Since Tommy Tuberville prefers duck hunting to recruiting, he and a few other lazy coaches pushed for a recruiting rule change. The rule prohibits coaches from on-site evaluations during the spring evaluation period. It went into effect Tuesday, according to the Tuscaloosa News.
Saban visited over 100 high schools last spring. How many did Tuberville visit? Substantially less. In fact, we know he didn’t do much in Mobile, where Tuberville was conspicuously absent, while Saban swept the town.
This laziness or lack of commitment to excellence is known by Auburn fans, and despite their protestations of support—they worry about Tuberville. Paul Finebaum’s program on Thursday discussed the difference between older and younger fans, and how expectations are different for athletics depending on what generation the fans compose.
You could also compare the generational support to the amount of wisdom that age (or experience) brings. Older fans know what it is like to face Alabama at full strength (ie: without a moron on the sideline.) They know Tuberville is an average or slightly above average football coach. They know that Tuberville was only able to post a 1-1 record against Mike Dubose.
If you can’t dominate Mike Dubose, how can anyone expect you’ll extend your winning streak against a competent coach?
You can’t.
That’s why there was Jetgate.
Auburn’s day in the sun is setting. Instead of happiness, you see Auburn fans worried. They know the Tigers have reached the high-water mark. It is only a matter of time until their fans bemoan the failure of Jetgate.
Until then, they can expect more duck hunting than recruiting. And the lazy rule won’t make the likes of Saban, Marc Richt or Urban Meyer as lazy as that.
I forgot to post the other news items to go with this post, so here they are:
Tony Barnhart also talked about Saban’s dislike of the Tuberville Lazy recruiting rule in his AJC blog. “It’s ridiculous that we’re doing what we’re doing,†Saban said. “We put ourselves at a tremendous disadvantage.†Saban was asked this new rule was directed at him. Saban is known in coaching circles as a very aggressive recruiter. “I’d rather not answer that,†he said. “Everybody can draw their own conclusions.â€
The Montgomery Advertiser also wrote about the lazy recruiting rule.
Alabama landed a second commitment with Kellen Williams of Snellville, Georgia. Williams appears firm in his commitment, according to ESPN: “I told (Saban) my recruiting is done now. I’m 100-percent with Alabama.” Williams should be a full academic qualifier, according to Rivals.
15 thoughts on “Tuberville ‘lazy’ rule now in effect”
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Wow, Tubby has more pull than I thought!!!
First, he changes the recruiting rules and then (this is the most impressive by far) he talks the feds into having a spring duck season!!! There’s just not much Ol’ Ears can’t do.
Haha, seriously though, don’t you think it is odd that the coaches who had the worst recruiting classes in the conference are the ones who supported this rule change?
I believe Tuberville is working harder this year than last. Since you are an Auburn fan, I’d love to know why you think Tuberville was complacent last year.
Was it frustration with AU (he wanted contract changes, etc.)? Was it cockiness? He just got accustomed to kicking Shula’s butt?
Capstone-
Maybe you have more inside info than I do…who voted for the change? The only coaches that I have seen speak negatively about the rule change are Saban and Petrino. Johnson said that he liked it because it was too hard to police coaches (believe he was referring to secondary violations) and Nutt said it didn’t bother him. I haven’t seen where any other coaches have addressed the change.
Honestly, I just think that Tubby got his arse handed to him last year in recruiting and it wasn’t just Bammer that handed it to him. Why did it happen? Well, there are probably a lot of different reasons….The Saban hype, the current UGA hype, 2 new coordinators, new offense that is considered a radical change for AU, contract negotiations, etc. I don’t think that there is just one thing that led to a sub-par class.
As an Auburn fan, one sub-par class does not scare me. Now, if AU and Tubby drop the ball again next year and get owned by their SEC counterparts…then I will start to worry!!!
The only other coach I’ve heard upset by it was Pete Caroll at USC. I *THINK* I’d read Mac Brown’s name too, but I can’t swear to it, and can’t find it atm.
