graham:

"Graham was asked on Sunday about speculation linking him to openings, and Graham said he would never address any speculation about jobs."

Graham is 27-13 in three years as a head coach, one at Rice and the last two at Tulsa. He was Tulsa's defensive coordinator with the Golden Hurricane under Steve Kragthorpe for three years before taking the Rice job.

So here's the list of supposed interviewees from Jay Jacobs' winter vacation to New York:

• Turner Gill, Buffalo head coach
• Brady Hoke, Ball State head coach (still unconfirmed)
  
• Derek Dooley, Louisiana Tech heaad coach
• Todd Graham, Tulsa head coach (still unconfirmed)
  
• Rodney Garner, Georgia assistant coach
• Patrick Nix, Miami offensive coordinator

I'm guessing Auburn will get to some of the varsity candidates in the near future.

Richt pulling for Garner

Props to fellow McClatchy writer David Hale of the Macon Telegraph for this story on Rodney Garner today from Athens. Apparently, Georgia coach Mark Richt is pulling hard for Garner to get the job.

"What a wonderful opportunity to be considered at your alma mater in the Southeastern Conference at a wonderful program like Auburn," Richt said. "I think it’s a tremendous honor for Rodney, and I think it’s a great compliment for Georgia, too.”

If Auburn is serious about pursuing Garner, Richt said he wouldn't interfere.

"You don’t get into any kind of battle,” Richt said. “You encourage and try to help in every way. Rodney’s been open with me in every opportunity he’s ever had, and this one, I’m more of a cheerleader right now. I want him to realize his dream if that’s possible.”

Dooley makes new statement

Instead of sticking to the week-old statement he made about the Mississippi State opening, Louisiana Tech coach/athletic director Derek Dooley made a new statement in a release from the school Tuesday evening in response to reports he had interviewed with Auburn:

"Obviously, representatives from Auburn spoke with many people around the annual National Football Foundation event. I was one of the many, but any further comment on this matter would be inappropriate at this time."

Small protest takes place at Auburn

I didn't head over to it today, but there was a small protest on Auburn's campus today about Tommy Tuberville's dismissal. Their main point: they believed the school forced the 10-year coach out and that he did not resign.

The Associated Press reported about 70 participants. On a campus that's roughly 24,000 people, that would account for 0.29% of the student body.

Here's the full AP story:

Auburn University students and alumni are protesting the school's treatment of former football coach Tommy Tuberville.

About 70 people marched to the president's mansion on the campus Tuesday. They said they came out to show support for Tuberville and to protest what they believe was his forced exit by university officials.

Protest organizer Taylor Jones of Montgomery said he believes Tuberville was forced to resign and that school officials haven't been truthful in saying the coach quit on his own.

During the protest, demonstrators chanted Tuberville's name, sang the school's fight song and said they planned to show up at the next trustee's meeting.

Mobile Register beat writer Evan Woodberry has an even better account on his blog.

Hoke changes course; Dooley reportedly interviews

The Muncie (Ind.) Star Press is reporting that Ball State coach Brady Hoke WILL in fact interview with Auburn, citing an anonymous source.

Hoke refuted an ESPN report that said he would interview for the job. The Muncie report said Hokie will interview with Auburn today. Athletic director Jay Jacobs is in New York at the College Hall of Fame proceedings, conducting interviews.

Hoke had a base salarly of $240,000 this year. He went 12-0 during the regular season and is a hot coaching name right now. I'm going to go out on a limb and say he gets a pretty good pay hike out of this.

(Interesting aside: Auburn hosts Ball State on Sept. 26 next year)

The Birmingham News is also reporting that Louisiana Tech coach/athletic director Derek Dooley interviewed with Jacobs today. Dooley is the son of Georgia coaching legend Vince Dooley, an Auburn alum.

The younger Dooley was a walk-on wide receiver at Virginia, finishing up in 1990. He started his coaching career as a GA at Georgia in 1996, coaching receivers at SMU from 1997-99 and getting hired by Nick Saban in 2000 at LSU, where he was recruiting coordinator/tight ends coach.

He left with Saban to join the Miami Dolphins in 2005, then took the head coaching gig at Louisiana Tech prior to the 2007 season. He's 12-12 in two years there.

Here's an e-mail from Louisiana Tech sent out today that is the same statement Dooley made last week when he was rumored to be a candidate for the Mississippi State job:

"There has been speculation that I am entertaining other head coaching jobs. I have not been interviewed or contacted by anyone at another university, and I have no intentions of leaving Louisiana Tech. My family and I are very happy in Ruston, and we look forward to continuing to build on the success that our program has achieved in a short time.”

Tuesday update: Catching up

A lot's happened in the Auburn coaching search so far. Here's a quick rundown of some candidates:

• Turner Gill, Buffalo head coach: Interviewed in New York with Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs for the job Monday.

• Rodney Garner, Georgia assistant: Also interviewed, had no comment about the proceedings.

• Patrick Nix, Miami offensive coordinator: Had talks with Auburn sometime before Monday, not considered a serious candidate for the job.

• Jimbo Fisher, Florida State head coach-in-waiting: Said he is "happy" at Florida State, did not flatly say he would not be Auburn's coach in 2009 while at Montgomery Quarterback Club on Monday.

• Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech head coach: Rumored to be a candidate, angling to get a raise in Atlanta.

• Houston Nutt, Ole Miss head coach: Rumored to be a candidate, has already gotten a big raise in Oxford.

• Brady Hoke, Ball State head coach: ESPN reported he would interview; he adamantly denied the report.

Jacobs has made only one public statement about the search so far to the Birmingham News, who has a reporter in New York for the College Football Hall of Fame gathering:

"We're going through this process as official as we can. We're going to do it the right way. We're not talking to anybody until we talk to their athletics director. That's the way we're going to do things. We'll continue to interview folks over the next few days. We'll be very thorough."

Fisher "happy" at FSU, doesn't completely put to rest Auburn rumors

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Just spoke with Florida State head coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher, who is scheduled to speak in front of the Montgomery Quarterback Club tonight (talk about timing).

To a group of reporters, he said there's nothing to any rumors about him seeking out Auburn or Auburn seeking out him to be its next football coach.

