Years ago, I used to get so excited for the Iron Bowl that I slept fitfully the night before. Today, I am well rested.
Thanks to the longterm efforts of former Auburn University Athletic Director Jay Jacobs, Auburn football is once again in a dispirited spot and facing its most storied and perennially successful rival. Loyalties are stubborn, but evidence chips aways at hopes. Jacobs should know the feeling well. Auburn has been in similar emotional spots about five times since Jacobs first wormed his way into Athletics Department administration in 1991.
Some point to AU President Steven Leath's guileless negotiation with Gus Malzahn as a keystone in the current predicament, something that transpired once Jacobs officially announced his resignation. However, without Jacobs' hapless track record paving the way to the resignation, Leath wouldn't have had his lone hand on the rudder for Auburn during the process.
Didn't Jacobs enlist Men's Basketball Head Coach Bruce Pearl, possibly one of the most impactful hires in Auburn University athletics history? Yes, but it wasn't a feat of insight to settle on the former Tennessee Volunteers hardwood guru. Anyone scanning social media like this august body in the years prior to the hire would have seen Pearl's name regularly cited as the most obvious choice for the Tigers' hoops helm. It's a good thing because every dollar they optimize becomes more dire in light of the downward spiral of Auburn football, the top income-producing sport charged with footing the bill for most of the other athletic teams.
My hat's off to Jacobs, then. Thanks for the sound shuteye last night. And I hope you enjoy Gainesville. A lot. For decades.
And I hope Auburn can find a way to upgrade from the culture that fostered Jacobs' Auburn career.
Thanks to the longterm efforts of former Auburn University Athletic Director Jay Jacobs, Auburn football is once again in a dispirited spot and facing its most storied and perennially successful rival. Loyalties are stubborn, but evidence chips aways at hopes. Jacobs should know the feeling well. Auburn has been in similar emotional spots about five times since Jacobs first wormed his way into Athletics Department administration in 1991.
Some point to AU President Steven Leath's guileless negotiation with Gus Malzahn as a keystone in the current predicament, something that transpired once Jacobs officially announced his resignation. However, without Jacobs' hapless track record paving the way to the resignation, Leath wouldn't have had his lone hand on the rudder for Auburn during the process.
Didn't Jacobs enlist Men's Basketball Head Coach Bruce Pearl, possibly one of the most impactful hires in Auburn University athletics history? Yes, but it wasn't a feat of insight to settle on the former Tennessee Volunteers hardwood guru. Anyone scanning social media like this august body in the years prior to the hire would have seen Pearl's name regularly cited as the most obvious choice for the Tigers' hoops helm. It's a good thing because every dollar they optimize becomes more dire in light of the downward spiral of Auburn football, the top income-producing sport charged with footing the bill for most of the other athletic teams.
My hat's off to Jacobs, then. Thanks for the sound shuteye last night. And I hope you enjoy Gainesville. A lot. For decades.
And I hope Auburn can find a way to upgrade from the culture that fostered Jacobs' Auburn career.