Here’s the link to a Carroll story: http://www.petecarroll.com/index.cfm/pk/view/cd/NAA/cdid/402711/pid/400025
That’s outside the SEC, but I think it is interesting that the successful coaches are the ones most angry by it. It was my understanding that Urban Meyer was probably the culprit who got the rule forced on everyone else—he’s played fast and loose with the rules, probably more than anyone else in the conference.
I think you are right though. It probably was a host of reasons that hurt AU’s recruiting. Richt is doing a great job. Meyer is doing a great job on the recruiting trail (but I’ll be the first to admit watching Meyer’s face after back-to-back loses to Auburn was priceless). And Saban’s typical strong recruiting performance.
Throw in a little complacency, and it was a recipe for a bad year.
I really believe he is working much harder this year—holding his staff accountable. I think we can say right now, his next signing class will be much better than last seasons.
But I have to admit the impression of Tuberville duck hunting while Saban and everyone else recruited is just so vivid. While it isn’t Nero fiddling while Rome burned, it comes close. And when you add in his flirting with other jobs, it becomes a recipe for disaster.
Alabama’s had lots of disaster, so I’d consider myself an expert on that now. 😉
Capstone-
I’m surprised that Carroll is upset about the change. Seems like it would hurt his opponents more than it would hurt him since USC has been the place to be lately and it would limit his opposition’s chances of luring a top recruit away from him.
Funny thing about the duck hunting trip is that Tubby has taken the same trip during the same week for 10 straight years. IMO the hunting trip had little to do with the final recruiting class, but it was an easy target for people to take aim at. Honestly, who didn’t think that Saban would have an unbelievable class? It wouldn’t have mattered if Tubby was hunting elephants in Africa or recruiting in Mobile….Saban and Bammer were going to have a great class. With the hype of Saban and the possibilty of immediate playing time at Bammer is was inevitable!!!
As for recruiting in the future…I think Saban and Bammer will continue to have great recruiting classes and dominate the in-state recruiting like they pretty much always have (minus a year here and there). I think Auburn will be fine and will get back on track, but I think we will see Auburn start expanding their recruiting efforts to other areas, which is pretty evident right now. I was a little skeptical about Franklin at first, but he is already drawing interest from some top talent from around the nation and that will be a major plus for Auburn when recruiting skill players.
Tubby is one of the luckiest coaches to ever walk a sideline for a college-ball team in the state of Alabama. He goes from zero to hero, nothing to everything in no time at all; and why is that? Just as you said, he grew accustomed to beating a severely below average coach who had control of the team during their darkest hour of the program’s history.
Now the tables have turned, and we’re seeing more of a pre-Alabama sanctions Tuberville; the one who held his head down in shame on the sideline in the fourth quarter, instead of the coach with that arrogant “I now control the strings, thanks Albert Means” smirk on his face. Even he, himself doesn’t know how to handle the situation, which in my opinion explains why he’s out duck hunting, instead of working to continue his recruiting and winning dominance over a team who now is no longer buried down with restrictions and penalizations. I’m not a Barnie, so I wouldn’t know if “hunting” is a stress reliever or not, but I’m assuming that’s what hunting does for you seeing how Tubby is now under an enormous amount of pressure due to no longer having complete control over the state and the surrounding areas.
Tubby had one standout victory over Shula, which came in 2005. Other than that, Shula had every opportunity in the world to defeat him, but came up short due to his inability to coach and call big plays during the game. That tells me something about Tuberville and that is his talent got him through the entire streak. And if I recall correctly, Tubby had a skyscraper full of talent compared to us, and now the tide is slowly turning.
Now that Shula is no longer the man in control, and the one and two star recruits which belongs to him are slowly fading away, Tubby had better seriously reflect upon his future in coaching at A P I if he wants to remain a “legend” in the eyes of the Barnie faithful.