But he was especially careful with his words. At not point did he flat out say, "No," which is interesting. I'll post the full transcript of the conversation. You be the judge -- no interest or slyly dodging the questions:

Opening statement regarding the Auburn job
There’s nothing to talk about. I mean, Auburn’s a great place. I’ve always had such respect for it and I’ve loved my time there, but there has never been any contact from my aspect to Auburn or Auburn’s aspect to me, or with my agent. And it’s a moot point. I mean, I have a lot of respect for them and all that, but there’s nothing … everyone kept asking me down in Tallahassee, ‘Why don’t you make a statement?’ Well, you don’t make a statement when there’s nothing there. There’s no statement to make. And I wish them their best on their endeavors of where they’re going for a head coach, because it’s an outstanding program Like I said, there’s a lot of people I care about and a lot of good friends I have there. They’ll make a good choice, I know.

So you you can’t envision any scenario where you would be Auburn's coach in 2009?
"That has nothing to do with me. (laughs) I am very content to be at Florida State. I’m happy to be at Florida State. We’re a program that’s on the rise. We’re recruiting well. We improved from last season. I’m really looking forward to being there next year."

Would you listen if they contact you?
"I’m locked in to Florida State. I’ve got a job at Florida State."

How much longer will it be until you're a head coach?
"That’s a good question. It can be 1 to 2 years. When Coach Bowden wants to. You never know. Coach Bowden feels well. He’s very spry. He’s sharp as he ever was when you talk to him. That’ll be when he decides to step down."

Do you have conversations with Bobby Bowden about when you'll take his place?
"We really don't. We really don't. At times, he'll say, every now and then, 'Hey, I'm a little tired,' but we really haven't just sat down and had that conversation. And, I don't think it's appropriate for me to have that conversation with him, really. He's earned that right and I knew the circumstances going into the situation, so..."

Have a lot of people from Auburn been calling you?
"Oh yeah, a lot of people because they hear the same reports that everyone else does. And it's flattering. It really is to have a program that's as outstanding as Auburn with people thinking that, and your friends are saying they wish you'd come back. But that's always that way. Like I said, I've got a lot of very good friends of mine that still live in Auburn or are connected to Auburn. That was a great seven years that I was able to be there. Or was it six? It was seven. I don't even remember how many it was. That's a bad sign. I'm getting old already."

Is the head coach-in-waiting becoming more popular?
"I tell you what, it seems to be a hot topic. I've answered this before, I think a lot of that comes from when you actually go out and you start looking for a head coach, some people are either tied up contractually or people may not be what you see as the fit for your school and different things. When you go to interview a guy – I've always said this to be a head coach – if he hasn't been there before, you don't have the prior connection, how well do you really know him? How well do you really know that guy? I think what schools are seeing are that if they have an assistant that has the promise, that they can bring along, that knows the university, they know his values and principles and the things he believes, and you're with him on a day-to-day basis and you really know him, why would you not go ahead and mark him as the guy for the future and do it. For schools, it's actually the smarter thing and, a lot of time, it saves you money. Because a lot of times it keeps staff continuity. You don't have as many staff changes. When a new guy comes in and has no connections to the staff, it's rare that they keep many guys because they just aren't his people. So you have to pay those guys off, bring another group in. Now I think it's a thing in the future that ADs and presidents are going to see, it's a smart move. There's a lot of upsides to it"

When you scheduled this speaking engagement, did you realize how relevant it would be?
"This was made eight to 10 months ago. The timing of things is very ironic sometimes. I didn't even think about it until, I guess, the other day when they made the statement. When I was getting my schedule for this week, I saw I was going to speak in Montgomery and I said, 'Oh, this is going to go over really well.' It's always good to be popular. What do they say in Hollywood? 'It doesn't matter if it's good or bad as long as you're in the news?' It's very ironic that the timing of the whole thing worked out the way it did."

What was your reaction to Tommy Tuberville's departure?
"Sad. Because, I thought he did a really good job there, they've been successful there. But, you know, change is always inevitable. Today's time -- it's very much like kids. I mean, we all the quick fix and we want things to be right, and we want change for change sometimes. It's our society, and that's what we have to deal with. You get into coaching and now that there's large sums of money, things have changed, you're not going to have the patience. People ask me (about) Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno -- you'll probably never see that again. That's probably because of how much money and the way things are going in this business, and the way sports are going. And it's sad. I think Tommy did a good job. I've never known Tommy. They did a good job, and obviously it was very good for Auburn, but Auburn people thought it was time for a change. That's the way this business goes."

How do you feel about the support you've received from FSU's president and athletic director?
"Very good. It's very good because you'd rather be wanted than wanting you outta here (laughs). That's one thing Ive always tried to do in this business is be able to look people in the eye and tell them the truth, whether it's good or bad. That's what it means. Right now I'm very happy at Florida State and that's the way it is. It's very flattering to have your president and your head coach there to say we don't want him to go anywhere."

To ask again, are you interested in the Auburn job?
"I said there's nothing to be interested in, because I haven't made contact and they haven't made contact. I'm very happy at Florida State. That's where we plan to be."

You're still stopping short of saying no?
"You're reading way too much into it. I'm very happy here at Florida State. I'm very happy. "

Coleman, Marks named all-SEC

In some non-coach related news, Auburn defensive end Antonio Coleman was named to the Associated Press all-SEC football first team today, while defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks was an honorable mention.

Both juniors will have to make a decision about their NFL future in the near future.

Defensive tackles coach Don Dunn said earlier this week that he advised Marks to stay for another year.

"Personally, I told him from me, I don’t think he’s ready to come out," Dunn said. "I don’t think he had the type of year that he needed to to be a No. 1 draft choice. ... He needs to have a better year. He got hurt in the Vanderbilt game and didn’t have a very good year, and therefore we didn’t on the defensive line. I just think for himself, that he can really raise his stock up."

Here's the rest of the release from Auburn with Coleman's and Marks' stats:

• Coleman led Auburn with six sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss this season, and those numbers ranked tied for fifth and sixth in the SEC, respectively. He finished the season with 46 tackles (29 solo, 17 assists) and had a team-high 13 quarterback hurries, as well as a forced fumble and a pass break-up. He was named the SEC’s Defensive Lineman of the Week following Auburn’s 14-12 victory over Tennessee Sept. 27 after collecting four tackles including a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.

