Coaching staff salaries

Thanks to AuburnUndercover.com for this information:

The numbers are in and as of right now, the following figures represent what each Auburn football coach will make this year. The numbers are subject to change, as contract negotiations may still be going on with some, but these are likely their salaries:

Head coach Gene Chizik: $2 million

Defensive coordinator Ted Roof: $370,000

Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn: $350,000

Assistant head coach/wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor: $320,000.

Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker: $300,000

Offensive line coach Jeff Grimes: $290,000

Running backs coach Curtis Luper: $260,000

Tight ends coach Jay Boulware: $180,000

Strength and conditioning coach Kevin Yoxall: $188,000

Director of NFL relations Phillip Lolley: $130,000

Director of football operations Jimmy Perry: $86,---

Tyrik Rollison...

There's a lot of talk right now about Auburn quarterback (commit?) Tyrik Rollison, one of the nation's top high school quarterback prospects for this year - depending on which service you look at. He hasn't technically committed, but word out of other committed prospects who were there with him on his visit this weekend is that he is going to commit before he leaves today.

Anyway, they say this kid is a sign-and-place type guy and that he almost definitely will not qualify. Well, I just watched a video on YouTube of him being interviewed and he is surprisingly well-spoken. That leads me to believe that his intelligence might be underrated. What does this mean for AU? I suspect it means someone is going to have to teach him how to study and be diligent in the classroom. And that usually happens at a place like Hargrave Military JUCO.

I'd say one year there would straighten him out and get him to Auburn, where I believe he could be a really good player and an early starter (of course, he'll have some stiff competition). 

I think his style of play really fits well into the spread. He actually reminds me a lot of Jason Campbell his senior year, in that he is very good at getting the ball to the playmakers around him. Beyond that, he can run much better than Campbell could. 

Ultimately what I'm trying to say is that regardless of what is said about him, I think he's a great catch and he brings a lot of credibility to this coaching staff and to this recruiting class. Landing guys like him will help Auburn land better players.

Great column

I read a really well-written and logical column written by Kevin Scarbinsky today. I don't usually like a lot of the things he has to say, but this one is really good. It talks about the James Willis and Lance Thompson job changes as they relate to Auburn and Alabama fans.

Here is the link:

http://blog.al.com/kevin-scarbinsky/2009/01/on_the_list_of_historys_great.html

Despite what he says, I will still use the phrase, "We got (James) Willis-ed," to describe traitor-ial situations that happen to me. It's kind of like saying, "We got the shaft."

Willis to UA

Reports say that James Willis is going to take a job at Alabama in the next day or so.

----- update -----

He was announced today as the new Associate Head Coach and Outside Linebackers Coach for the Tide.

Here is a very interesting post from a Bama message board that claimed in July that Willis would be hired as an Alabama coach in January... something to think about - check it out:

• In January, James Willis will be hired... LadyinRed 2008-07-06 19:54:52
You heard it here first.
• LOL, my contact (REECE DAVIS) did not tell me that. I will ask him tomorrow thou Rman 2008-07-06 19:56:39
rtr
• What did you mean when you posted "LOL"? gut check 2008-07-06 20:12:43
• since you're a friend.... ptguard 2008-07-06 20:11:01
then i'm sure you know he spells it rece(g).
• that is fine... LadyinRed 2008-07-06 20:09:34
I trust both of my sources.. especially the one who has the contact at ESPN. Most, if not all, would know the last name of my contact.....

Also, you can check out the actual page it is posted on from this link: 

http://www.tiderinsider.com/mb/msg/4332590.html#4332668

Good reads

Here are some links to some very good Auburn articles I've recently read:

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/shared-blogs/ajc/cfbrecruit/entries/2009/01/21/lowndes_db_greg_2.html

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/113692-auburn-looking-to-land-knockout-in-recruiting

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/112612-gene-chizik-leads-auburn-to-9-3-record-his-first-season-in-2009/poll_results#poll

*** Note - Greg Knox has apparently landed a job with Mississippi State to coach running backs. Good for him. I thought for sure that he would be the one guy from the staff who wouldn't be able to find a college or pro coaching job, but he made a great decision and decided to give up on coaching wide receivers. Great choice. I think he will do a very good job for them, especially considering Dan Mullen's system and how he really doesn't utilize a traditional running back like Auburn did. 

Recruiting receivers is tricky

Receivers are a funny bunch. 

If you look at recent history, I think you'll find that receivers are one of the bigger wildcards in the recruiting game. maybe not so much on the top-end guys, because they generally already know how to run routes and go get the ball, but the lower end guys can be so great, too - more so than running backs, i think. 

