Answering questions from Alabama fans about Auburn football coaching search | Goodbread
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What do Alabama fans think of the pending Auburn football coaching search? And is their faith in Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban such that they don't even care? We asked, they answered. Onto the mailbag ...
It doesn’t matter who anyone hires as long as Saban is In Tuscaloosa. What has become painfully clear is Alabama needs to keep some continuity on the coaching staff. Coach Cadillac has been entertaining but I think you need to be careful what you wish for on that being a permanent hire. - Mike from Bay Minette
Mike: I'm not sure continuity is achievable when it comes to the UA coaching staff. Winning staffs get raided every winter. Losing staffs, not so much. There have been some lengthy terms of service - Kirby Smart for nine years, strength coach Scott Cochran for 13, and both those departures were setbacks for Alabama - but they're outliers. Pay raises are easy, but it's the promotions to a coordinator or head coaching job elsewhere that generate the constant turnover.
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I don't think it's farfetched to say this is the most important hire in Auburn football history. With Bama missing a beat this year and NIL's recent introduction, it's a great opportunity for Auburn to take a big leap forward. So, yeah, I think it matters a lot who they hire, because while Saban is still Saban, there's no arguing this year is a disappointment and there seem to be some issues replicating the mentality of the earlier Saban era teams. Make a big splash hire now that can recruit well and you could set up a really strong trajectory. - Daniel from Huntsville.
Daniel: You're onto something with NIL. It's the new currency for coaching searches. Bryan Harsin's experience at AU is going to make coaches awfully wary of going there, but the best way for Auburn to combat that perception is to make candidates believe in its NIL war chest.
When Alabama has a coach who can really run the program (Saban, Stallings and Perkins) Bama has won two thirds of the Iron Bowls since Coach Bryant retired. When Bama has had coaches who were not capable of running a program like Alabama (Curry, DuBose, Franchione and Shula), Auburn has won two thirds of the iron bowls with those coaches at the helm. So to me, as long as Alabama has the right coach running the program, Bama will be fine and continue to get the best of Auburn in the long run. - Barry from Vestavia
Barry: Just for fun, let's check your math! Saban, Stallings and Perkins' aggregate Iron Bowl record: 17-9 (.653). You're just about dead on there. Auburn's record against Curry, DuBose, Franchione and Shula combined? 10-3 (.769). No matter which colors you wear, some Iron Bowls are easier to forget that others. Still, point taken!
Auburn's best bet would be to throw everything they have at Lane Kiffin. Give him anything he wants. That hire would/should scare Bama fans. - Monte from Brooklyn, NY
Monte: Count me surprised if Auburn pulls that off.
Quite frankly it does not matter who Auburn hires. Lane Kiffin would be the only one who raises my eyebrow but we just beat him on the road when we were the most vulnerable we have been. Hugh Freeze is an intriguing name but I don't care if they hire Lane, Deion, Cadillac or Freeze. They will get fired in two years and get paid for the next 10. - Travis from San Bruno, CA.
Travis: The Malzahn and Harsin buyouts put Auburn on the hook for $36 million. If they're buying someone out again in two years to start over again, they should call it the Rains, not the Plains.
Reach Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football fans on Auburn coaching search, Lane Kiffin
