Never a big fan. I had a lot of respect for him and everything he’d been through but didn’t think much of him personally. I was wrong. NMSU had been one of the worst G5 progress for most of the last 75 years and he’s about to go to a conference title game and a second straight bowl game.

Agreed. NMSU was a program where no one could win. Since their last conference championship in 1978 (in the Missouri Valley Conf), 8 coaches have only managed 4 winning seasons; their best season 7-5 in 2002.

In the college football hall of fame there should be a wing for coaches who "produced miracles", ie Bill Snyder at Kansas State, Frank Solich at Ohio, Jerry Kill now at NMSU. Maybe Barry Odom at UNLV? Frost at UCF? Chris Creighton at Eastern Michigan?
Who else should be honored??

Is the story Auburn does not support the football team they same way as Liberty? I don't know Auburn but it's a place that two coaches went to die. Tony Barbee did well at UTEP and Auburn seemed to be the end of the line.

(11-19-2023 03:33 PM)Elliot Lewis Wrote:  Frost at UCF?

George O’Leary had success there before Frost.

(11-19-2023 04:09 PM)Steve1981 Wrote:  Is the story Auburn does not support the football team they same way as Liberty? I don't know Auburn but it's a place that two coaches went to die. Tony Barbee did well at UTEP and Auburn seemed to be the end of the line.

Auburn supports its athletics whether winning national championships or having down years. What it doesn't sustain is lack of success. Shug Jordan, Pat Dye, Tommy Tuberville, and even Terry Bowden (until non football related issues surfaced) had all the support they needed to succeed. Gus Malzahn was given time.

Brian Harsin simply didn't do the job.

Barbee didn't win.

Sonny Smith, Cliff Ellis, and Bruce Pearl have succeeded in hoops.

The coaches at Auburn which have short tenures had epic collapses. Chizik inherited talent, won a national championship and then had a rapid decline. Malzahn plateaued and didn't improve, mostly due his micromanagement style which kept disruptions going on with his coordinators, particularly the offensive ones. Auburn athletics makes over 140 million a year (usually about 11th or 12th in the nation depending upon the year). If somebody hacks off the donors, or simply tanks, they are gone, just like in any other business operation. Wins and losses however have not dramatically impacted Auburn's financial standing over the years. That is stability.

Auburn should have hired Bill Clark instead of Harsin.

(11-19-2023 05:46 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(11-19-2023 04:09 PM)Steve1981 Wrote:  Is the story Auburn does not support the football team they same way as Liberty? I don't know Auburn but it's a place that two coaches went to die. Tony Barbee did well at UTEP and Auburn seemed to be the end of the line.

Auburn supports its athletics whether winning national championships or having down years. What it doesn't sustain is lack of success. Shug Jordan, Pat Dye, Tommy Tuberville, and even Terry Bowden (until non football related issues surfaced) had all the support they needed to succeed. Gus Malzahn was given time.

Brian Harsin simply didn't do the job.

Barbee didn't win.

Sonny Smith, Cliff Ellis, and Bruce Pearl have succeeded in hoops.

The coaches at Auburn which have short tenures had epic collapses. Chizik inherited talent, won a national championship and then had a rapid decline. Malzahn plateaued and didn't improve, mostly due his micromanagement style which kept disruptions going on with his coordinators, particularly the offensive ones. Auburn athletics makes over 140 million a year (usually about 11th or 12th in the nation depending upon the year). If somebody hacks off the donors, or simply tanks, they are gone, just like in any other business operation. Wins and losses however have not dramatically impacted Auburn's financial standing over the years. That is stability.

would love to know: what happened at Auburn w/Terry Bowden?

(11-19-2023 07:30 PM)Gemofthehills Wrote:  Auburn should have hired Bill Clark instead of Harsin.

I agree but didn’t Clark retire due to health issues? So they wouldn’t have had him long but at least he’d have left the program better than he found it.

(11-19-2023 07:35 PM)Just Joe Wrote:  

(11-19-2023 07:30 PM)Gemofthehills Wrote:  Auburn should have hired Bill Clark instead of Harsin.

I agree but didn’t Clark retire due to health issues? So they wouldn’t have had him long but at least he’d have left the program better than he found it.

Auburn should have given the job to Kevin Steele.