• It marked the third straight season that Auburn has had a defensive end named to the All-SEC first team, as Quentin Groves earned the honor in 2006 and 2007.

• Marks tied for 10th in the SEC with 10 tackles for loss, and finished the season with 32 tackles overall (15 solo, 17 assists). He also collected two quarterback sacks, two pass break-ups, two quarterback hurries and a blocked field goal.

FSU's Bowden: Fisher a "man of his word"

The Orlando Sentinel's Florida State beat writer Andrew Carter spoke with Seminoles head coach Bobby Bowden recently about the rumors surrounding head coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher and Auburn.

Here was Bowden's comment:

“Well, I don’t pay any attention to that. That’ll probably come up every year. That’ll probably come up every year, and most of it’s probably not even true. But I think Jimbo’s a man of his word and his plans are to stay at Florida and he told me that and he told our president that. And people write that stuff in there – they write that stuff in there like he’s not a man of his word, you know it. And we take him as a man of his word, so I don’t pay any attention to that.”

Fisher will speak at the Montgomery Quarterback Club tonight (oh, the timing!), where hopefully Fisher gives a more definitive answer about his future.

Hoke denies he'll meet with Auburn

Ball State coach Brady Hoke denied an ESPN report that said he'll meet with Auburn about its coaching vacancy, according to the Muncie Star Press.

"I'm not meeting with anybody," Hoke told The Star Press. "That report is false. No schools have contacted me."

ESPN ran across its ticker last night that Joe Schad was reporting the sixth-year Ball State coach would meet with Auburn sometime this week. There was no corresponding story with the news blip.

Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs, who is in New York for the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame function, is expected to interview Buffalo's Turner Gill in the next few days. Hoke was in New York to appear on The Late Show with David Letterman, a Ball State grad.

Hoke's Cardinals went 12-0 in the regular season before losing in the MAC championship to Buffalo, which is coached Turner Gill, who is slated to interview with Auburn sometime in the near future.

Hoke, who was a longtime Lloyd Carr assistant at Michigan, is 34-38 in six years at Ball State. But he got the Cardinals to their first bowl game in 11 years last season. Their 12 wins this season is a school record.

Fisher buyout would cost $5 million

According to an article in the Tallahassee Democrat today, the cost to buy out Florida State head coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher's contract is $5 million, not $2.5 as originally reported.

The school upped the amount after Fisher flirted with the vacany last year at West Virginia, where his mother still lives.

"We made it real clear this isn't momma. Last year was momma," FSU president T.K. Wetherell said. "And he got what he wanted in play-calling and (some other concerns)."

Fisher earned the head coach-in-waiting designation last December. If he is not the Seminoles' head coach by Jan. 11, 2011, FSU owes him $2.5 million.

Auburn already paid Tommy Tuberville a $5.1 million buyout and owes the coaches the money owed from the remainder of their contracts, a figure that's likely over $1 million. A big-name coach, Wetherall estimated, could command a contract in the neighborhood of $12 million.

"I don't think they have $25 million up there," Wetherell said.

Gill, Auburn to talk; Fisher hasn't made contact

Well, a lot happened on the coaching front while I was at what turned out to be an excellent SEC championship game.

Here's the rundown of three different development from a few different outlets:

• Turner Gill, who has completed one of the great reclamations in college football, taking Buffalo from the bottom of the FBS to MAC champions, will talk with Auburn after the school sought permission to speak to the third-year coach, according to the Buffalo News.

• Florida State head coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher told ESPN.com he has had no contact with Auburn and he is content to stay with the Seminoles. Fisher has been touted as the frontrunner for the Tigers' job. The Orlando Sentinel reported that Fisher will remove his name from consideration for the Auburn job.
  

• Paul Johnson might parlay the buzz surrounding his name into a better contract at Georgia Tech, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Discussions will take place this week. to increase the first-year coach's seven-year deal, which pays him an average of $1.6 million per season. It seems like a lot of coaches -- Johnson, Houston Nutt, Mike Leach -- are going to get raises because of Auburn's vacancy.
  

A long list of coaching names

It's only been a few days, but Auburn's football coaching search has already taken several twists and turns.

Right now, it appears like there's a lot of behind the scenes talks going on. Nobody wants to say anything publicly on both sides until they've sent out some feelers for a job.

These things usually have plenty of dead-ends and red herrings before a viable candidate really emerges. Already, Mike Leach, Houston Nutt and now Jimbo Fisher have worn the crown as frontrunner, and I don't know how serious that is.

Leach and Nutt already got better contract offers from their own schools. Fisher, like Nutt, is a Jimmy Sexton client. Who knows what he's up to?

Anyway, my editor asked me to put together a list of names for tomorrow's paper with some positives and negatives for each coach. Here's tomorrow's news today, to steal a phrase from the O-A News' blog-tastic beat writer Andrew Gribble.

I'll be at the SEC Championship game in Atlanta today, so I don't know how much I'll be able to update throughout the day. But if anything major happens, it'll be up here.

Jimbo Fisher, Florida State head coach designate

• Age: 43
• Background: Former Auburn and LSU assistant is now Bobby Bowden’s successor at FSU.
• Why it makes sense: He knows the SEC and, more importantly, has plenty of relationships at Auburn, a school that prides itself on tradition.
• Why it doesn’t: He’s got a good gig at school that could be a football powerhouse already lined up. Plus, it would cost $2.5 million to buy him out of his current deal.

Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech head coach

• Age: 51
• Background: Former head coach at Georgia Southern and Navy.
• Why it makes sense: Johnson’s triple option flexbone offense would be a good fit at Auburn, which historically has prided itself at running the ball. Former Tigers coach Pat Dye is apparently a fan.
• Why it doesn’t: He’s only one year into his contract at Georgia Tech. It might be too soon to make another move.