I say this because a guy can be super athletic and not be vbery highly rated because he doesn't know techniques to get open and how to run precise routes, which can both be taught with good coaching.

So look at some of Trooper Taylor's former wide receivers and it's hard not to get excited. I mean, how good can Montez Billings, Tim Hawthorne and Darvin Adams be next year if they get with Taylor tomorrow and start working one-on-one? Only time will tell.

But here's something to think about: Michael Crabtree was a four-star, No. 16 ranked WR coming out of high school. Dez Bryant was also a four-star, No. 9 ranked WR coming out of high school. Most people would agree that these are two of the elite WRs in the country. Just goes to show, as long as a guy is athletic and wants to learn (and is intelligent enough to learn) he can be great with a little good coaching.

So, in other words, don't get too wrapped up in the Reuben Randle hype. I mean, he's coming for a visit and I'd love to have him because he's obviously one of those guys who isn't going to need a whole lot of coaching up to be good, but just because Auburn doesn't get him doesn't mean we won't have a great bunch of receivers next year.

Bryce Brown

Rumors are flying around that running back Bryce Brown, widely considered the No. 1 high school prospect in the country, is considering an official visit to Auburn.

Whether or not this is true, I don't know. But here are some things to think about:

He is considered a bigtime every down back who carries the offense on his shoulders. Does that sound like a good fit for a team in the process of converting to a form of the spread? I don't think so. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm would love to have him. In fact, I think he may be the best pure running back since Adrian Peterson in 2003. But the knock on Brown is his hands and apparently he's also a straight-ahead runner. To my knowledge, that's not really the type of back that thrives in Gus Malzahn's system.

Also, he's currently committed to Miami. And guess what.. his older brother Arthur plays middle linebacker for the Hurricanes. Word is that his commitment is hinging on who they bring in as the new OC to replace Patrick Nix, but who knows.. All in all, I believe it's like this: no matter how soft his pledge to them seems to be, I doubt he will end up anywhere else in the end. 

Remember Eric Berry a couple years ago? He seemed poised to commit to Auburn, but in the end his family ties with the Vols won and he committed to Tennessee. 

The scoop on Jay Boulware

This guy seems to be the guy who is least known about, but who may be one of the better coaches Gene Chizik signed. From what I understand, he was an offensive lineman in college and coached running backs at Iowa State - which was a much-improved squad once he got hold of them.

Something to think about: Eddie Gran coached running backs as well as special teams at Auburn, so there's your connection between the running game and special teams. And there's also your connection between Boulware's running game coaching experience and his special teams coaching job now. Apparently the two go hand-in-hand. And since he knows a little something about blocking as a former lineman, this appears to be another great hire.

Here's Boulware's bio from the Iowa State Web site:

Jay Boulware’s tailbacks hit the ground running in his first season as running backs coach, reviving the Iowa State rushing attack.  In Boulware’s first ISU season, newcomer tailbacks Alexander Robinson and J.J. Bass both posted a pair of 100-yard games. The performances marked the first time two different Cyclone running backs topped the century barrier twice in a single season since 2002. Jason Scales also had a 100-yard rushing game in 2007.

Boulware coached at Texas, Northern Illinois, Arizona, Stanford and Utah before coming to Iowa State. His Ute special teams were Mountain West Conference leaders. The Utah kickoff return unit paced the MWC in 2006. Utah earned a bid to the Emerald Bowl in 2005, beating Georgia Tech 38-10. Boulware helped coach the Utah team that received a bid to the 2006 Armed Forces Bowl, in which it beat Tulsa 25-13.

It all started for Boulware at Texas, where he lettered twice on the offensive line.  First as a student coach and then as a graduate assistant, he was with the Longhorns as they participated in three bowl games.

His players have earned national honors and gone onto the NFL.  At Northern Illinois, he recruited future All-American and current Atlanta running back Michael “the Burner” Turner.  During Boulware’s tenure at NIU, the Huskie offense ranked 12th nationally in rushing as two-time all-MAC offensive lineman Ryan Diem moved on to the NFL, where he plays for the Indianapolis Colts. Arizona recruited Boulware to the Wildcat program where he coached tailback Mike Bell, an all-Pac 10 performer who now plays for the Denver Broncos.

COACHING EXPERIENCE
2007- Iowa State
Running Backs
Special Teams Coordinator 
2005-06 Utah 
Tight Ends
Co-Special Teams Coord.
2004 Stanford 
Running Backs
2001-03 Arizona 
2001 Tight Ends
2002 Running Backs
2003 Running Backs
Special Teams Coordinator
1997-2000 Northern Illinois 
1998-00 Co-Offensive Line
1997 Tight Ends
1994-96 Texas 
1994-95 Student Assistant
1996 Graduate Assistant
Tight Ends

BOWL EXPERIENCE
1994 Sun Bowl
1995 Sugar Bowl
1996 (1997) Fiesta Bowl
2005 Emerald Bowl

What's the deal with Randle?