(11-19-2023 07:45 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(11-19-2023 07:35 PM)Just Joe Wrote:  

(11-19-2023 07:30 PM)Gemofthehills Wrote:  Auburn should have hired Bill Clark instead of Harsin.

I agree but didn’t Clark retire due to health issues? So they wouldn’t have had him long but at least he’d have left the program better than he found it.

Auburn should have given the job to Kevin Steele.

The guy that went 1-31 in the Big 12?

(11-19-2023 08:30 PM)Pastasevensamurai Wrote:  

(11-19-2023 07:45 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(11-19-2023 07:35 PM)Just Joe Wrote:  

(11-19-2023 07:30 PM)Gemofthehills Wrote:  Auburn should have hired Bill Clark instead of Harsin.

I agree but didn’t Clark retire due to health issues? So they wouldn’t have had him long but at least he’d have left the program better than he found it.

Auburn should have given the job to Kevin Steele.

The guy that went 1-31 in the Big 12?

He's one heckuva a Defensive Coordinator and he's now at Alabama. He'd have been fine as H.C. at Auburn as it's much easier to find a good OC than a DC. And nobody has done much at Baylor in between Grant Teaff and Art Briles.

You could say Jerry has killed it at NMSU...

This dude wins at Auburn and some of you are anointing him the great cheese American? LOL. Check this out..

23-16 Northern Illinos - 0-2 Bowls
29-29 Minnesota - 0-3 Bowls
2-2 TCU - 0-0 Bowls
16-9 NMSU - 1-0 Bowls

Quick, hire this world beater before it's too late!

Hard to believe UMass beat them........

(11-19-2023 09:34 PM)ZooMass84 Wrote:  Hard to believe UMass beat them........

That's what I thought, too. I was surprised by their opening result.

It's a few things:

1) He's a good coach that's dealt with some health issues but has made it back.
2) NMSU had been searching for a conference home for years. It's hard to build a program without a conference, especially in a remote location such as Las Cruces. Once they got into a conference, any conference, their prospects became better. The new C-USA was even better for them. It's a conference where they were primed to win bigger than they had in years.
3) I'm not familiar with their roster, but I'm sure they've benefited from the transfer portal. The transfer portal can help the right coach and program turn things around quickly.
4) They caught Auburn in the right year as the Tigers hit rock bottom this year with transition in their program. That's not to take anything away from their win in the slightest. I'm not surprised by their win, but I am surprised by the margin.

I'm not surprised by NMSU's success.

Cadilac did a decent job while the head coach.

(11-19-2023 09:30 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  This dude wins at Auburn and some of you are anointing him the great cheese American? LOL. Check this out..

23-16 Northern Illinos - 0-2 Bowls
29-29 Minnesota - 0-3 Bowls
2-2 TCU - 0-0 Bowls
16-9 NMSU - 1-0 Bowls

Quick, hire this world beater before it's too late!

I think I'm seeing a straw horse getting knocked down.

Nobody anointed him the great cheese American, but independent of whatever went before, two winning seasons at NMSU is notable on its own ...

... add on top taking them to their second bowl following a half century long drought, qualifying for their third bowl the following year and going to their conference CCG the first year in the conference, and that's a pretty good tale of the tape.

After all, not all schools go 8-4 or better their first season in a conference.

(11-20-2023 12:24 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(11-19-2023 09:30 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  This dude wins at Auburn and some of you are anointing him the great cheese American? LOL. Check this out..

23-16 Northern Illinos - 0-2 Bowls
29-29 Minnesota - 0-3 Bowls
2-2 TCU - 0-0 Bowls
16-9 NMSU - 1-0 Bowls

Quick, hire this world beater before it's too late!

I think I'm seeing a straw horse getting knocked down.

Nobody anointed him the great cheese American, but independent of whatever went before, two winning seasons at NMSU is notable on its own ...

... add on top taking them to their second bowl following a half century long drought, qualifying for their third bowl the following year and going to their conference CCG the first year in the conference, and that's a pretty good tale of the tape.

After all, not all schools go 8-4 or better their first season in a conference.

Ok. When Ryan Day goes to the NFL, Ohio State can hire Kill.

How many NMSU threads do we need on the front page?

This is a bitter pill to swallow.

Good for him and the Aggies but enough is enough. Please

I hope he sticks around, the desert air seems to be working.