AD Candidate List

[Vespidae]

I'm sure Greene is a good guy, and he has the backing of some well respected ADs around the country. The thing is, he misread the room when it came to Brian Harsin, and the culture fit between Harsin and Auburn.

I don't think ADs should be persuaded by donors to the extent they get rid of a candidate, but if you're in a room full of big donors that are adamant that Harsin is not the guy, you have to understand that Harsin is climbing up a mountain from Day 1. Now Harsin is fighting his own people (big donors) along with the rest of the SEC. Greene better be dang sure Harsin wins big immediately...and Harsin did not causing all of the drama forcing him to leave early.

Harsin also has always been a West Coast guy...he never coached East of the Mississippi River until Auburn. The closest he came was Arkansas State for 1 year, and Texas OC for 2 years. The culture fit, or ill fit, was pretty evident early from all reports.

If you're an SEC AD, football hires will be what you make your name on. The fact that Greene was willing to overlook some major concerns in his biggest hire is a reflection on his judgement. That's pretty important for an AD. Regardless of the kind of person he is, and by all accounts Greene is one of the good guys in the business, he failed pretty badly in his judgement for Harsin at Auburn. IMO, GT can't afford to overlook that kind of mistake for its AD.

Sorry, but this post is disconnected from reality.

Greene was all in on hiring Steele, which is who the Big Guns at Auburn wanted to hire. They were tired of Malzahn and engineered his ouster with the goal to replace with Steele.

It was Jay Gouge, AU President, who set up the search committee and basically forced Harsin onto Auburn. "Who?" was the response from the Auburn community?

Greene was boxed in with his contract renewal in limbo and a new President not yet announced. Very political. And very different from what is described above.

 

[iceeater1969]

I'm sure Greene is a good guy, and he has the backing of some well respected ADs around the country. The thing is, he misread the room when it came to Brian Harsin, and the culture fit between Harsin and Auburn.

I don't think ADs should be persuaded by donors to the extent they get rid of a candidate, but if you're in a room full of big donors that are adamant that Harsin is not the guy, you have to understand that Harsin is climbing up a mountain from Day 1. Now Harsin is fighting his own people (big donors) along with the rest of the SEC. Greene better be dang sure Harsin wins big immediately...and Harsin did not causing all of the drama forcing him to leave early.

Harsin also has always been a West Coast guy...he never coached East of the Mississippi River until Auburn. The closest he came was Arkansas State for 1 year, and Texas OC for 2 years. The culture fit, or ill fit, was pretty evident early from all reports.

If you're an SEC AD, football hires will be what you make your name on. The fact that Greene was willing to overlook some major concerns in his biggest hire is a reflection on his judgement. That's pretty important for an AD. Regardless of the kind of person he is, and by all accounts Greene is one of the good guys in the business, he failed pretty badly in his judgement for Harsin at Auburn. IMO, GT can't afford to overlook that kind of mistake for its AD.

With respect.
I hope Angel will to do more than get a committecto gmhire ad who will hire a coach.

The branding done by collins is should have been done by the athletic department . It sounded like Greene would becgood at branding, mobey etc were greene's specialty. We need prez, donors, previous coaches to be on board w next coach.

 

[Techster]

Sorry, but this post is disconnected from reality.

Greene was all in on hiring Steele, which is who the Big Guns at Auburn wanted to hire. They were tired of Malzahn and engineered his ouster with the goal to replace with Steele.

It was Jay Gouge, AU President, who set up the search committee and basically forced Harsin onto Auburn. "Who?" was the response from the Auburn community?

Greene was boxed in with his contract renewal in limbo and a new President not yet announced. Very political. And very different from what is described above.

I guess there's two realities, your reality and the reality being reported by well connected writers and it includes reporting by a well connected Alabama sports writer...so if you have inside info, it's news to everyone else.

