October 8, 2008

Auburn's OC Tony Franklin Out Already Before Mid-Season?

Unconfirmed reports are coming out of Auburn today that embattled OC Tony Franklin has been fired. Nothing yet has shown up on any of the major sports news wires, but we'll update you when we get more.

Franklin has received most of the blame for Auburn's struggling offense, which currently ranks 104th in the nation in total yards. Already, major refinements have been made to his offensive scheme so that it bears little resemblance to his original spread--all in an attempt to boost offensive production for the Tigers, which has been pretty miserable this year.

UPDATE: Reports are confirmed now, and starting to come in from a multitude of sources, including a statement from Tuberville himself.

Tuberville has already said that he would take a more active role in the playcalling Saturday against Arkansas, but it's not known to what extent and to whom the Tigers will look to call the plays the rest of the season. It's kind of hard to pick up an OC midseason, so another coach may have to perform double duty until next year.

No idea how this might affect Auburn's recruiting, as they have very quietly been putting together a good class for next year. One of the main reason's why Auburn decided to go to the Spread offense in the first place was to facilitate the recruiting of better talent, especially receivers.

Certainly, Auburn's offensive woes have been well chronicled this year, but you have to question ousting the man at mid-season. My best guess is that the rest of the coaching staff may have played a critical part in Franklin's un-doing. Although Tuberville's coordinator's have come and gone over the years, including a revolving door at DC, he's retained the same basic cadre of coaches in the 10 years. Rumors were that it was them who weren't big proponents of the spread and that many of them had to be explained it's concepts just like the players did.

You gotta look at the positive, though. At least they told the man himself and didn't fly a jet anywhere to launch a palace coup...

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Auburn's OC Tony Franklin Out Already Before Mid-Season?
Unconfirmed reports are coming out of Auburn today that embattled OC Tony Franklin has been fired. Nothing yet has shown up on any of the major sports news wires, but we'll update you when we get more. Franklin has received most of the blame for Auburn's struggling offense, which currently ranks 104th in the nation in total yards. Already, major refinements have been made to his offensive scheme so that it bears little resemblance to his original spread--all in an attempt to boost offensive production for the Tigers, which has been pretty miserable this year. UPDATE: Reports are confirmed now, and starting to come in from a multitude of sources, including a statement from Tuberville himself. Tuberville has already said that he would take a more active role in the playcalling Saturday against Arkansas, but it's not known to what extent and to whom the Tigers will look to call the plays the rest of the season. It's kind of hard to pick up an OC midseason, so another coach may have to perform double duty until next year. No idea how this might affect Auburn's recruiting, as they have very quietly been putting together a good class for next year. One of the main reason's why Auburn decided to go to the Spread offense in the first place was to facilitate the recruiting of better talent, especially receivers. Certainly, Auburn's offensive woes have been well chronicled this year, but you have to question ousting the man at mid-season. My best guess is that the rest of the coaching staff may have played a critical part in Franklin's un-doing. Although Tuberville's coordinator's have come and gone over the years, including a revolving door at DC, he's retained the same basic cadre of coaches in the 10 years. Rumors were that it was them who weren't big proponents of the spread and that many of them had to be explained it's concepts just like the players did. You gotta look at the positive, though. At least they told the man himself and didn't fly a jet anywhere to launch a palace coup...