The Alabama Polytechnic Institute Duck Hunting Gambler is suffering from sore vagina syndrome only because he no longer can skillfully recruit high school students from a tree-stand, like he could back when his doormat (Shula) was coaching The University of Alabama. Now Mr. Tubber-neck should resort to plan B: How did I win over the recruits at Ole Miss? Neither of that truly matters anymore because Tubber-neck and his Alabama Polytechnic Institute Cowgirls’ football team basically took a long, six year vacation while his cross-state superior, Alabama paid for their sins.
Vacation’s over now, Tubber-neck. Mama’s calling for you to come back home to Arkansas. But if Ole Miss doesn’t work out for Nutt, I’m sure Oxford is still a perfect fit for you as far as coaching superiority goes.
Face it, Saban is ticked off because he knew he was flouting the rules before by going out to schools and “bumping into” recruits. He’s ticked because his borderline illegal tactics got shut down. Waaaaah.
And frankly, Tuberville’s success is not ALL about beating bama. His was the only team to be the national champions in the 2006 season. He is one of the winningest coaches in the NCAA, particularly against Top 10 teams. That’s not exactly “luck.”
And while you all love to cite his record against Dubose, last time I checked, Dubose wasn’t the bama coach. It is Saban, who is 2-4 vs. Tubbs.
I would say the luckiest coach to walk a college sideline is Saban, who won 1/2 a NC at LSU, then got so enamored of himself that he left there to become a giant failure in the NFL. He will be the Phil Fulmer of bama.
So true Lisa. They love to quote the record with DuBose but never mention that he owns Saban. What you and most Uaburn fans fail to realize is that the measure of success has changed. Its not about who beats who on the field its all about who “wins” recruiting and how many you get a the spring game. I guess you tout what you can but it used to be about who won on the field.
Oh it typically figures Barnies are the first and only inferior morons to point out Saban “cheated” while reeling in the nation’s top recruiting class, while the rest of the nation looks down on you for revealing your envious excuses as to why Tubby slipped off the recruiting map, approximately one year after Alabama was cleared of their NCAA probationary penalties (after being OWNED in recruiting prior to our probationary sentencing).
Most of you West Opelika Tech Incests are simply caught up in your own “success.” For the most part, Tuberville’s “success” came calling immediately after his fatherly institute, Alabama, fell off the map. And before you post a nonsensical blabbing response, you must realize it’s not an excuse, but a proven fact.
Tuberville simply filled our gap, which was genius on his part for doing so. On a more serious and logical note, do you honestly think Tubby would be setting on the mountain’s peak at the current moment, if Logan Young had never, moronically offered Albert Means that ridiculous amount of money to play for UA? Absolutely not, he’d probably be either out of a head coaching job, or coaching the defensive line at USA.
Either way, since the beginning of time, Alabama has always owned West Opelika Tech on the recruiting stage. Naturally, there have been a few periods in time where you snuck up and devoured us in head-to-head recruiting, but 90% of the time, we’ve always had the upper-hand, which is why we currently hold the all-time win streak in the series. What dummy in their right mind would choose Opelika Tech over schools like UA, UGA, UF, UT, and LSU anyway, unless however their program is in literal ruins?
Is it ironic, or is it not, the only times in which you have dominated us both on the playing and recruiting field were during our weakest periods? The only credit I am willing to give West Opelika Tech is in the 1980s because that was the only period in time that I will rightfully admit you guys were the better team while both teams shared an equal and level playing field. Other than that, you can credit us for your dominance in the 1950s and in the new millenium.
It’s a simple fact and I know you’re too caught up in your current “success” to see the truth. But don’t worry, just as soon as we get our numbers back up, you will.
