Turner Gill to Auburn?

saniflush said:
PhillyHusker said:
I read that Turner Gill is a candidate for the Auburn job...

http://huskersgameday.com/2008/12/husker-n...otes-and-links/
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This tells me he would leave.

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Saniflush, I've seen you on the board before (with your Lebowski AV), but never realized you were from Auburn. I assume you came over prior to the Cotton Bowl following the '06 season.

So what is the word out of the south, is Turner a legitimate candidate? Who do the majority of the fans want and who else is rumored to be desired by the administration?

 
Dundermifflinite said:
Saniflush, I've seen you on the board before (with your Lebowski AV), but never realized you were from Auburn. I assume you came over prior to the Cotton Bowl following the '06 season.

So what is the word out of the south, is Turner a legitimate candidate? Who do the majority of the fans want and who else is rumored to be desired by the administration?
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As is the case with any larger program hunting a coach nobody seems to know anything for sure.

I do not claim to have any real "inside sources" like some so I will not sit here and claim I have a finger on the pulse. I will tell you the things I know.

1) I know Gill is a serious candidate for the position from the fan's position.

2) I know that almost every Auburn person I am in contact with likes the possibility of hiring him. There are no home run hires to be had this year and if you cannot hire a guaranteed home run you hire someone who has something impressive on their resume. I would contend that what he has done at a school like Buffalo proves that not only can he be a head coach he knows how to deal with problems. By all accounts he is a stand up individual to his players and that goes a LONG way in being successful anywhere.

3) Who the administration wants has been kept pretty quiet. The ones who say they know ie. the talking heads on ESPN, Paul Finebaum, and some others, are just spouting off what they think as well. I do not see how AU could not be putting VERY serious consideration toward Turner however as previously stated our current AD is this side of a poo flinging chimp so the possibility of him screwing this up is a solid 50/50.

Just my .02.

 
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From the Birmingham news.

Gill interviews as process picks upTuesday, December 09, 2008

CHARLES GOLDBERG

News staff writer

NEW YORK - Auburn's search for a new football coach may be moving on a faster track after a series of interviews that included a talk with University of Buffalo coach Turner Gill.

Auburn interviewed Gill on Monday, The Birmingham News has learned.

He is one of at least five coaches who have been interviewed for the job vacated by Tommy Tuberville.

Athletics Director Jay Jacobs conducted several of the interviews here Monday, though would not identify any of the candidates.
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Dundermifflinite said:
Cool, thanks for the update. If Turner does in fact end up at Auburn I believe you'll see a lot of people here rooting for him.
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I don't see how you can be a fan of college sports and not pull for him? The more and more I read about him the more and more I am just truly impressed at the type of person he seems to be.

What say ya'll about his time at Nebraska? This is too big of a board for there not to be a number of stories or things about him that the average joe wouldn't doesn't get to hear.

 
Is this a good opportunity for Gill...yes. BUT, if I were him I would be very wary of how they handled the firing/resigning of Tubberville. Big red flag in my book.

 
Reebsker said:
Is this a good opportunity for Gill...yes. BUT, if I were him I would be very wary of how they handled the firing/resigning of Tubberville. Big red flag in my book.
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Yea the whole truth isn't out yet on Tuberville and will be telling when it is. Like most any other major program we have people with a lot of money that have WAY too much say in most anything that transpires in the athletic department, however I have not seen any other major program that doesn't have the same problem.

 
DaveH said:
God I hope not. I wouldn't wish that job on anyone.
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I agree. Auburn is not a place where a young and aspiring coach should go. They will eat him alive. If people think NU fans are unreasonable, they need to look no further than Auburn. Tub did a great job there, and they forced him out. There are enough other good jobs out there that hopefully Gill will say thank you but no thank you to Auburn.

 
Was reading somewhere, will post a link when i find it, but Gill supposedly had a second interview for Syracuse. Should I start another thread on that? :lol:

 
I thought this to be a very well written piece not only concerning Gill but the problems that Auburn has in regards to the power brokers.

