Auburn Fires Franklin…
October 8, 2008 | 6:29 PM
Stick a fork in us, we’re done. Today Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville fired offensive coordinator Tony Franklin, less than a year after hiring him to replace Al Borges. Since Tuberville took control of the Auburn football program in 1999 (my freshman year there), he has seen five offensive coordinators come and go (technically, Hugh Nall continued as offensive line coach from 1999 to the present). The best year we had on offense came in 2004 (albeit not necessarily statistically) when Auburn went undefeated and wasn’t allowed to play in the BCS Championship Game against USC (USC subsequently blew out Oklahoma). That was under Al Borges. Tuberville, a defensive specialist, will fill in as play-caller until the team hires a new coordinator. Outstanding.
Adam Feldman, Alan Cross, David Jackson, David Phillips, Ed Stetzer, Kevin Bussey, Justin Woulard, Micah Fries, and Timmy Brister: you may now begin the taunting.
Posted in 
joe kennedy, 2008
Man,
I’ve never heard of anything like this. Tubs must be worried about his own hide.
October 8th, 2008 at 9:49 PM
Kevin, you know Bama has much more stringent standards for their coaches.
That said, first Al Borges resigns before the bowl game last season, then Franklin is fired midway through this one. Ridiculous. You bet Tuberville is worried. This is a team that has underachieved the majority of his time as head coach. He’s not on the same level as your Les Miles, Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, or Mark Richt… he’s a good coach, and a great recruiter… but not a superstar.
That said, with guys like Auburn trustee Bobby Lowder around to charter jets and meet with Petrinos behind everybody’s back (he was also behind Bowden’s departure), Tuberville will never be safe. All we (Auburn fans) want is some consistency on offense. I think that’s why I was so surprised when Borges was forced out last year.
October 8th, 2008 at 10:01 PM
Dude, I was very suprised to hear about this yesterday, but Tomy tuberville is still a very good coach. As you mentioned in the post the guy should have had Auburn in the championship game four years ago. Sure, he may not be a Les Miles et al, but how many are? Who is to say that if Tuberville gets fired that Aubrun will get a coach better than him? He consistantly has Auburn playing very good in the SEC and that is nothing to sneeze at. A couple of plays go differently this year and Auburn has only one loss. I would absolutly love if Maryland had a program as consistantly good as Auburns, I think Coach Fridgen is on the right track, especially considering how backward the program was when he got there, but it’s still no where close to Auburn.
October 10th, 2008 at 8:47 AM
who knew vandy could wreck such havoc?
…taunting? seriously? why would i smack talk about this coaching decision? i think turberville has been protecting his rear and keeping himself in the program for way too long. it would be good for auburn (and good for the SEC in return) if he’s ousted.
…you have NO idea how hard that was for me to write that. yeesh.
October 11th, 2008 at 9:56 AM
And today we lose to Arkansas… or we are with a minute to go, down 25-20… I mean, it’s over. We’ll be lucky to beat Tennessee Martin for homecoming. No chance at West Virginia, no chance against Georgia, and absolutely no chance whatsoever against Bama, which may very well be playing Texas for the national championship.
Some years they go your way. Some years.. you just know it’s not going your way. Here’s hoping the Broncos can get a little better on defense and I can enjoy the NFL.
October 11th, 2008 at 7:15 PM
toughin’ up, bro. try being a BAMA fan for the last 7 years………….
October 12th, 2008 at 3:34 PM
Hey, no taunting from me. After the humiliation of my Tigers in Gainesville, I choose to remain quiet. Actually, I do not want to see Auburn go down. The enemy of my enemy is my friend comes into play here as LSU and Auburn now have a natural alliance because of our disdain for Alabama. Alas, it looks like Saban is again working his magic and has Bama on top earlier than expected.
They are now saying in Montgomery that it looks like Tuberville is trying to find a way to exit gracefully. Stay tuned . . .
October 15th, 2008 at 2:39 PM
Joe,
I will not taunt YOU. I like you too much. I understand the struggles of a disfunctional football team, and choose not to revel in someone else’s pain.
As Alan mentioned, however, it appears that there is an agreement for Tubbs to leave Auburn. He will use his neck as an excuse. He’s tired of the crap from Lowder and the boys.
Hope you are well in Dallas!
October 15th, 2008 at 7:02 PM