NeroSteptoe

OK. You’re crazy.

SEC fans stand united on two things: 1. We all hate Gary Danielson. 2. We all (apparently) have broken mute buttons on our TV remotes.

Nix came in with a lot of hype, for several reasons. He was really good in high school, he was an Auburn legacy, and he was a relatively rare commodity in Alabama - a kid who grew up here and always dreamed of playing for Auburn. It seems that, given all those factors, and with several other teams in college football lighting it up with high-powered passing attacks, undue pressure may have been placed on him by both the fans and the coaching staff to be the next big thing. There’s no doubt he’s talented and a very competitive kid, but he’s not Tua or Trevor Lawrence or Joe Burrow, and never will be. He’s a solid dual threat QB who could thrive in the right system and with better coaching. He needs a better offensive line and a system geared to allowing him to get the ball efficiently into the hands of his playmakers. The O-line has four new starters and a returning starter who’s not going to make anybody’s all-conference list. It will get better - it already has with its run blocking - but that’s going to take some time. One of Gus’s traits is that it seems to take him four games or so before he figures out what he has on offense, and at that point Auburn typically shows some significant improvement over the balance of the season. We’re about to find out if that pattern holds true this year or not. If it doesn’t, then Auburn will likely win only one or two of its remaining games, if that many.

Coaches and players come and go. And Malzahn has certainly worn out his welcome with the fan base. He’s managed just enough big wins, mainly over Alabama, to survive up to this point. Those wins are outliers, and the rest of his tenure has been mediocre. The financial issues driven by the pandemic probably mean we’re stuck with him through 2021 at least. But hiring a new coaching staff won’t make any difference unless and until Auburn cures the problem it’s had forever: the powers that be have to unite behind whoever the coach is and then get out of the way and give him complete control over the program, along with the resources he needs to succeed. There have always been way too many cooks in the kitchen at Auburn whose egos won’t let them step aside and leave the job up to the professionals who know how to do it. Until that changes, Auburn will continue to ride the rollercoaster.

Auburn won’t hire Hugh Freeze. And even if it tried, he probably wouldn’t take the job because he and Gus are very close friends. My top choices, in no particular order, would be Fleck, Napier, Campbell, and Cristobal.

One issue the article overlooks: Auburn has had below-average recruiting on the offensive line for several years. Those chickens are coming home to roost this season in particular, with four new starters. They have improved somewhat in their run blocking, however. We definitely need to hop on board the Tank.