Chaos at Auburn continues as AD Allen Greene leaves school | College Football Enquirer

Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel, and Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde and Ross Dellenger discuss the chaos that continues to stream from Auburn as Athletic Director Allen Green announced his resignation, and debate what the departure of Greene means for head coach Bryan Harsin.

sports.yahoo.com

Inside the battle over Auburn’s coaching search

One group wanted Kevin Steele. Another wanted an open search. Here's a look behind the scenes of Auburn's decision to fire Gus Malzahn and hire Bryan Harsin.

www.al.com

Allen Greene, who was hired as Auburn’s AD in 2018, wasn’t on board with immediately promoting Steele. The former Notre Dame baseball player made clear he wanted a national search that evaluated candidates beyond those only residing in Lee County. The pro-Steele camp was undeterred, however, believing they carried more influence than Greene and would get the coach they wanted.

The Steele plan hit a snag when Auburn president Jay Gogue sided with Greene and created a search committee to evaluate all viable candidates and not only Steele, who was named the interim coach on Sunday. Greene chaired the eight-person search committee that included Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson, Auburn trustee Quinten Riggins and NFL executive Michelle McKenna, among others. Gogue putting together a committee with a diverse group of independent thinkers signaled to those involved there’d be a genuine search, and Steele’s chances to become the head coach were slipping away.

“Gogue really stepped up,” a source familiar with the search said. “He was in a spot where he had to do one thing, but he didn’t give them everything that they wanted. He gave them what they wanted (with Gus) but said you guys aren’t going to be on the committee that selects.”

“Those people had no vote,” a source said. “They had no say and it frustrated the hell out of them. They tried intimidation, they tried everything, and it just didn’t work.”

Auburn hired Parker Executive Search to help facilitate the search process. Greene and the search firm talked to between 20 and 25 coaches, eventually narrowing down the list and discussing specific candidates with the eight-person search committee.

 

[Vespidae]

I guess there's two realities, your reality and the reality being reported by well connected writers and it includes reporting by a well connected Alabama sports writer...so if you have inside info, it's news to everyone else.

Chaos at Auburn continues as AD Allen Greene leaves school | College Football Enquirer

Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel, and Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde and Ross Dellenger discuss the chaos that continues to stream from Auburn as Athletic Director Allen Green announced his resignation, and debate what the departure of Greene means for head coach Bryan Harsin.

sports.yahoo.com

Inside the battle over Auburn’s coaching search

One group wanted Kevin Steele. Another wanted an open search. Here's a look behind the scenes of Auburn's decision to fire Gus Malzahn and hire Bryan Harsin.

www.al.com

Allen Greene, who was hired as Auburn’s AD in 2018, wasn’t on board with immediately promoting Steele. The former Notre Dame baseball player made clear he wanted a national search that evaluated candidates beyond those only residing in Lee County. The pro-Steele camp was undeterred, however, believing they carried more influence than Greene and would get the coach they wanted.

The Steele plan hit a snag when Auburn president Jay Gogue sided with Greene and created a search committee to evaluate all viable candidates and not only Steele, who was named the interim coach on Sunday. Greene chaired the eight-person search committee that included Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson, Auburn trustee Quinten Riggins and NFL executive Michelle McKenna, among others. Gogue putting together a committee with a diverse group of independent thinkers signaled to those involved there’d be a genuine search, and Steele’s chances to become the head coach were slipping away.

“Gogue really stepped up,” a source familiar with the search said. “He was in a spot where he had to do one thing, but he didn’t give them everything that they wanted. He gave them what they wanted (with Gus) but said you guys aren’t going to be on the committee that selects.”

“Those people had no vote,” a source said. “They had no say and it frustrated the hell out of them. They tried intimidation, they tried everything, and it just didn’t work.”

Auburn hired Parker Executive Search to help facilitate the search process. Greene and the search firm talked to between 20 and 25 coaches, eventually narrowing down the list and discussing specific candidates with the eight-person search committee.

Part of that is correct. Part of it is incorrect.