As far as Tuberville goes, I don’t want to hear a thing about his overrated and irrelevant 2004 perfect season. You should be thankful that you guys DIDN’T play USC or OU that season, or else the perfect season would’ve been no more and the Opelika Farmer’s Market couldn’t have awarded you as national champions. If you honestly think a team who barely defeated an NCAA and injury beleaguered, Mike Shula led Alabama team, who limped into the Iron Bowl WITHOUT half of their starting offense, and a third string quarterback taking the snaps, not to mention YOU CHEATED TO DEFEAT LSU BY ONE POINT and the hairline win over a lousy Virginia Tech, do you honestly think you were ready for a far more superior opponent? Absolutely not!
Last I recall, Tuberville, has only won 1 SEC title in 10 YEARS and NO National Championships within that time period. How many years did it take Nick Saban to win 2 SEC TITLES? Better yet, how many years did it take him to win 1 National title? I should put it to you as simply as I possibly can: How many years has Tuberville coached in the SEC? About 14 years, and throughout that amount of time (may I remind you 14 years), how many SEC titles does he own as a head coach? 1!!!!!!! 1!!!! 1!!! 1!!! How many National Titles does he own? 0!!!!! 0!!!!!! 0!!!!!
Saban won more in nearly 1/4 of that amount of time, AFTER inheriting an LSU team who was worse off than we were. Therefore, that subject’s case is closed.
You must admit, Tuberville has earned his respect in the eyes of the casual college football fan, and rightfully so. However, it’s somewhat hard to fairly determine what it took for him to become one of the most successful coaches in the history of AU football. He had mediocre/above average success at Ole Miss, and he was on route to deliver the same at AU, but saying he caught a break courtesy of Alabama’s slide is merely a metaphor. If Franchione had weathered the storm and had elected to resign with Alabama, WITHOUT the downside of NCAA sanctions, Tuberville would most likely hold a 3-5 record vs. Alabama right now. But unfortunately, that isn’t the case. We all seen he successfully capitalized on the opportunity, now let’s see if he can maintain it.
Tubby just got lucky that Bama was crippled by probation and a bad coach (Shula). Ol’ Ears and the rest of the Polytechnic Opelika Cow College Truck Driving Cowboy Boot Wearing Auturds better get ready because Bama is Back!!!
Roll Tide Roll
Rammer Jammer Yellowhammer
Give ’em hell Alabammer!!!!
Bear Bryant will never end Bama Polytechnic University’s streak nor will he or Alabama ever relive the glory days of Thomas and Wade – the confident Barnie. However, the future didn’t seem to agree as Bear Bryant compiled an impressive 19-6 record over Bama Polytechnic University, and won 6 AP/UPI titles and won 10 SEC titles.
Gene Stallings will never defeat Pat Dye – the confident Barnie. However, the future seemed to have disagreed with that proclamation as well because Gene Stallings never lost to Pat the great and compiled a final record of 5-2 against Bama Polytechnic University.
Now we’re back to square one — once again! Can Tubby alter the future? Well, if your previous legendary historic figures couldn’t, I highly doubt an average coach who was on death row until Alabama’s collapse can.
UA hires Dennis Franchione- “We’re Back” said the confident Bammer
UA hires Mike Price- “We’re Back” said the confident Bammer (you have to admit that the ending to this marriage was hilarious)
UA hires Mike Shula- “We’re Back” said the confident Bammer
UA hires Nick Saban- “we’re Back” said the confident Bammer
Now we’re back to square one-once again! Can Suitcase Saban alter the future? Well, if your previous coaches couldn’t turn back the hands of time to the 70’s, I highly doubt a coach that will be gone in 3 years can:)
It is really hard to talk someone who grew up in Georgia out of playing football for the University of Georgia (especially if they have the talent to do it) The same goes for any young man who grew up in Florida, Tennessee or in Alabama.
My point?
Auburn is not the #1 school of choice in any of these states so they have to recruit in all of them to make a team.
And this rule gives them even less time to sell their programs….
Yes I am sure that somewhere there are a bunch of slack jawed yokels yucking it up over how “Nick Saban done got put in his place hehehehe!”
And all the while never realizing that If you are the #2 or #3 choice in your state thanks to this rule… You are screwed!