Gary Patterson, TCU head coach

• Age: 48
• Background: Kansas State grad and one-time TCU defensive coordinator succeeded Dennis Franchione in 2000.
• Why it makes sense: With a 72-27 record in nine years, he’s one of the most successful coaches not currently at a BCS conference.
• Why it doesn’t: If he didn’t leave for his alma mater Kansas State, why would he leave for a place at which he has no connections like Auburn?

Derek Dooley, Louisiana Tech head coach

• Age: 40
• Background: Nick Saban assistant at LSU and for the NFL’s Miami Dolphins
• Why it makes sense: He’s got good lineage as the son of legendary Georgia coach and athletic director Vince Dooley, an Auburn grad who is sure to still have connections.
• Why it doesn’t: He’s 12-12 in his only two years as a head coach, meaning he could use a little more seasoning. Moving to Auburn would be a huge leap.

Todd Graham, Tulsa head coach

• Age: 44
• Background: After one year at Rice, the former Tulsa defensive coordinator returned to replace Steve Kragthorpe.
• Why it makes sense: Graham’s been successful at every stop, turning around Rice in a year and winning two C-USA division titles in as many years at Tulsa.
• Why it doesn’t: With only three years as a head coach under his belt, moving to the SEC would be a major jump.

Hot, purely speculative names

Turner Gill, Buffalo head coach

• Age: 46
• Background: Tom Osborne disciple coached quarterbacks for over a decade at Nebraska.
• Why it makes sense: Auburn could get in on the ground level with an up-and-comer in the industry who took the Bulls from 2-10 to MAC champions in three years at Buffalo.
• Why it doesn’t: He has limited head coaching experience (three years) and no ties to the SEC, a major demerit for a school that doesn’t usually leave the South for its hires.

Chris Peterson, Boise State head coach

• Age: 44
• Background: Former offensive coordinator continued what Dan Hawkins started at Boise State.
• Why it makes sense: He’s gone 35-3 in three years as a head coach, leading as innovative and effective of an offense as there is in the country.
• Why it doesn’t: Almost every job he’s ever had has been on the West Coast, and he doesn’t seem to be all too eager to leave Boise right now.

Brian Kelly, Cincinnati head coach

• Age: 47
• Background: Former Grand Valley State and Central Michigan head coach.
• Why it makes sense: He’s a proven winner with experience, accumulating a 157-56-2 record in 19 years, leading the Bearcats to the Big East title in just his third year.
• Why it doesn’t: He’s stated his desire to stay at Cincinnati for the time being after his name was floated at Notre Dame when Charlie Weis was on the rocks.

Jim Grobe, Wake Forest head coach

• Age: 56
• Background: Former Marshall and Air Force assistant’s first head coaching job was at Ohio.
• Why it makes sense: He has resurrected lifeless programs at Ohio and Wake Forest with limited resources. Imagine what he could do at a school like Auburn, which gives its football program carte blanche.
• Why it doesn’t: His name pops up every year for coaching vacancies, yet he seems quite content overachieving at Wake Forest.

The lesser knowns

Brady Hoke, Ball State head coach

• Age: 49
• Background: Served as a defensive assistant for Lloyd Carr at Michigan for eight years.
• Why it makes sense: He’s a hot prospect after taking Ball State from the dregs of the MAC to a 12-0 regular season record and its first appearance in the polls this year.
• Why it doesn’t: Hoke certainly wouldn’t be a splashy hire for a school that’s trying to keep pace in a conference full of big-name coaches.

Charlie Strong, Florida defensive coordinator

• Age: 48
• Background: Defensive assistant for Florida, Notre Dame and South Carolina
• Why it makes sense: Strong knows the South, having spent 16 of the last 20 years in SEC country, and, despite being overshadowed, his defenses are usually among the conference’s best.
• Why it doesn’t: He’s never been a full-time head coach, serving on an interim basis for only one game at Florida after Ron Zook left for Illinois.

Tim Brewster, Minnesota head coach

• Age: 48
• Background: Worked for Mack Brown at North Carolina and Texas
• Why it makes sense: Brewster can recruit with anyone, having secured Vince Young at Texas and shocking most analysts by somehow landing a top-25 recruiting class at
  Minnesota in his first year.
• Why it doesn’t: His teams’ on-field performance hasn’t matched his recruiting prowess. His Golden Gophers are 8-16 in two years, going in the tank after a 7-1 start this season.

Biggest names, longest shots

Will Muschamp, Texas head coach designate

• Age: 37
• Background: Former LSU and Auburn defensive coordinator.
• Why it makes sense: Along with having ties to Auburn, he’s young, energetic and fiery – one of the top rising stars in the coaching ranks.
• Why it doesn’t: For all those reasons, the Longhorns locked him up as Mack Brown’s successor. Leaving an elite football school like Texas doesn’t make much sense.

Mike Leach, Texas Tech head coach

• Age: 47
• Background: Hal Mumme protégé rewrote record books as offensive coordinator at Iowa Wesleyan, Valdosta State, Kentucky and Oklahoma.
• Why it makes sense: If you’re going to modernize your offense, Leach and his Air Raid offense would certainly bring a radical approach to things.
• Why it doesn’t: He doesn’t seem like he would be a good fit in the SEC, where his quirks wouldn’t fly as much as they do on the wind-swept plains of Lubbock, Texas.

Bobby Petrino, Arkansas head coach

• Age: 47
• Background: Former Auburn offensive coordinator held head jobs with Louisville and the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
• Why it makes sense: If it weren’t for Jetgate, he might already be the Tigers’ long-tenured coach. This could be his chance to claim the job he once wanted.
• Why it doesn’t: There is the little matter of the SEC West non-compete clause in his contract, which, while probably not ironclad, would cost him a fortune to break.

Butch Davis, North Carolina head coach

• Age: 57
• Background: Former head coach of Miami and the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.
• Why it makes sense: Auburn would be a step up from a basketball school like North Carolina and could be a better opportunity to win the national championship he never got at Miami.
• Why it doesn’t: After two years, he’s finally to the point where his teams can compete in the ACC. Why would he bail after going through all that hard work?