After some investigation and consideration, I've formed the conclusion that Reuben Randle was probably pressured into not taking his Auburn visit. If not Reuben, then his dad. And by pressured, I mean influenced (which means he could be driving a brand new Cadillac).

Now, who did the pressuring? I have no idea. Besides, it's simply speculation on my part. But I think it probably came from the Bama side. I'd be willing to bet they threw extra "incentives" at him in exchange for him canceling his Auburn visit.

It would be one thing if the recruiting services hadn't reported about his impending visit, but they did. And they don't just report based on speculation. If they do, they say so, just like they've done with Tyrik Rollison and Bryce Brown.

More on Reuben Randle

Well, according to reports, it turns out the Reuben Randle was never planning on taking a visit to Auburn. This is according to his dad, who also says he is not interested in Auburn and that it's a two-horse race between LSU and Bama.

He also mentioned that Oklahoma and Miami are on his list.

This doesn't really surprise me, to be honest. 

Apparently, the info on him visiting Auburn came from his high school coach, so I don't know what that's all about.

Here's some food for thought, maybe the Auburn coaches put that rumor out there to help with recruiting??? It would be a good selling point that the best prospect in the country is looking at your school and planning a visit. Guys want to be a part of a great recruiting class sometimes because good classes result in wins. Anyway, it was probably all just a misunderstanding, but who knows...

Rocker coming home

Sources are reporting that Tracy Rocker, former Auburn All-American and Outland Trophy winner as well as Lombardi Award winner, has accepted a job as Auburn's defensive line coach.

Another great hire for Gene Chizik.

If Rocker can teach even close to as well as he could play, Auburn's recent tradition of standout defensive lines should continue.

Rocker comes to Auburn from Ole Miss, where he coached the defensive line, and Arkansas before that. He played defensive tackle for Auburn.

I expect things to shape up something like this on defense: Rocker will coach the interior defensive linemen, James Willis will handle the defensive ends/hybrid linebackers, Ted Roof will coach the linebacking corp as a whole and Gene Chizik will coach the defensive backs. Of course, this very well may not be the case, but it could happen.

Note: there is also a rumor that Chizik is interested in John Thompson, presumably to coach the defensive backs. He has been the defensive coordinator everywhere from Southern Miss to Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, Lousianna Tech and South Carolina. He also was the HC at East Carolina for 2 years, where he amassed a 3-20 record. I believe he is currently the AD at Central Arkansas, his alma mater.

It is still very unclear how much of a roll Chizik will play in the defense. But then again, how clear was Tommy Tuberville's roll in his great defenses? The answer is not very.

I'd be willing to bet that Chizik will give Roof full reigns of the defense, much like Tuberville did for him. That's one thing he was probably able to learn from his experience at Auburn and ISU.

Recruiting... just my thoughts

News came out today that the nation's No. 1 wider receiver prospect, Reuben Randle, has scheduled an official visit to Auburn for this weekend. He is also considered the top overall prospect by Rivals.com.

This is great news for Auburn.

At this point, I don't believe he will end up at Auburn, but the fact that Auburn is even in consideration after so long of not even being on his list, really says something for the recruiting prowess of Auburn's new staff. 

He was scheduled to take an official visit to Oklahoma State, but Coach Curtis Luper convinced him to come to Auburn instead. Go CCL! For the top recruit in the country to use one of his five official visits for AU is awesome. 

Also, rumor has it that Bryce Brown, the nation's top running back prospect according to Rivals.com, may be interested in visiting Auburn as well. He is currently committed to Miami but is rumored to be unhappy with Randy Shannon after the Robert Marve fiasco and transfer. If Auburn can get him to the Plains, we'll have a good chance.

There is another rumor that Tyrik Rollison is interested in Auburn now. He is listed as the No. 2 dual threat quarterback and the No. 2 most accurate passer in the nation by Rivals.com. He is also listed as the nation's NO. 58 overall player. He is an outstanding talent out of Texas and here's the kicker: the top school on his list has been Oklahoma State for a while and his recruiter? Curtis Luper. This one could really happen and believe me, Auburn could use him. 

Things are certainly beginning to take shape for Gene Chizik and his new staff. Even if these guys don't end up at Auburn, it's great to see that our new coaches can generate interest in Auburn out of guys who previously were totally uninterested. 

--

Now, my dad and I sometimes disagree on this next subject - we are just from a little bit different schools of thought.

I argue that rating systems nowadays are far more accurate than they used to be and going after four and five star prospects are near-guarantee's in today's game. 

