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Just winning is not good enough in the SEC
Michigan
Posts: 4,942 ✭
in Sports Talk
MCT news service:
HOOVER, Ala. - Won a national title and two SEC rings but have a losing season? Suddenly you don't know how to coach.
Go undefeated in 2004, and win six straight against your hated rival, but have a losing season? Suddenly you are a worthless bum.
Welcome to the wonderful, high-expectation, high-stress world of the SEC, where winning coaches like Phillip Fulmer and Tommy Tuberville have been kicked to the curb, only to be replaced with losing coaches like Lane Kiffin and Gene Chizik - all in the name of bringing a fresh start to their programs.
Of course, good coaches getting fired or stepping down after a lousy season is not unique in the SEC. Everyone wants to win now. When they don't, the theory goes that changes must be made.
But in the case of Fulmer and Tuberville, both consistently won at their schools and one subpar season should not define their legacies, nor reflect on their coaching abilities.
That especially holds true in the case of Tuberville, who was at Auburn for 10 years before he stepped down under pressure last December. Auburn struggled to learn a new offense and went 5-7, including an embarrassing 36-0 loss to rival Alabama to close the season.
Never mind that Tuberville won an SEC title in 2004 when his Tigers went undefeated but failed to get an opportunity to play for the national championship. Never mind that he ranks fourth on the school's career coaching victories list. Never mind that he had previously beaten Alabama six straight times.
Auburn officials saw the struggles. Saw Alabama surpassing the Tigers behind Nick Saban. Saw a humiliating defeat. And, quite frankly, they panicked. Because the man they brought in to replace a winning head coach has done nothing to merit a job that requires the skill and savvy to outmaneuver Saban and Alabama.
Chizik was 5-19 in two seasons at Iowa State. He was the defensive coordinator on Auburn's 2004 team, but it is hard to make a case that Chizik can do a better job than Tuberville.
As for Fulmer, he won a national championship at Tennessee in 1998 and two SEC titles. Only two losing seasons in 17 years. But the Vols felt a change needed to be made after he went 5-7 last season.
So they brought in Lane Kiffin, who has proven to be a complete amateur since he was hired in December.
Here is a man who was fired four games into his second season with the NFL's Oakland Raiders with a 5-15 record.
Since he has been at Tennessee, the Vols have been nabbed for several secondary recruiting violations, and Kiffin has accused Urban Meyer of cheating. He admitted Thursday that because he'd been in the NFL, he didn't have as firm a grasp on NCAA rules.
No way can Tennessee fans feel more comfortable with Kiffin on their sidelines.
Both coaches clearly know the pressure is on them to win. Immediately.
"I don't think there's any more pressure put on Auburn football than what I put on our kids and myself," Chizik said.
"We don't really pay a whole lot of attention to all of the external issues out there. The pressure's going to be there no matter what school you're at. If you're in college football that comes with the territory."
Coaches such as Vanderbilt's Bobby Johnson and Kentucky's Rich Brooks have been given time to build up their programs, even through down seasons.
Brooks acknowledges "that the patience level in society, let alone college football, is at a premium right now."
But expectations at Vanderbilt and Kentucky have nothing on the expectations to win at Auburn and Tennessee.
Fans won't tolerate rebuilding seasons for long. Add in the legacies of the coaches they are following, and Kiffin and Chizik could be facing short stays at their schools if they can't win now.
"We know what conference we're in. We know what school we're at," Kiffin said.
"That school, the people around us, expect us to win. They expect us to win a lot of games. And I love it. I love being a part of that. I would not want to be somewhere where the expectations are down because that's not who I am."
But are you anywhere close to Fulmer or Tuberville? Not right now.
HOOVER, Ala. - Won a national title and two SEC rings but have a losing season? Suddenly you don't know how to coach.
Go undefeated in 2004, and win six straight against your hated rival, but have a losing season? Suddenly you are a worthless bum.
Welcome to the wonderful, high-expectation, high-stress world of the SEC, where winning coaches like Phillip Fulmer and Tommy Tuberville have been kicked to the curb, only to be replaced with losing coaches like Lane Kiffin and Gene Chizik - all in the name of bringing a fresh start to their programs.
Of course, good coaches getting fired or stepping down after a lousy season is not unique in the SEC. Everyone wants to win now. When they don't, the theory goes that changes must be made.
But in the case of Fulmer and Tuberville, both consistently won at their schools and one subpar season should not define their legacies, nor reflect on their coaching abilities.
That especially holds true in the case of Tuberville, who was at Auburn for 10 years before he stepped down under pressure last December. Auburn struggled to learn a new offense and went 5-7, including an embarrassing 36-0 loss to rival Alabama to close the season.
Never mind that Tuberville won an SEC title in 2004 when his Tigers went undefeated but failed to get an opportunity to play for the national championship. Never mind that he ranks fourth on the school's career coaching victories list. Never mind that he had previously beaten Alabama six straight times.
Auburn officials saw the struggles. Saw Alabama surpassing the Tigers behind Nick Saban. Saw a humiliating defeat. And, quite frankly, they panicked. Because the man they brought in to replace a winning head coach has done nothing to merit a job that requires the skill and savvy to outmaneuver Saban and Alabama.
Chizik was 5-19 in two seasons at Iowa State. He was the defensive coordinator on Auburn's 2004 team, but it is hard to make a case that Chizik can do a better job than Tuberville.
As for Fulmer, he won a national championship at Tennessee in 1998 and two SEC titles. Only two losing seasons in 17 years. But the Vols felt a change needed to be made after he went 5-7 last season.
So they brought in Lane Kiffin, who has proven to be a complete amateur since he was hired in December.
Here is a man who was fired four games into his second season with the NFL's Oakland Raiders with a 5-15 record.
Since he has been at Tennessee, the Vols have been nabbed for several secondary recruiting violations, and Kiffin has accused Urban Meyer of cheating. He admitted Thursday that because he'd been in the NFL, he didn't have as firm a grasp on NCAA rules.
No way can Tennessee fans feel more comfortable with Kiffin on their sidelines.
Both coaches clearly know the pressure is on them to win. Immediately.
"I don't think there's any more pressure put on Auburn football than what I put on our kids and myself," Chizik said.
"We don't really pay a whole lot of attention to all of the external issues out there. The pressure's going to be there no matter what school you're at. If you're in college football that comes with the territory."
Coaches such as Vanderbilt's Bobby Johnson and Kentucky's Rich Brooks have been given time to build up their programs, even through down seasons.
Brooks acknowledges "that the patience level in society, let alone college football, is at a premium right now."
But expectations at Vanderbilt and Kentucky have nothing on the expectations to win at Auburn and Tennessee.
Fans won't tolerate rebuilding seasons for long. Add in the legacies of the coaches they are following, and Kiffin and Chizik could be facing short stays at their schools if they can't win now.
"We know what conference we're in. We know what school we're at," Kiffin said.
"That school, the people around us, expect us to win. They expect us to win a lot of games. And I love it. I love being a part of that. I would not want to be somewhere where the expectations are down because that's not who I am."
But are you anywhere close to Fulmer or Tuberville? Not right now.
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