Steve Spurrier, South Carolina head coach

• Age: 63
• Background: Former head coach of Duke, Florida and the NFL’s Washington Redskins
• Why it makes sense: He’s often lamented South Carolina’s second-tier status in the competitive SEC. A move to Auburn would certainly give him a better chance to win.
• Why it doesn’t: At 63, he’s not a spring chicken. One has to wonder if the old ball coach has the drive to take another SEC team to the top.

Nutt gets extension, $2.5 million per year

The Houston Nutt-to-Auburn saga lasted barely one day after the Ole Miss coach agreed to an extension with the Rebels that will pay him around $2.5 million a year.

“What we want to do is keep our coaching salaries competitive and in the middle of the pack in the Southeastern Conferece,” UM athletic director Pete Boone told the Clarion-Ledger.

Funny, that was almost exactly what Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said Thursday afternoon.

Dunn, several coaches will continue to recruit

Just spoke with defensive tackles coach Don Dunn today and he said he will continue to hit the recruiting trail for Auburn, despite head coach Tommy Tuberville's resignation.

"This is all personal right now," Dunn said. "This is something that Don Dunn wants to do and hopefully can do for a few weeks or whatever until they get a new guy.

"I just think it’s something to reassure those kids that we’ve been recruiting this whole time. We built up relations with them. We think it’s fair to them and to Auburn University to continue to try to tell them what’s going on, be patient, don’t do anything without thinking about it or seeing who they hire.

"You may really like the new staff, the new head coach and feel comfortable, but don’t do anything, because you’ve got plenty of time. You’ve got until February. But a lot of these guys, we’re worried about them jumping ship or whatever without listening. We’re just out there to reassure them basically. ‘Hey, everything is going to be all right. Give whoever comes in a new chance.’"

According to AuburnSports.com, linebackers coach James Willis, running backs coach Eddie Gran, wide receivers coach Greg Knox, defensive ends coach Terry Price and tight ends coach Steve Ensminger will continue to make recruiting trips as well. None of them were in their offices at the Auburn athletic complex Friday afternoon.

Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads will continue to makes calls to recruits but not go on trips. He was seen at the athletic complex Friday packing up boxes from his office, but left before being reached for comment.

Offensive line coach Hugh Nall already has another job lined up, according to AuburnSports.com. His is the only nameplate that is removed from the offices in the coaches hallway.

The assistant coaches are being paid through June. Rhoads will be paid for all of 2009.

Dunn, who had been with Tuberville for 14 years, going back to his time at Ole Miss, said this week's been hard. He's spoken with Tuberville only briefly.

"We haven’t really sat down and said, ‘Hey, why did you do this? What happened? How do you feel?’" Dunn said. "We don’t talk about stuff like that."

One other intersting thing to note: Dunn has advised junior DT Sen'Derrick Marks to return for another season at Auburn.

"I’ve told Sen’Derrick, I’ll support you whatever you do," Dunn said. "Personally, I told him from me, I don’t think he’s ready to come out. I don’t think he had the type of year that he needed to to be a No. 1 draft choice.

"I could be dead wrong because they’re going to have to evaluate him through the pros. I don’t know what his evaluation will be. But selfishly, I’ve told him to stay in school and come back for another year, unless he was a first-rounder or something like that."

Marks, who had 10 tackles for a loss and two sacks this season, was bothered by two injured ankles for half the season, which could make his draft stock slip.

"He needs to get stronger," Dunn said. "He needs to have a better year. He got hurt in the Vanderbilt game and didn’t have a very good year, and therefore we didn’t on the defensive line. I just think for himself, that he can really raise his stock up."

Nutt denies contact with Auburn, working on extension at Ole Miss

Amid reports that he is a candidate for the vacant Auburn job, Houston Nutt is working out a contract extension with Ole Miss, according to the Associated Press.

Nutt denies having made any contact with Auburn, according to the Clarion-Ledger.

"It's just rumors," Nutt said. "That's all it is. I've had absolutely no contact with Auburn."

Ole Miss' Nutt enters the picture

The buzz today is that Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt is being strongly considered for the Auburn job, according to several media outlets.

Nutt is an interesting candidate. He obviously knows the region, having coached in SEC for 11 years (at Arkansas from 1998-07 and at Ole Miss last year). He has an offensive background, if that's what Auburn is trying to emphasize with this hire. And he's had success, going 75-48 at Arkansas and 8-4 in his first season with Ole Miss.

BUT, is he a splashy hire? His career SEC record is 47-41. He did make three SEC title game appearances (1998, 2002, 2006) but never won a conference championship. How is he that much different from Tommy Tuberville?

Nutt, who reportedly met with Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone and school chancellor Robert Khayat today, made $1.7 million in the first year of a four-year contract that is supposed to increase by $100,000 next year. The question now is all this just posturing to get a raise from Ole Miss? In football coaching searches, you can never tell.

Jacobs on Tiger Talk radio

Athletic director Jay Jacobs sounded weary on Tiger Talk, a weekly call-in radio show Thursday night, answering the same questions he had for about the 100th time.

There were a few interesting things he added to the discussion that weren't really brought up before:

• On Tuesday, Tommy Tuberville presented Jacobs with some ideas for an offensive coordinator. Here's Jacobs' take of that discussion: "When he got through with that, he said, 'What do you want me to do?' I said, 'I want you to do whatever you think is best.' I was thinking he was thinking about the coordinators. I didn't know. He said, 'Ten years is a long time.' He said he would talk to (his wife) Suzanne and think about it. He came back yesterday and said he thought the best thing for him and his family was to resign."

• Jacobs met with Auburn's players Thursday evening. Strength and conditioning coach Kevin Yoxall led the meeting. "What a great group of guys," Jacobs commented. Jacobs said some players asked what they could do to help out recruiting.

• Jacobs said this about who he will eventually hire to be the new coach: "We know what he's going to look like. We just don't know his name."

• He said he keeps a list of coaching candidates for every sport, not just football. When things went down Wednesday, he contacted Bill Carr of CARR Sports Associates, Inc., a Florida-based firm that consults on coaching searches. Carr told Jacobs, "I already heard." Jacobs, who used Carr's services during the search for a baseball coach last spring, responded, "Go to work."

Thursday video: Jacobs and Bosley speak

Here's some (sometimes shaky) footage from today's press conference. It's about 12 minutes of athletic director Jay Jacobs and two minutes of center Jason Bosley.

