ESPN.com is reporting that Auburn defensive lineman Sen'derrick Marks will forego his senior season and enter the NFL draft. The article also mentions that Antonio Coleman could be following him as well, and a press conference at Coleman's high school could be held later this week.

Obviously, these would be big losses to not only our defense, but our team. These guys were solid players, but also solid leaders. They will be tough to replace. I know I speak for myself when I wish Marks and maybe Coleman the best of luck in the NFL next season, and I hope I speak for all Auburn men and women.

Obviously, this isn't how I pictured the coaching search. The day Tommy Tuberville and Auburn parted ways, I was sad, but hopeful. "Coaching searches are fun," I thought. "I can't wait to see what kind of awesome coach we get. The sky is the limit!" Boy, was I wrong. I was wrong in thinking that any of the past week and a half would be "fun." I was wrong in thinking that the people in charge of our university and athletic department could even recite the alphabet, let alone hire a great coach. It got me thinking that this whole thing is like a parable...

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Well, this coaching search is wearing on me. "What did the pirate say about the steering wheel attached to his manhood?" It's driving me nuts! So, I thought I would offer my own take on a recent Green Day hit to try and artistically (ok stop laughing) express my feelings about this whole thing.

This is called "Wake Me Up When the Coach Search Ends":

Tubby has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when the coach search ends

Like Phil Fulmer's come to pass
Ten whole years has gone so fast
Wake me up when the coach search ends

Here comes Muschamp again
Calling from Lone Star
Just saying no again
Because of who we are

As my memory rests
but never forgets the games we lost
Wake me up when the coach search ends

Tubby has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when the coach search ends

Put us in the top ten again
Like we did when fall began
Wake me up when the coach search ends

Here comes Muschamp again
Calling from Lone Star
Just saying no again
Because who we are

As my memory rests
But never forgets the games we lost
Wake me up when the coach search ends

Tubby has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when the coach search ends

Like Phil Fulmer's come to pass
Ten whole years has gone so fast
Wake me up when the coach search ends
Wake me up when the coach search ends
Wake me up when the coach search ends

Auburn fans -

A friend just sent me this link. Wasn't there one like this about Turner Gill a few days ago? From Fort Walton Beach? So, DON'T TAKE THIS AS THE GOSPEL TRUTH. But, if it's true, it's exciting, and our long national nightmare would be over. Anyways, without further ado, here's the link:

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/sports/MuschampCouldBeGoingToAuburn

Maybe we can get a few more "Boom mf'ers!" Enjoy (I guess).

Ladies and gentlemen,

Throughout this search for Auburn's new head coach, which is on day 6 (feels like about day 600), names have been thrown around, no matter how feasible. What should we look for in our next coach? Head coaching experience? The ability to recruit? How good of a man the coach is? I think we're all overlooking the most important characteristic any Auburn head football coach needs to have.

I'm talking, of course, about the ability to nail a Golden Flake commercial.

This is one of the biggest problems with Tuberville's "resignation." Nobody could possibly replace those acting skills. I mean, just look at him:

At least we know Tubs has a bright future ahead of him winning Academy Awards. I heard he's already accepted a job as the new, mysterious man next door who claims to own an Applebee's, but you know he's selling smack in Guiding Light. Anyways, heaping praise on Tubby for his acting acumen was not the point of this post. It's hard not to do, but anyways, it's time to get on with the pos.

So which coach that's on our radar has the best acting chops to fill those giant shoes? Jimbo Fisher certainly has the name you'd expect to go along with a Golden Flake commercial. Will Muschamp could show some potential, but I'm afraid he's too raw. You need to be at least a little bit calm to take on a big job like Golden Flake commercials. How about Turner Gill? I'm not sure that crying over how good Maizetos taste would be the best route, but he certainly has potential. Mike Leach has already done the weather and offered dating advice, but those jobs pale in comparison to the Golden Flake behemoth.

Let's face it. When Auburn and Tommy Tuberville parted ways, we lost more than just a coach. We lost a thespian. Even if the next coach is better at coaching football, I can guarantee you that the acting level will drop off precipitously. Let's just hope that the next coach is half the actor that Tommy Tuberville was.

Hey everyone. I'd like to invite you to participate in a little contest I'm putting together. It's called "Guess the next Auburn head coach!" What I want you to do is give me the name of ONE person who you think will be named Auburn's next head coach. You can only give one answer. I actually will keep track of all the answers in a spreadsheet and give percentages once the new coach is named.

For those of you who guess correctly, tell them what they win, Marty!

Bragging rights!

Let the game begin!

My answer is Jimbo Fisher.

Regardless of whether you were in the "Fire Tubs" or "Keep Tubs" camp, or on the fence (like me), you have to admit it's a sad day for Auburn University when we fire Tommy Tuberville. His career ends at Auburn with an 85-40 (52-30 SEC) record, 1 SEC Championship, a 5-3 bowl record, and a 7-3 record against Alabama. This thread is not about speculation on his replacement or the future of Auburn's football program, but more of a thread of gratefulness to a great man who represented this university admirably for ten years. Tommy, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the job you've done at Auburn, and I wish you the best of luck in the future.

War Eagle.