Blog...The Case for Turner Gill
By Gabe Harris

CollegeFootballNews.com

Posted Dec 10, 2008

Auburn University is at a crossroads in regards to its athletic program. It has a chance to make a statement that will resonate nationally, unite its fanbase, and prove once again that character and winning football can go hand in hand.

Auburn football is looking for a new head coach and whether or not you think the previous coach resigned or was fired, the facts are that after ten years Tommy Tuberville will no longer be on the sidelines.

Tommy Tuberville was never a favorite of certain powers that be at Auburn and one bad season was the opening they were looking for to finally push him out the door, a door that was unsuccessfully closed by Auburn people in 2003.

Now, Auburn men and women have another chance to force the hand of people who claim to have the university's best interests at heart. This hire will prove whether or not that is true. To his credit, Tommy Tuberville was never a "yes man" and it proved to be his downfall. If Auburn wants the status quo, then they should go out and hire an underqualified alumnus like Patrick Nix or Rodney Garner (they have already done that with their athletic director so it would be fitting). Or they can choose to pay another multi-million dollar buyout to Jimbo Fisher or risk giving the highest-paid internship in history to Will Muschamp before he takes over as head coach at the University of Texas.

What Auburn should do is think outside the box and bring in someone that will move Auburn forward, send a message to the SEC and the country, bring together a fractured fanbase, and hire the best and most qualified candidate.

Auburn should hire Turner Gill as its 26th head football coach.

Gill never lost a conference game as the starting quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, led his team to the national championship game and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

During his time as a student-athlete at Nebraska, Gill earned the Tom Novak Award for Outstanding Leaadership and Character as well as the Herbert Marshall Award for leadership. He has been inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame, was a three-time All Big Eight selection, and was the MVP of the Orange Bowl and Kickoff Classic. A multi-talented athlete, Gill also spent three seasons in the minor league systems of the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians.

He received his bachelor’s degree in Behavior Analysis from the University of North Texas in 1990.

Gill has served as a Spokesperson for the United Way and as honorary chairman for Cystic Fibrosis, the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association. In addition, he is a also a board member of the Lincoln (NE) Children’s Musuem.

During his tenure as an assistant coach with the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1992-2004 under Tom Osborne, Frank Solich and Bill Callahan, Gill served as quarterbacks coach from 1992-2002, was named assistant head coach in 2003 and served as the wide receivers coach in 2004. In 2002, he was a finalist for the Frank Broyles Award, given annually to the top assistant coach in the nation. Nebraska won three national titles during his time in Lincoln. Gill was rated one of the top ten recruiters in the nation in 2000 and 2001 by ESPN.com. He coached from Tommie Frazier, Jamaal Lord and 2001 Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch.

Crouch, Frazier and Lord rank as the top three total career offense leaders in Nebraska history. In addition to the Heisman Trophy, Crouch also won the Walter Camp Award (top player in the nation) and the Davey O’Brien Award (nation’s top quarterback) as well as being a first-team All-American in 2001.

In addition to Crouch's exploits; Frazier was also a first-team All-American, Johnny Unitas Award winner and Heisman Trophy finalist in 1995 and led Nebraska to back-to-back national championships in 1994 and 1995. Frazier and Crouch were named Big 12 Offensive Players of the Year while Frazier was named Big 12 Conference Offensive Newcomer of the Year in 1996.

Gill was the Player Development Director and an offensive assistant with the Green Bay Packers in 2005 prior to being named the University of Buffalo's head coach prior to the 2006 season.

In his three seasons as head coach at Buffalo took a team that won ten games in its first seven seasons prior to Gill's arrival and turned them into the 2008 Mid-American Conference Champions. Gill was named MAC Coach of the Year during the 2007 season. A season in which Buffalo finished 5-3 in conference play including a share of the MAC East Division championship.

At Buffalo, Gill has coached fourteen players selected All-MAC after the Bulls had just seven in their first eight years of conference play. Buffalo has also had seventeen MAC Players of the Week.