It was Gouge who put his foot down. And Gouge who ordered the search committee. He had had enough of outsiders making decisions and his job wasn‘t at risk, he was retiring. He ran cover for Greene who still had no contract renewal in sight.

Moral: Don’t believe everything you read. FWIW, my company planted news stories when it served their purposes.

 

[Techster]

Part of that is correct. Part of it is incorrect.

It was Gouge who put his foot down. And Gouge who ordered the search committee. He had had enough of outsiders making decisions and his job wasn‘t at risk, he was retiring. He ran cover for Greene who still had no contract renewal in sight.

Moral: Don’t believe everything you read. FWIW, my company planted news stories when it served their purposes.

The thing that doesn't make sense with your version is if Greene was pushing for Steele like the donors wanted, why would the donors want Greene out? They know Harsin isn't Greene's choice, and if anything, Greene and Harsin's fate are not tied to each other...which means once Gouge was gone, the "big guns" have an ally in Greene. That means once Harsin is gone, the "big guns' have someone that empowers their whims.

Greene was all in on hiring Steele, which is who the Big Guns at Auburn wanted to hire. They were tired of Malzahn and engineered his ouster with the goal to replace with Steele.

So either way, Greene seems like a bad choice for an AD on this level, especially at GT.

1. In the Steele scenario, which would have been a disaster, Greene chose to side with the mob (the big guns) over what was best for Auburn. It took the president to intervene and include a national level search.

2. If it was the scenario that played out according to all reports, Greene obviously didn't consider the cultural fit, and he didn't understand the fallout.

In either case, it seem like a failure on Greene's part, and luckily, it's not an issue GT will have to worry about because Greene isn't a candidate.

 

[Vespidae]

The thing that doesn't make sense with your version is if Greene was pushing for Steele like the donors wanted, why would the donors want Greene out? They know Harsin isn't Greene's choice, and if anything, Greene and Harsin's fate are not tied to each other...which means once Harsin's out, the "big guns" have an ally in Greene. That means once Harsin is gone, the "big guns' have someone that empowers their whims.



So either way, Greene seems like a bad choice for an AD on this level, especially at GT.

1. In the Steele scenario, which have been a disaster, Greene chose to side with the mob (the big guns) over what was best for Auburn. It took the president to intervene and include an national level search.

2. If it was the scenario that played out according to all reports, Greene obviously didn't consider the cultural fit, and he didn't understand the fallout.

In either case, it seem like a failure on Greene's part, and luckily, it's not an issue GT will have to worry about because Greene isn't a candidate.

Sorry, but you are missing the Big Picture. Greene was neutralized by his renewal contract. Had the previous president simply renewed his contract, game over. So he's now floating in limbo. The Cabal knew this and played this to their advantage.

Harsin, despite what you read, was NOT his choice. It was Gouge's choice. Again, if you are a guy looking to get your contract renewed, you go along to get along. Greene's problem was that Gouge was retiring and Greene's renewal remained ... uncertain.

If you think in conventional terms, you will lose at Auburn. Auburn is run by 3-4 guys at boardrooms in Birmingham, Montgomery and Abbeville.

I don't care one way or the other. But if you are not from Alabama or understand Alabama politics, you can't understand Auburn.

Greene's out as a candidate, fine. But too much misinformation out there on his time at AU. Classic power play. And for those who don't know, the football program is a hobby for 3-4 VERY powerful people. None of whom ever played a down.

 

[Techster]

Sorry, but you are missing the Big Picture. Greene was neutralized by his renewal contract. Had the previous president simply renewed his contract, game over. So he's now floating in limbo. The Cabal knew this and played this to their advantage.

Harsin, despite what you read, was NOT his choice. It was Gouge's choice. Again, if you are a guy looking to get your contract renewed, you go along to get along. Greene's problem was that Gouge was retiring and Greene's renewal remained ... uncertain.

If you think in conventional terms, you will lose at Auburn. Auburn is run by 3-4 guys at boardrooms in Birmingham, Montgomery and Abbeville.

