We didn't get the coach I wanted (Mario Cristobal), who I firmly believe would have been the guy had the Kevin Steele power play not happened last Monday at the same time Oregon backed into the PAC-12 Championship Game.
But timing is everything, and our AD, who had spent a lot of time in the shadows during his tenure, took a step up to the plate, called his shot, and knocked the ball out of the park. And the whole time the other team was too full of themselves to even consider he could get a base hit.
When that curveball came on Monday, things could have quickly gone south. I'm not going to say I know exactly how all the events played out, but I've talked to enough people to know Gogue and Greene put that committee together to stop Rane, Lanier, Lowder, and others from hijacking the hire. And in a perfect move, it looks like they let the PTB pick the damn committee, because it was loaded with their stench. And it really stunk.
The coaching names that were leaked? I don't believe any of them (outside of Venables) were even candidates ADAG had high on his list. Why were they leaked? Because the committee was working with the sole purpose of placing Kevin Steele as the head coach, so they needed to spin the narrative as much as they could. They needed to have their Baghdad Bob hit everyone over the head, over and over again, with the message that Steele was THE GUY and these other candidates weren't getting the job. Or the ones that might sneak in would be bad hires.
Even after Quentin Riggins talked them through the last three years of backstabbing that went on behind Gus' back, that committee still voted 6-2 to recommend Kevin Steel (Burgess and QR voting 'no'). And the man never even interviewed. Let that sink in.
And after the leaks got more and mote embarrassing to Auburn, ADAG had his moment to go out and grab HIS coach; a guy that no outside force can control because he doesn't owe his job to any of them.
Gogue and ADAG played this thing to perfection, and we should all thank them for it. Regardless of how Harsin turns out a few years from now, we had an AD stand up for Auburn and the Auburn people. David Housel was the last AD we had that always tried to do that, but he was fighting a bigger monster than Greene and he knew it. JetGate got him, but it wasn't a thing he approved of...he just couldn't stop it, so he fell on his sword for Auburn.
But Greene stood up; sure, self-preservation played a part, because he doesn't want his career to die here. He may want to get out as soon as he can (and who could blame him?). But over the last 10 days this guy stood up to some rich and powerful people, looked them in the eye, and didn't flinch. And while they played the game by their rules, he played a different game entirely.
And he won.
Auburn won.
The actual Auburn family won.
Not the bastardized "family" that JJ marketed and used as a crutch to defend his shitty decisions over and over again, but the real one that isn't in a marketing email.
So, this was a good day. The old stinky PTB aren't dead and they aren't going away, but they lost today and they've lost a lot more times than they've won lately. And if Harsin ends up a great hire, then they may never recover.
Now y'all thank @jhead34382, @Rejects, @INSIDESOURCE23, @autigers07, and the rest of the folks here that either drove you crazy or kept you from going crazy during "Coaching Search 2020." Thank @Jay G. Tate for reporting what he could confirm.
It was an epic, legendary, ride.
Happy Holidays, bitches-- and here's to 2021. It can't get here soon enough.
But timing is everything, and our AD, who had spent a lot of time in the shadows during his tenure, took a step up to the plate, called his shot, and knocked the ball out of the park. And the whole time the other team was too full of themselves to even consider he could get a base hit.
When that curveball came on Monday, things could have quickly gone south. I'm not going to say I know exactly how all the events played out, but I've talked to enough people to know Gogue and Greene put that committee together to stop Rane, Lanier, Lowder, and others from hijacking the hire. And in a perfect move, it looks like they let the PTB pick the damn committee, because it was loaded with their stench. And it really stunk.
The coaching names that were leaked? I don't believe any of them (outside of Venables) were even candidates ADAG had high on his list. Why were they leaked? Because the committee was working with the sole purpose of placing Kevin Steele as the head coach, so they needed to spin the narrative as much as they could. They needed to have their Baghdad Bob hit everyone over the head, over and over again, with the message that Steele was THE GUY and these other candidates weren't getting the job. Or the ones that might sneak in would be bad hires.
Even after Quentin Riggins talked them through the last three years of backstabbing that went on behind Gus' back, that committee still voted 6-2 to recommend Kevin Steel (Burgess and QR voting 'no'). And the man never even interviewed. Let that sink in.
And after the leaks got more and mote embarrassing to Auburn, ADAG had his moment to go out and grab HIS coach; a guy that no outside force can control because he doesn't owe his job to any of them.
Gogue and ADAG played this thing to perfection, and we should all thank them for it. Regardless of how Harsin turns out a few years from now, we had an AD stand up for Auburn and the Auburn people. David Housel was the last AD we had that always tried to do that, but he was fighting a bigger monster than Greene and he knew it. JetGate got him, but it wasn't a thing he approved of...he just couldn't stop it, so he fell on his sword for Auburn.
But Greene stood up; sure, self-preservation played a part, because he doesn't want his career to die here. He may want to get out as soon as he can (and who could blame him?). But over the last 10 days this guy stood up to some rich and powerful people, looked them in the eye, and didn't flinch. And while they played the game by their rules, he played a different game entirely.
And he won.
Auburn won.
The actual Auburn family won.
Not the bastardized "family" that JJ marketed and used as a crutch to defend his shitty decisions over and over again, but the real one that isn't in a marketing email.
So, this was a good day. The old stinky PTB aren't dead and they aren't going away, but they lost today and they've lost a lot more times than they've won lately. And if Harsin ends up a great hire, then they may never recover.
Now y'all thank @jhead34382, @Rejects, @INSIDESOURCE23, @autigers07, and the rest of the folks here that either drove you crazy or kept you from going crazy during "Coaching Search 2020." Thank @Jay G. Tate for reporting what he could confirm.
It was an epic, legendary, ride.
Happy Holidays, bitches-- and here's to 2021. It can't get here soon enough.