Players react to Tuberville's firing

Two players were made available following athletic director Jay Jacobs's press conference. Here's some of their comments:

Center Jason Bosley

• On finding out about Tommy Tuberville's decision

"I was pretty upset about it. I love Coach Tuberville. He gave me the chance to come play here at Auburn and start here for two and a half years, and really just accomplish my dream as a football player. Obviously, I was upset when I found out."

• On yesterday's meeting where Tuberville informed the team of his decision

"It was very emotional. Coach Tuberville loves his players and he made sure we knew that. He told us how he was always going to be pulling for us. He wanted everyone to make sure they got their degree and were successful. He said he wasn’t going to disappear and that we’d still see him and he told us he loved us. It was tough, though."

• On if his decision was out of the blue

"You hear all kinds of rumors and things like that, but I just think that’s the way college football is today. One day they love you and the next day it’s cut throat. It happens all over the country and I think that’s just the harsh reality that hit everybody when we found out the news. It’s just tough."

• On how hard it was to see Tuberville get emotional during the team meeting

"It was probably one of the toughest things I’ve had to do in a long time, to see a man who’s been your leader like that for five years struggle. It just shows how much he really cared about us and this program and just the kind of man he is. He’s a great man."

Cornerback Jerraud Powers

• On if he had any idea this was coming

"No, not really. We heard a lot of rumors from the fans, but we don’t go to the coaches just asking because that’s not our job and it’s something we can’t control. As the players, we can only do so much, and that’s just to go to school and play football. We heard a lot of rumors, but we weren’t expecting a big boom like this to happen. When it comes to the coaching profession, it’s a business and it happens."

• On what the hardest thing of a coaching transition is

"I think the hardest thing is figuring out who the next coach is going to be, and it’s sort of like a guessing game now. But again, that’s just something we can’t control. Right now, we’re starting off-season workouts and all we can do is come to workouts and try to get better, and whoever we decide to hire is going to come in and do their job."

• On if he noticed any burnout in Tuberville this season

"Not at all. Coach Tuberville took a lot of blame for the losses, as any coach would do, but the only thing he could do was coach. We are the players out there playing and Coach Tuberville didn’t run one ball, catch one pass, or score one touchdown; the only thing he could do was call plays and coach. So as players, we took the blame for that. We thank Coach Tuberville a lot for taking up for us, and him taking the blame as the coach. But as players, we took a lot of blame for it and felt that it was unfair that the heat was coming on him and not on us."

• On if Tuberville's decision affects whether or not he, DE Antonio Coleman or DT Sen'Derrick Marks forgo their senior season and enter the NFL Draft

"No, I don’t think so at all. Just like Coach Tuberville did what’s best for him and his family in his situation, we have to do the same for ourselves. We’re not going to let what goes on with something we can’t control affect our decision. The only thing we can do is to do what’s best for us and our family."

Jacobs: 'We will not limit oursevles to anyone'

Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs held a press conference where he answered questions about head football coach Tommy Tuberville's resignation.

Here's a quick breakdown before I get something up more substantial.

• Jacobs, Tuberville and school president Dr. Jay Gogue met Monday. Meetings between Jacobs and Tuberville continued through the week. Tuberville told him he wanted to resign Wednesday.

• The school agreed to pay Tuberville's buyout even though it was no obligated to because "I thought it was the right thing to do," Jacobs said.

• Jacobs had a 5-minute conversation with CARR Sports Associates, Inc., a firm that specializes in aiding coaching searches.

• Jacobs on the search: "We will not limit ourselves to anyone."

• No contact has been made with Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, to the best of Jacobs' knowledge.

• If Tuberville did not resign, would he still be the football coach. "Absolutely," Jacobs said. "Absolutely."

• Jacobs said, to his knowledge, no contact has been made with any coaching candidates.

• He stressed again that no university money will be used for Tuberville's buyout.

• Jacobs said he asked Tuberville three times to stay, relaying a similar message from Gogue. They met. Gogue told Tuberville if he didn't want to coach, he wanted him to still be a member o the Auburn family.

• Jacobs on Tuberville: "He's a great ambassador for Auburn."

• No mandate was given to fire any members of the coaching staff.

• Jacobs on Tuberville's plan to get the program going back in the right direction: "I said, 'Tommy, we've been visiting for two weeks and you haven't said anything about this.' And he said, 'I've been thinking about it for a long time.' He never moved forward with that plan with me.

• The 36-0 loss in the Iron Bowl didn't weigh into the decision.

• On if there is a timeline to make a hire: "We want to be efficient and as quick as we possibly can, but we’re not going to rush to judgment."

• Jacobs denied the Board of Trustees played any role in the discussions.

• Jacobs stressed the need to be competitive in the SEC and on a national scale but said that didn't affect Tuberville's situation: "Certainly, we would have liked to have gone to the SEC Championship games more but his winning percentage is like 68 percent in the last 10 years. We were very pleased with where we were competitively.

• Assistants will be paid the remainder of their six-month contracts. Coordinators will have their full 12-month contracts paid.

• Jacobs said he offered to let Tuberville out of the buyout if he wanted to take another job. Tuberville declined.

• Was there ever a time Jacobs thought Tuberville was not the man for the job? "Never a time. Monday morning in our prior conversations, I asked Tommy, 'How much longer do you want to do this?' He said five years. He said he'd like to get one of his sons through high school. Monday morning, in the conversation with the President and Tommy, I told the President, 'Tommy wants to be here five years. My goal is to get him through five years.'"

Back at Auburn: The Aftermath

I'm back at Auburn's athletic complex awaiting an 11 a.m. CST press conference with athletic director Jay Jacobs, who should face some interesting questions.

I've seen several assistants in the building, including running backs coach Eddie Gran, tight ends coach Steve Ensminger, wide receivers coach Greg Knox, offensive line coach Hugh Nall and defensive line coach Don Dunn. Some were casually packing up some things in their offices.

Word from Auburn yesterday is that the assistants will be paid their salaries through June. The coordinators -- which in this case would include Paul Rhoads and Tony Franklin -- will be paid through 2009.