I don't care one way or the other. But if you are not from Alabama or understand Alabama politics, you can't understand Auburn.

Greene's out as a candidate, fine. But too much misinformation out there on his time at AU. Classic power play. And for those who don't know, the football program is a hobby for 3-4 VERY powerful people. None of whom ever played a down.

What's the Big Picture? Doing what's right for Auburn, or doing what's right for Greene's contract renewal chances? The scenarios you've painted just gives me less and less confidence in Greene's skills, and more and more thankfulness that Greene wasn't a candidate.

Politics is politics. The faces and situations change, but the principle is as old as time. You're either savvy and know how to read the room and work it, or you don't. You're trying to paint a picture of some mysterious and exotic form of politics no one can comprehend unless you're plugged into some secret Alabama society. The fact is, it's the same politics that plays out in the halls of government, the boardrooms of big business, and the parking lots of country clubs. To make Auburn's internecine politics sound like anything more is pretty silly.

 

[Vespidae]

What's the Big Picture? Doing what's right for Auburn, or doing what's right for Greene's contract renewal chances? The scenarios you've painted just gives me less and less confidence in Greene's skills, and more and more thankfulness that Greene wasn't a candidate.

Politics is politics. The faces and situations change, but the principle is as old as time. You're either savvy and know how to read the room and work it, or you don't. You're trying to paint a picture of some mysterious and exotic form of politics no one can comprehend unless you're plugged into some secret Alabama society. The fact is, it's the same politics that plays out in the halls of government, the boardrooms of big business, and the parking lots of country clubs. To make Auburn's internecine politics sound like anything more is pretty silly.

Clueless.

 

[Techster]

Clueless.

Given your inconsistent explanation, VERY happy to be.

 

[Vespidae]

Given your inconsistent explanation, VERY happy to be.

Not inconsistent. Auburn is NOT a rational environment. If you think it is, you will fail here. I would not recommend you apply.

 

[Techster]

Not inconsistent. Auburn is NOT a rational environment. If you think it is, you will fail here. I would not recommend you apply.

EVERYONE knows Auburn's situation with their donors is a sh!tshow. That's not a secret, and it's why no top tier coach will even drive within the same zip code as Auburn, regardless of the money they have and their giant fanbase. Their toxic environment is literally the first thing writers mention when talking about the Auburn job.

Your explanation, and I'm not trying to be insulting, just plain flies in the face of the reporting of MANY major outlets with better sources than you have. All the facts and details across those outlets have been the same and pretty consistent...and Greene does not look good in any of it. Your explanation even contradicts itself (as I pointed above).

Honestly, I don't care about Auburn. I care about GT. Either explanation, yours or the major reporting outlets, gives me zero faith Greene would have had the necessary political skills to navigate the politics that got us into the Collins/Stansbury mess. It certainly would not have gotten us out of it. I'm considering the Greene candidacy at GT a case of dodging the bullet...now moving on...

 

[Vespidae]

EVERYONE knows Auburn's situation with their donors is a sh!tshow. That's not a secret, and it's why no top tier coach will even drive within the same zip code as Auburn, regardless of the money they have and their giant fanbase. Their toxic environment is literally the first thing writers mention when talking about the Auburn job.

Your explanation, and I'm not trying to be insulting, just plain flies in the face of the reporting of MANY major outlets with better sources than you have. All the facts and details across those outlets have been the same and pretty consistent...and Greene does not look good in any of it. Your explanation even contradicts itself (as I pointed above).

Honestly, I don't care about Auburn. I care about GT. Either explanation, yours or the major reporting outlets, gives me zero faith Greene would have had the necessary political skills to navigate the politics that got us into the Collins/Stansbury mess. It certainly would not have gotten us out of it. I'm considering the Greene candidacy at GT a case of dodging the bullet...now moving on...

I don't care if Greene is hired or not. It's not my call.

What I CAN say (and you can't) is that I didn't READ about events as they unfolded, I spoke to the direct source. Did you? Did the writers you profess to follow? I doubt it. I was in the F'in room when it was discussed off the record. So pardon me for having the opinion (informed) that you don't.

