Welcome to another addition of ADOTQBB. Our musical appearance for today comes from Aaron Lewis and Staind. As Aaron would say, “Its been awhile… since I first saw you.” It has indeed been awhile, but it is great to be back with you all on the beat. ADOTQBB correctly predicted “Michigan State guy” would be the signal caller for our beloved Auburn Tigers. ADOTQBB also predicted a 6-6 record which is certainly on the table if not probable. ADOTQBB did not expect the offense to be overly capable, but we certainly expected evidence of competence in intervals. The year is only half over. There is still time.
With the Harsin era behind us, the hope - of some - was that he would take his drama to Boise with him. It appears Auburn may be the hub of Power 5 football drama - to the delight of others. In what is becoming a tradition uniquely Auburn, a popular African American coach has departed mid-season under circumstances that are far from clear. How could this happen? Let’s dig in.
Fred “Crime Dog” McGriff is known as a dogged recruiter and capable defensive back coach. He was hired away from Ole Miss by Brother Hew Freeze to coach cornerbacks. McGriff has a track record of success and a resume that could land him at any Power 5 school he wished. Fred is likely ready for a jump to a coordinator position which ADOTQBB believes, in part, lead to his mid-season departure.
Speaking of defensive coordinators, Schmeddy’s replacement came from some place that does not matter and should have never been allowed to set foot on The Plains. Schmeddy’s replacement has all the trappings of Phillip Marshall in Bike coaching shorts. While his defense has performed well at times against incompetent teams like Cal, Schmeddy’s replacement has shown no ability to stop teams with competent talent. Max Freaking Johson?!?!!? LSU just scored again. Brock Bowers just caught another pass. The only redeeming quality Phillip Marshall in Bike shorts has is his XXX ability. Working to shift blame from himself to the players after the Bowers debacle, the guy that can’t hold Schmeddy’s jock sent an X (formerly known as twitter) assuring Auburn fans he is incapable of teaching defensive backs how to run bracket coverages. His coaching is as bad as his style.
ADOTQBB believes with some certainty that Fred was assured he would have some control over the defense. How much? That’s up for debate - certainly for the guy that was inexplicably hired to replace Schmeddy. The tension between the two was certainly exacerbated by one being supremely competent and the other qualified to be an elementary school physical education coach. After what was described to ADOTQBB “a few blowups,” things came to a head. A detente was called after the LSU game, but it did not hold through the week. Controlling family members can be difficult. The broken relationship, driven by the discrepancy in competence, was not salvageable.
So what happens next? We at ADOTQBB are for dealing with problems head on and at the source. In this case, the problem is the Schmeddy replacement. There is plenty of smoke that Phillip Marshall in coaching shorts will not return next year. Brother Hew putting Crime Dog on the bench is the wrong message to a new and increasingly fragile staff if he truly values him as a coach and wants him at Auburn for the long term. Contracts, relationships, promises made and other external factors are driving the decision to bench Fred. The messaging from the complex suggests Fred will remain fully engaged in recruiting efforts, accept his role as an analyst and be back on the field next year after Coaching Shorts departs.
We, at ADOTQBB, are skeptical hippo. We have never seen a scenario where a competent person was embarrassed and demoted by an incompetent and stuck around to see how the proverbial movie ends. The only scenario where we at ADOTQBB see Fred returning is if he is named Defensive Coordinator. Is he ready? Brother Hew has a big decision to make.
This is AUBURN football.
This has been another edition of ADOTQBB. As always, thank you for subscribing to Auburnsports.com. Do not forget to smash that like button, send in your super chats and leave us a five star review.
With the Harsin era behind us, the hope - of some - was that he would take his drama to Boise with him. It appears Auburn may be the hub of Power 5 football drama - to the delight of others. In what is becoming a tradition uniquely Auburn, a popular African American coach has departed mid-season under circumstances that are far from clear. How could this happen? Let’s dig in.
Fred “Crime Dog” McGriff is known as a dogged recruiter and capable defensive back coach. He was hired away from Ole Miss by Brother Hew Freeze to coach cornerbacks. McGriff has a track record of success and a resume that could land him at any Power 5 school he wished. Fred is likely ready for a jump to a coordinator position which ADOTQBB believes, in part, lead to his mid-season departure.
Speaking of defensive coordinators, Schmeddy’s replacement came from some place that does not matter and should have never been allowed to set foot on The Plains. Schmeddy’s replacement has all the trappings of Phillip Marshall in Bike coaching shorts. While his defense has performed well at times against incompetent teams like Cal, Schmeddy’s replacement has shown no ability to stop teams with competent talent. Max Freaking Johson?!?!!? LSU just scored again. Brock Bowers just caught another pass. The only redeeming quality Phillip Marshall in Bike shorts has is his XXX ability. Working to shift blame from himself to the players after the Bowers debacle, the guy that can’t hold Schmeddy’s jock sent an X (formerly known as twitter) assuring Auburn fans he is incapable of teaching defensive backs how to run bracket coverages. His coaching is as bad as his style.
ADOTQBB believes with some certainty that Fred was assured he would have some control over the defense. How much? That’s up for debate - certainly for the guy that was inexplicably hired to replace Schmeddy. The tension between the two was certainly exacerbated by one being supremely competent and the other qualified to be an elementary school physical education coach. After what was described to ADOTQBB “a few blowups,” things came to a head. A detente was called after the LSU game, but it did not hold through the week. Controlling family members can be difficult. The broken relationship, driven by the discrepancy in competence, was not salvageable.
So what happens next? We at ADOTQBB are for dealing with problems head on and at the source. In this case, the problem is the Schmeddy replacement. There is plenty of smoke that Phillip Marshall in coaching shorts will not return next year. Brother Hew putting Crime Dog on the bench is the wrong message to a new and increasingly fragile staff if he truly values him as a coach and wants him at Auburn for the long term. Contracts, relationships, promises made and other external factors are driving the decision to bench Fred. The messaging from the complex suggests Fred will remain fully engaged in recruiting efforts, accept his role as an analyst and be back on the field next year after Coaching Shorts departs.
We, at ADOTQBB, are skeptical hippo. We have never seen a scenario where a competent person was embarrassed and demoted by an incompetent and stuck around to see how the proverbial movie ends. The only scenario where we at ADOTQBB see Fred returning is if he is named Defensive Coordinator. Is he ready? Brother Hew has a big decision to make.
This is AUBURN football.
This has been another edition of ADOTQBB. As always, thank you for subscribing to Auburnsports.com. Do not forget to smash that like button, send in your super chats and leave us a five star review.