He argues that the Tuberville/Dye philosophy is still a productive way to recruit. That is, of course, to go after the guys less sought after, sign them and develop them into great players. For a long time I agreed with this school of thought, because for a long time it worked. It worked GREAT for Pat Dye and it has certainly worked well for Tubs. But you have to be very good at scouting talent and potential to be able to do this, and it generally seems to work best with non-skill positions, like linemen. 

When it comes to quarterback, the ratings are pretty accurate. Jason Campbell was the No. 2 quarterback in the nation coming out of high school and Carnell Williams was the No. 5 or 6 running back. Ben Obomanu was the No. 4 wide receiver.

Ben Grubbs was a 3-star defensive end - he's now in the NFL as a guard.  Tyronne Green was a 2-star defensive tackle - he'll be in the NFL as a guard. And Ronnie Brown was not highly recruited either.  Antonio Coleman was a 3-star. Sen'Derrick Marks was a 2-star. So there's a few points for my dad's argument.

I think you can safely sum it up like this: you can pretty well bet that if a guy is rated 5-star by the recruiting services, he's going to play well on the field (if he doesn't get into trouble). They don't always pan out, but usually do. But just because a guy isn't highly rated rated doesn't mean he won't blossom into a superstar. 

I think you definitely need to keep your eyes open for the diamonds in the rough for sure, but also go after the diamonds that are already clean and polished.

How do ya like me now?

This is likely to appear as a column in the Citizen of East Alabama Thursday:

Everyone remembers the public outcry in the wake of Tommy Tuberville’s firing/resignation, and Jay Jacobs’ subsequent hiring of Gene Chizik. People criticized Jacobs’ ability to lead a program the caliber of Auburn and called for his job. Charles Barkley even went so far as to call Auburn racist for hiring a white football coach over Turner Gill.

Well, let me ask you all a question: with the recent additions of Gus Malzahn (OC), Curtis Luper (RBs), James Willis (LBs?), Trooper Taylor (WRs) and Jay Boulware (STC) to the staff, what do you think of the Chizik hire now? Is Jacobs still an idiot?

Of course, the verdict will still be out until actual football games are played, but it appears as though instead of hiring the guy with the best record, they hired the guy with the best plan. They hired the best “fit” for Auburn.

It also looks like Gene Chizik is a very smart man. Instead of demanding $3 or $4 million a year to rival Nick Saban, he took only $2 million, or somewhere close to it, and decided to spread the rest amongst his supporting cast. How ingenious is that?

The great ones understand that you can’t do it by yourself, especially in the SEC. Tommy Tuberville understood that, too. The difference is that Tuberville had his posse formed early on, when assistant coaches didn’t make very much. And he made good choices off the bat.

Today, nearly all coaches make a ton of money – arguably way too much – especially if they win. And I guarantee you this: If Gene Chizik wins more football games than he loses next year, and improves upon that the next year, he’ll get a raise. Wins a conference championship? A raise. Competes for a national championship? A raise. My point is that in college football, there is almost always room for your salary to grow – just keep winning. But the best way to establish yourself as a winner is to surround yourself with the best coaches and recruiters in the country, which will draw the best players in the country.

One of the greats said the best way to ensure that you win football games is to surround yourself with the best players. 

Malzahn is one of the best offensive coaches in the country; Chizik is one of the best defensive coaches in the country; Willis, Luper and Taylor are some of the best recruiters in the country, not to mention their outstanding coaching abilities. Now that sounds like a formula for success.

Utah No. 1 ?

Let’s make a case for Utah. This is a team that beat Michigan in week-1, beat two top-15 teams in TCU and BYU, beat an Oregon State team that beat USC, and beat Alabama by more points than Florida did.

 

This is a team that plays in an inferior comference, but does everything it possibly can to schedule the toughest non-conference games it can. They did the best they could, and won every game. How can anybody say they don’t deserve a shot at the National Championship. This, in my opinion, is just another perfect case for either a playoff or a plus-one game.

 

I like the plus-one idea the best, simply because it is a compromise. It won’t really prolong the season too much and pits the two best teams at the end of the year against each other. Play the season out and subsequent bowl games as usual, then just take the two highest ranked teams and let them play each other.

 

Under the playoff formula, keep the bowl games for everyone not ranked in the top 8 – consider that to be the NIT-type of football. For everyone else, put 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, etc. Sure, it will add three weeks on to the season, but if you drop the recently added twelfth game, it’s really like adding two weeks. This way, someone from the SEC who goes all the way will play 15 games. But they’ll be the undisputed national champion. Doesn’t that phrase sound good? Undisputed.

Now let's see what Florida does.