I'll update once Jacobs speaks.

First fallout: Four recruits back out of commitments

The good folks at Rivals.com are always on top of the recruiting scene, having contacted all of Auburn's recruits in the wake of Tommy Tuberville's firing.

The list so far who have de-committed:

2009 class
Montez Robinson, 4-star DE from Avon, Ind.
David Conner, 3-star S from Batesville, Miss.
Terrance Coleman, 3-star DT from Mobile, Ala.

2010 class
B.J. Chitty, ATH from Dothan, Ala., the first player to commit for 2010

A purely speculative list of coaching names

A very serious warning in advance: this IS NOT a confirmed list of candidates for the Auburn job.

It is merely a bunch of interesting names I've seen bandied about the last couple days and reasons these coaches may or may not want the job.

Read at your own risk and draw your own conclusions.

Will Muschamp, Texas defensive coordinator: The former Auburn assistant was recently named as Mack Brown's head coach-in-waiting at Texas, where he is in his first year. That assured him a hefty pay bump ($900,000/year) and the assurance that he could take over one of the most storied programs in the nation. But Brown has said he's not close to retiring, so Muschamp might have to wait a while to wear the crown. Auburn would give him a opportunity right away.

Mike Leach, Texas Tech head coach: The Air Raid innovator has already visited with Washington and reportedly has had contact with somebody from Auburn. He's out there (I highly recommend reading this New York Times magazine piece by "Moneyball" author Michael Lewis about Leach's unique personality, including his fascination with pirates), but he's also an offensive genius. If a program is interested in offense, he's the man (and Donald Trump will vouch for him). The question is if his quirks will fly in a rabid football conference like the SEC.

Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech head coach: On the other end of the offensive spectrum is Johnson, the former Navy head man whose triple option flexbone harkens back to Auburn's days as a storied running power (which wasn't that long ago if you think about it). The offense has worked in the ACC, which, despite the lack of a clear national title contender, is a defensive-minded conference that is tough top to bottom. Johnson is in the first year of a 7-year, $11 million contract with the Yellow Jackets. A move to Auburn could mean a big pay bump.

Jimbo Fisher, Florida State offensive coordinator: Another head coach-in-waiting, Fisher has been named the successor to legendary Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden, who, despite being 79 years old, doesn't appear like he's ever going to step aside. Fisher was once an Auburn assistant, coaching quarterbacks from 1993-98 under Terry Bowden. He's another strong offensive mind, but he has a $2.5 million buyout to his coach-in-waiting clause. Would Auburn, which would likely have to pay a portion of that, want to spend even more cash than it already is in this process.

Bobby Petrino, Arkansas head coach: Don't laugh. OK, laugh. But Petrino once expressed a desire to coach on the Plains and still might. He's got a wandering eye. We know that. It's in his character. And though he has a no-compete clause with any school in the SEC West, as we've seen time and time again in college football, contracts are meant to be broken. As a college coach, Petrino's success is beyond reproach. He is 46-16 at Louisville and Arkansas. It would likely take a lot of cash. Petrino's contract at Arkansas pays him $2.85 million a year.

Turner Gill, Buffalo head coach: One of the up-and-comers in the coaching profession, Gill has taken an unwinnable situation at Buffalo and made it tenable. The 46-year-old Gill is 14-21 with the Bulls but went 7-5 this year, leading the school to what will be its first bowl appearance in school history. Gill has good lineage, having played and coach under famed Nebraska coach Tom Osborne. If Auburn is looking to get in on the ground floor of a rising star, Gill could be the guy.

Brian Kelly, Cincinnati head coach: Kelly is one of the hot names on the coaching market right now, rumored to have been in contention at Notre Dame if it decided to cut ties with Charlie Weis. The 47-year-old recently said he was happy at Cincinnati, which has pledged to upgrade its stadium and practice facilities. But that kind of promise -- from both sides -- rarely holds any water in college football. Kelly is157-56-2 in a 19-year coaching career that has spanned three schools -- Grand Valley State, Central Michigan and Cincinnati. He led the Bearcats to their first outright Big East title this season.

Those are some of the main names that have been out there, even though some of them are a little far-fetched (Muschamp and Petrino especially).

Any other obvious ones I missed? Let me know.

It's official: Tuberville has resigned

Word has officially come down from Auburn that head coach Tommy Tuberville resigned today. He will still receive the buyout portion of his contract, reportedly worth $6 million.

"The last 10 years have been a great time in my life, both professionally and personally," Tuberville said in a release from the school. "It’s been a great place to coach and live, and we’ve had a lot of success along the way. I’m going to remain in Auburn and help the Auburn family however I can. I’m very appreciative of the coaches, players, staff and Auburn fans over the last decade."

Here's a rundown of today's events:

• Tuberville and athletic director Jay Jacobs met for the third straight day to discuss the future of the program. At some point, they left the athletic complex together, returning around 3:30 p.m. and heading directly to Tuberville's office.

• Several media members standing in the hallway to Tuberville and Jacobs' adjacent offices were politely asked to leave. Auburn sports information director Kirk Sampson then closed the doors to the hallways for the first time this week.

• Less than a half hour later, the Birmingham News was the first to report that Tuberville was out as head coach.

• Tuberville finally emerged from the meeting and went to running backs coach Eddie Gran to inform several team employees about his decision.

• Players were called to the athletic complex auditorium for a 6 p.m. meeting, where Tuberville informed them of his decision. None of them came out looking very pleased.

• Auburn's media relations staff was adamant in cutting off access to any players today. Two seniors who would seem to not be under their umbrella -- offensive linemen Tyronne Green and Jason Bosley -- chose not to comment. Green said, "Not today."

• Tuberville and Jacobs left having made no direct comment to the media, only being quoted in a release from the school.

• Tigers assistant coaches who were on the road were recalled. Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads had just arrived on an Auburn University plane in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for a recruiting trip. The plane was immediately scheduled to return to Auburn.

• A noon EST press conference with Jacobs has been called today. It is closed to the public.

• The foremost recruiting sites -- Rivals.com and Scout.com -- are already reporting that several 2009 and 2010 recruits have decommitted. That group includes DB David Conner and DE Terrance Coleman, nephew of current Auburn junior DE Antonio Coleman.

