Outlining the next Auburn Head Coach

So we’re back in the hunt for a new head football coach. Based upon the common complaints I’ve heard from the Auburn fan base over the years, I thought I’d list the criteria for a successful Auburn coach, so we could identify the best choice out of the considerable number of candidates out there.

What I believe the next Auburn coach should be:

• An innovative offensive-minded coach with a new scheme who can take a poorly recruited Auburn team and immediately compete for a Southeastern Conference or National Championship in his first year
• A winner. Someone who has a history of winning seasons for his entire time as a collegiate head coach.
•  Someone with at least a decade of coaching at the collegiate level competitively, preferably in the Southeastern Conference,
• Someone who has a history of at least one win over a Nick Saban-coached Alabama team as a coordinator. Even better if he’s got at least two in the same situation as a head coach.
• An honorable, scandal-free team administrator who can develop student athletes not only as players but as individuals in their student and future careers. Someone whom the players all seem to admire, work hard for and emulate in work ethic, social acumen and support for Auburn.
• A no-nonsense discipline-minded coach who doesn’t tolerate bad behavior, quickly acts in instances of on- or off-field shenanigans and isn’t afraid to dismiss a bad egg, no matter what his contribution to the team is.
• Someone who values input from former Auburn players and readily involves them on his staff as both assistants and position coaches.
• Someone who unquestionably supports other sports programs of the University, the teams, athletes and coaches with his time, effort and attendance.
• An individual with class, who never seems to make foolish or crass statements publicly, never denigrates efforts of opposing players, teams, coaches or is ever found losing his temper anywhere near a media microphone. A fair and stoic professional both in public and in his personal life.

Know anyone who fits that description?

I do. He was just fired as the coach of a major Southeastern Conference team and is now on the market for a head coaching position.

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