You are welcome to think what you want. Misguided as it is.

 

[gville_jacket]

I think I got lost somewhere. I was looking for conversation about the AD search for GT. Did I make a wrong turn?

 

[Techster]

I don't care if Greene is hired or not. It's not my call.

What I CAN say (and you can't) is that I didn't READ about events as they unfolded, I spoke to the direct source. Did you? Did the writers you profess to follow? I doubt it. I was in the F'in room when it was discussed off the record. So pardon me for having the opinion (informed) that you don't.

You are welcome to think what you want. Misguided as it is.

Hmm...a guy on a message board versus renowned journalists that have been verified by other journalists. No offense, I'm sure you heard what you heard, but I'll take the reporting of several media outlets.

 

[Vespidae]

Hmm...a guy on a message board versus renowned journalists that have been verified by other journalists. No offense, I'm sure you heard what you heard, but I'll take the reporting of several media outlets.

Yes, we all know that what we read on the internet is true.

I don't have any more to add. If you trust a journalist who NEVER spoke to the AU president, you get what you deserve.

 

[Techster]

Yes, we all know that what we read on the internet is true.

I don't have any more to add. If you trust a journalist who NEVER spoke to the AU president, you get what you deserve.

As I said, and I'll end it on this, whether it's your explanation of the events that unfolded at Auburn, or what has been written by every outlet...none of it shines a good light on Greene. I'm glad he's not a candidate for GT.

 

[Vespidae]

As I said, and I'll end it on this, whether it's your explanation of the events that unfolded at Auburn, or what has been written by every outlet...none of it shines a good light on Greene. I'm glad he's not a candidate for GT.

And I will close with this: Greene was extremely well respected by the Auburn community and by others outside of Auburn. Whatever. He's not a fit at GT. Fine.

As for me, I had the opportunity to speak, off the record, with the players as it occurred. I'm in the Athletic Dept a few times a week, teach many of the players you see on TV, and... most importantly, heard directly from the folks that made the decision.

I'm very comfortable in what I reported and I take no compensation, whatsoever, from any party to report anything else. There are BIG egos involved in at Auburn, with BIG money behind them, with BIG reputations to protect. If you can't understand that ... there's nothing more to say.

Peace out.

 

[slugboy]

I think I got lost somewhere. I was looking for conversation about the AD search for GT. Did I make a wrong turn?

Greene (lately of Auburn) was one of the names. He may or may not be in the running. There’s information in the AJC that he and Georgia State’s AD aren’t being considered. The AJC doesn’t have any information on who IS being considered (unless I missed it today)

There’s a lot of contradictory information going around now. What we have is

1. people are being considered
2. a decision should be coming soon (probably before November)

I realize that #1 isn’t much information. We’ve had some names listed, and there have been leaks from the athletic department, but there have been counter-leaks too.

Some people here are talking to insiders.

Also, some people might be strong candidates, then interview, then not be strong candidates—either because we’re not interested or because they’re not interested. A candidate might be really interesting on Monday and not even be a candidate on Wednesday. That’s a generality, but that would explain why you could hear “Ferguson looks like they might get the job” one day and “Ferguson is not being considered” a week later.

 

[kg01]

Man, I read a sobering 'report' in some SI.com or w/e article about current coaching openings.

Described ours as "not even on 1st base yet" but said that makes sense due to our AD position likely to be filled first. I felt this all along so not sure why it hit different seeing an eggspert say it out loud.

Also mentioned that AZSt was also considered not having started yet. But theirs makes no sense since they still have their AD.

If I can dig up the link, I'll post it.

 

[awbuzz]

Even online, the AJC is at best, a fish wrapper. Take it for what it’s worth.

... You and many others would probably be upset if they flat out quit covering GT at all.

It ain't perfect, but beast of thejeebies are up a lot of newspapers of had to read when I lived elsewhere.