• Birmingham News scoop reporter Charles Goldberg says Tuberville's buyout is actually $5.1 million, a prorated amount of the $6 million that has been reported throughout the year.

• Auburn will honor the contracts of the assistant coaches, paying them up through June.

Two interesting facts that don't have much to do with anything.

1. Tuberville's official reign as the dean of SEC coaches lasted all of four days. It started once Phil Fulmer's time at Tennessee was officially up Saturday.
2. Alabama coach Nick Saban has quite a hit list this year. Four teams he has beaten have gotten rid of their coaches -- Clemson (Tommy Bowden), Tennessee (Phil Fulmer), Mississippi State (Sylvester Croom) and now Auburn.

Tuberville out after 10 years at Auburn

Scoop from the Birmingham News' Charles Goldberg is that Tommy Tuberville is out at Auburn. There is no word as to whether he was fired or left voluntarily.

If fired, Tuberville would be owed a $6 million buyout.

Tuberville met with athletic director Jay Jacobs this afternoon and has not emerged from his office.

An official announcement could come this afternoon.

UPDATE (4:40 p.m.): In the last 10 minutes, Tuberville came out of a meeting with some team personnel in running back coach Eddie Gran's office. Several people emerged, all with cell phones in their hands dialing.

UPDATE (5:12 p.m.): A handful of players have trickled into the Auburn athletic complex, all looking very glum. Apparently there is a team meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. No sign of Tuberville or Sports Information Director Kirk Sampson, who will obviously have a more official statement from the school.

UPDATE (6:20 p.m.): Players gathered in the team conference room for four minutes, where Tuberville informed them that he was no longer coach.

Players were instructed not to make any comments to media as they left the building. Two seniors -- guard Tyronne Green and Jason Bosley -- who would not seem to still be under the umbrella of the staff declined to comment as well. Asked if he had a comment, Green said, "Not today."

Still, no official announcement has been made by the school.

Jacobs back in building, in Tuberville's office

Athletic director Jay Jacobs came back to the athletic complex in the last 15 minutes and went directly into Tommy Tuberville's office.

More once they emerge. (Hopefully.)

Jacobs arrives, process continues to drag on

Athletic director Jay Jacobs arrived back at the athletic complex and remarked to one beat reporter that he would like to set up some kind of information relaying system so we wouldn't have to camp out in the lobby. (BTW, he made a similar suggestion last night.)

I don't know what this means, but it doesn't sound good in terms of this situation wrapping up any time soon.

Tommy Tuberville was here at one point. I'm not sure if he is currently at the athletic complex.

Tuberwatch enters Day 3

I've set up shop once again at the Auburn athletic complex waiting on any word about head coach Tommy Tuberville's future with school. I wisely brought my iPod today. I hope the battery lasts long enough.

I've seen Paul Rhoads and Eddie Gran in their offices. Any report that all the coaches have been fired is clearly premature.

No news on if Tuberville has had any meeting with athletic director Jay Jacobs yet.

More later.

Jacobs wants resolution this week; more meetings await

Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs finally emerged from his office after an evening meeting with associate athletic director/compliance Bernard Hill and had little to offer in new news about the situation regarding Tommy Tuberville's status.

"Tommy and I met this morning and we'll meet again over the next couple days and we'll let you know how it goes," Jacobs said. "That's really it."

Tuesday was the second day of postseason meetings between the coach and athletic director to discuss the future of the program, and whether it involves Tuberville.

Jacobs said he's like to have a resolution to the situation this week.

"We'll just have to see," he said.

Asked if he thought there was concern that the delay on a decision was hurting the program, Jacobs simply shook his head.

Tuberville, who has coached 10 years at Auburn, is signed through 2013, but his future came into question after a 5-7 season that concluded with a 36-0 loss to Alabama in the Iron Bowl on Saturday. The Tigers failed to make a bowl game for the first time since 1999.

Tuberville currently a $6 million buyout to his contract.

Still nothing big to report

Eleven hours and all I got was this lousy blog post.

Tommy Tuberville left the athletic complex long ago, around 3:30 or 4 p.m., going out the back way before anyone could ask him for a comment. Athletic director Jay Jacobs is still in his office with a throng of reporters waiting for him to emerge.

Auburn spokesman Kirk Sampson came out of Jacbos' office about a half hour ago and said he had no update for reporters tonight. It appears this rain dance will continue for a while longer.

Tuesday update: Talks resume, no news yet

Talks between head coach Tommy Tuberville and athletic director Jay Jacobs have resumed at the Auburn athletic complex today, but no news has emerged yet.

The team had its usual end-of-season meeting this morning that was unrelated to the ongoing talks about Tuberville's future with the program.

The big news today? The fire alarm went off. I thought it might be a smokescreen for Tuberville and Jacobs to leave their meeting. Alas, it was a test of the system. Maybe they aren't trying to be THAT secretive about this meeting.

And so we wait ... and wait and wait and wait.

Hopefully something -- anything -- emerges from today's round of meetings.

More later.

UPDATE: Tuberville, Jacobs and Gogue DID meet Monday

Just received word from Auburn spokesman Kirk Sampson that head coach Tommy Tuberville did in fact have his annual postseason meeting with athletic director Jay Jacobs and school president Dr. Jay Gogue today.

Jacobs and Tuberville will continue to have conversations in the next few days to "discuss Coach Tuberville's plan to make improvements for the program moving forward under his leadership," according to Sampson.

That sounds like an endorsement for Tuberville staying on as coach, but why not definitively come out and say it?

There are clearly some more hurdles before Jacobs or Gogue will fully commit to announcing Tuberville is their man for 2009.

Stay tuned tomorrow.

Monday update: No news on Tuberville

The news coming from the Auburn athletic complex Monday was no news.

Head coach Tommy Tuberville was in the building today, dressed formally with a tie, but apparently did not have his postseason review with athletics director Jay Jacobs and school president Dr. Jay Gogue today.

Jacobs was in the building Monday.

A sign posted on the front door of the complex stated that there was a team meeting tomorrow at 8 a.m. That could, however, just be a regular postseason meeting the team does every year.