Something that occurred to me last night.... regardless of how you feel about the BCS, or about Auburn and Cam Newton or the officiating or whatever. Gene Chizik's win as head coach really makes the naysayers at his hiring look pretty darned foolish now. As I recall, so many people were just out-and-out ripping on Chizik and Auburn for hiring him. To be fair I can understand at least some head-scratching given Chizik's record up to that point in time, but it was getting ridiculous. Now look at him. Wonder what those same critics are saying now.
I was criticizing his hiring. All my Auburn friends were even more critical. The media in Alabama was BRUTAL towards his hiring. Tuberville wasn't a bad coach and didn't deserve the firing... Beat Alabama 6 consecutive times, more than any other Auburn coach 2004 undefeated season 1 SEC Championship (2004) 5 SEC Western Division Titles (2000-2002, 2004-2005) Awards AFCA Coach of the Year (2004) Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (2004) Sporting News College Football COY (2004) Walter Camp Coach of the Year (2004) 2x SEC Coach of the Year (1997, 2004) but damn if that didn't turn out to be a great move.
Why was Tuberville forced out? Those are some pretty great accomplishments for any coach. BTW... Looks like Newton is leaving for the NFL
Tuberville had been at odds with the Auburn athletic administration since the whole Jetgate thing in '03. The uncertainty following that incident impacted recruiting, which showed up in his last couple of seasons. Add to that the fact he completely lost control of his staff, as evidenced by the rebellion which occurred when Tony Franklin was brought in as offensive coordinator in '08, and Tuberville's time down on the Plains was up regardless of his past success. It'd have been over long before had he not gone undefeated in 2004. Speaking of time being up, Cam's is as well: Newton declares for draft.
Nonetheless, Tubbs did a lot of good and a shame that he had to leave like that. As to Cam: shocking, truly! The real question is whether those Buckeyes are gonna stick to their word and all come back...
Enjoy not being drafted nearly as high as you're hoping, and then never doing anything noteworthy in the NFL, Cam.
Not knowing the Auburn history all that well, I'd tend to agree with you. I still think he's uts for even hinting that they should take a revote on the 2004 national title. Maybe he thinks the pay will be almost as good in the NFL My bet is that Mike Adams, the left guard, won't be back. Pryor, Posey and Herron will be back, because ALL have lots of work to do to improve their game and their draft stock. Solomon Thomas has no real choice but to come back.
Because that style of QB has had rare exceptions of ever making it successful. Randall Cunningham may have had the longest tenure, I don't know. Michael Vick was very hit or miss with the Falcons, and now SEEMS to have figured it out with the Eagles but the last few games of the season.... defense may be figuring out how to defend him.
The media picks out a QB it likes every year, and the general population is supposed to dislike every other QB entering the draft. Last year, Sam Bradford was the "man", therefore, Tim Tebow was considered garbage. This year, since Andrew Luck isn't declaring for the draft, no QB picks will be considered good ones. Just from the 2008 draft, we've seen Matt Flynn and Dennis Dixon come out and play like pros. Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco are universally acclaimed as starters. 2009's Mark Sanchez has been good, while Matthew Stafford (Go Dawgs) needs a cortisone shot every time he breathes. You just never know what you're going to get.
Bradford threw for I think the second highest total yardage ever for a rookie starter, so I the faith placed in him earlier seems to be validated. Flynn, Dixon and Tebow haven't been on the field long enough to properly evaluate their success as quarterback, so the jury's still out on them imho. Of course, it's hard to get playing time when you're behind Rodgers, Roethlisberger and Orton. Ryan is definitely the real deal with his steady and sound and often gutsy performance for the Falcons. Consider the abhorrent shape that franchise was in when he came in as a rookie and it's even more impressive. I recall he was very highly thought of in that draft, too. Flacco had some unevenness in his rookie season but good work ethic and steady improvement seem to be helping him rise. Maybe not to All-Pro status but good. Doesn't hurt when you have such a good - if aging - defense bailing you out. Sanchez is very up and down. Just when it seems like he's going to be fine, he'll have another game where he's ineffectual at best. Still, he's clearly their QB of the future, for now.
I have a feeling everything is suddenly just going to click for Sanchez, and he's going to be consistently awesome after that. Let's hope it happens early in the first quarter against the Pats!
I'd say Donovon McNabb had the longest tenure and the most success, really, unless you count Steve Young in the "mobile quarterback" crowd. But the difference with them I guess is their arms were at least as good as their legs.
Vick's got the athletic ability, but he lacks the patience and the smarts. Once defenses figure him out, he doesn't adjust well. I agree that Newton may well not be successful in the NFL, but never say never.
Newton, moreso than Tebow, strikes me as a future tight end. He can run well, and he's big enough to be a decent blocker. I'm not sure if he can catch, but he looks like a tight end. I'm sure he wants to try to be a QB, and he'll probably get a shot, but he won't have the benefit of someone like Josh McDaniels willing to overreach for him in the first round. Unless someone hires Matt Millen. I still have nightmares.
I think reading a defense and making precise NFL-like throws might be a little much for a guy who's only had one year in a college system. He definitely has the athletic ability to be a great QB, but I think it'll depend on his coaching at the next level as well as his dedication to learning a much more complex system. Even with a switch to tight-end I think it'll be a few years before he sees the field unless he lands with a really desperate team that needs to boost attendance.