Gill also served as the offensive coordinator and has directed an offense that has rewritten the record books at Buffalo.

Gill is a proven head coach with an offensive background which is what Auburn needs right now. His experience as a dual-threat quarterback at Nebraska coupled with his experience coaching some of the greatest dual-threat quarterbacks in history will lend itself well to the development of Kodi Burns and other quarterbacks on Auburn's roster.

The main argument against Gill is that he does not have familiarity with the SEC and the recruiting area. This argument is baseless. He recruited Tommie Frazier and and others out of Florida to Nebraska. There are players from Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina on Buffalo's roster. Not to mention multiple players from as far away as San Diego and Texas.

Gill will increase Auburn's footprint nationally with his ties to Texas (his home state), the midwest and the northeast. He is a smart coach and will surround himself with knowledgeable people in Auburn's current recruiting area. Not to mention the fact that on and off the field, he is the most like Tommy Tuberville of all the candidates and will have the best chance of holding this recruiting class together.

Urban Meyer, Nick Saban and Les Miles did not have any experience in the SEC or coaching at large southern schools prior to their first head coaching jobs in the SEC. They coached at Bowling Green, Utah, Notre Dame, Kent State, Michigan State, Michigan and Oklahoma State. What do they have in common? They are the last three SEC coaches to win a national title. Not to mention the long list of coaches that have played in the SEC and subsequently failed as coaches at an SEC school.

Auburn made a rash decision in its handling of Tommy Tuberville after this season and the continued song and dance routine after every off-season was getting old for both Auburn and Tuberville. Now is the time to correct that mistake with a statement hire. Turner Gill is going to be a head coach at a BCS school sooner rather than later. Auburn has a chance to be that school.

Auburn's priorities regarding the athletic program are about to come to light. Are they going to hire the right man for the job and for Auburn or the man who is right for the money men on the Board of Trustees? Time will tell. The Auburn football program's future depends on it.
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http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3761019

Buffalo's Gill on wish list for Syracuse, Auburn after unlikely MAC title

Associated Press

Updated: December 10, 2008, 7:59 PM ET

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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Buffalo coach Turner Gill, fresh off an improbable Mid-American Conference title, is a candidate for coaching vacancies at Syracuse and Auburn.

University at Buffalo athletic director Warde Manuel told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he provided both schools permission to interview Gill. Manuel said no other schools have contacted him, and added he's been traveling so he did not have an update on whether Gill has interviewed for either of the two vacancies.

Syracuse is seeking to replace Greg Robinson, who was fired after four seasons. Orange athletic director Daryl Gross interviewed East Carolina coach Skip Holtz in New York City on Monday, while New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Doug Marrone has had two interviews. Marrone played for Syracuse, was a captain in 1984, and is very interested in the position.

Gill is among at least six candidates have interviewed for the Auburn job, according to The Birmingham News. The others reportedly include Tulsa coach Todd Graham, Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley, Ball State coach Brady Hoke, Georgia assistant Rodney Garner and Miami offensive coordinator Patrick Nix.

Auburn is seeking to replace Tommy Tuberville, who resigned last week.

Gill, the former Nebraska star quarterback and 1983 Heisman Trophy finalist, has emerged as a hot commodity after turning around what had been a laughingstock of a program. Buffalo went 10-69 in its first seven seasons in the MAC prior to Gill taking over as a first-time coach three years ago.

The turnaround became complete when the Bulls (8-5) upset previously undefeated No. 12 Ball State 42-24 in the MAC championship game at Detroit on Friday.

Gill has also been traveling on scheduled recruiting trips and unavailable for comment. He is scheduled to attend a news conference in Toronto on Thursday to promote the International Bowl, in which the Bulls will face Connecticut on Jan. 3, in what will be Buffalo's first bowl appearance.

Manuel said he'll respect whatever decision Gill makes, but hopes he'll return next season.

"I'm just looking forward to their being a strong possibility that he'll be here. I'm just thinking positively," Manuel said. "If he does go, then he's left us in a much better position."

 
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