Hey everyone -

Well, the 2008 Iron Bowl has come and gone, and it will go down in the history books as a forgettable game, particularly for us Auburn folk. The outcome was almost never in doubt, and when the final whistle blew, everyone who watched (I could only stomach 2.5 quarters) knew that one team dominated the other in every phase of the game: offense, defense, special teams, coaching; you name it, Alabama was better yesterday. So I just thought I'd take a break from licking my wounds to come over and congratulate you guys on a very impressive win and the most lopsided Alabama victory over Auburn in my 24 years of living. Good luck against the Gators next weekend. They look very impressive and hard to beat, but anyone who says it will be a cakewalk for Urban Meyer's squad doesn't know what he's talking about. See you next year!

With Oklahoma slamming Texas Tech last night, the Big 12 South is now in a 3-way tie. Everyone seems to be in agreement that the BCS championship game will come down to the SEC championship game winner vs. the Big 12 South winner, and it's only natural, considering that the top four teams are all in either the SEC or the Big 12 South. However, it got me to thinking about an interesting scenario.

For argument's sake, let's say that the Alabama-Florida winner is in the BCS championship game no matter what. Then, let's say that Texas and Oklahoma both win next week, and the BCS stays as it is this week, with Texas above OU. That sets up a Big 12 championship game of Texas vs. Missouri. Now, imagine that Missouri wins that game. What would the other team in the BCS championship game be?

Would it be Oklahoma, which did not win its own conference? How about USC, which won't win the Pac-10 outright unless it beats UCLA next week and Oregon State loses to Oregon? Utah is the MWC champion, sitting undefeated at #6, should they get a shot? Should Texas Tech get back into the conversation? Basically, what I'm saying is that if Missouri beats the Big 12 South winner, we are almost guaranteed to see a team that didn't win its conference playing Florida or Alabama.

Is that okay with you? What if the team that didn't win its conference beats Florida or Alabama and is deemed the national champion? How would you feel about a team without a conference championship ring wearing a national championship ring? Does this make a playoff even more needed/wanted?

I've been a playoff proponent for years, even before the 2004 fiasco. I also had the basic Barack Obama college football playoff plan a year ago, before he stole it and made it his. Eight teams, the 6 major conference champions, and 2 at-larges, either mid-major conference winners or a very good team that didn't win its conference. Now you may be saying, "but POD, isn't that counter-intuitive to what you said earlier about conference champions should win national championships?" And yes, it is. But the difference here is that the champion is determined on the field, not by some arbitrary computer system. It's like the NCAA basketball tournaments. Nobody disputes those winners because they were the best in the tournament. As everything stands this year, this is how I would set up the playoffs:

1. Alabama/Florida vs. 8. Oklahoma

2. Texas vs. 7. Utah

3. Penn State vs. 6. ACC Champion

4. Cincinnati vs. 5. Oregon State

Use the BCS for seeding, and switch Oklahoma and Utah to keep Texas from playing Oklahoma in the first round. What do you guys think?

This season has been a disappointment, to say the least. We started in the top ten, and it will take a win over Georgia or Alabama to become eligible for a bowl berth (assuming we beat UT-Martin). We got rid of Al Borges because the offense wasn't performing at the level we needed it to in order to be a top-tier SEC team. Tony Franklin came in, and all our numbers were lower than they were under Borges, so we fired him. Before yesterday's game, the offense was even worse than it was under Franklin. The defense has seen its share of injuries, for certain, but was its early-season success a matter of being really good or playing really terrible offenses? It's obvious that what we have right now don't work. If I were in charge of making the decisions about Auburn football, here is what my plan would be, for what it's worth.

For this description, I'm going to assume that we beat UTM and lose to Georgia and Alabama to close the season and finish at 5-7 (2-6). On the Monday after the Iron Bowl, I call Tuberville and all of the people in charge to discuss the football situation.

The first thing I would tell him is that he has done an admirable job as head coach at Auburn. His record at Auburn is 85-39, including 52-30 in conference. He has won an SEC title and won or shared five SEC division titles, two of which ended with a berth in the SEC championship game. He has gone 5-5 against LSU and Georgia, and 7-3 against Alabama. Against all other SEC teams he has a winning record. He has taken us to eight bowls in ten years. He has won five of those bowl games. He has kept the program out of trouble, has done a good job graduating players, and has represented Auburn University with class and dignity. By all accounts, he is a good football coach.

However, the program has slid in the last five years. The SEC record since 2004 is 8-0, 7-1, 6-2, 5-3, 2-6. We are winning fewer and fewer SEC games each year. Our offense has been regressing every year since 2004 as well. We are having a hard time recruiting talented offensive skill position players. Other SEC schools are passing us by in terms of recruiting ability and prestige. We haven't seen the SEC championship game since 2004. We have still had a good overall record since 2004, but we are trending in the wrong direction.

I would tell Tuberville that he has one year to make positive improvements. He doesn't need to go undefeated or win the conference title in 2009 to keep his job, but he needs the team to play better and have better results. Something like at least a 5-3 or 6-2 conference record, an 8-4 or 9-3 overall record  and a New Year's Day bowl game are goals. If he fails to meet these goals in 2009, then it's time for him to hit the road. If he meets or surpasses these goals, we see what he does in 2010. If the program continues to improve, we look at an extension. If we have another stinker year like we did this year, then we let him go.

As far as the offense goes, let Tuberville make his own decision about whom he hires as the next offensive coordinator, but we are involved in the process. The new coordinator either is allowed to bring in his own position coaches, or understands up front that he will have to work with the ones we have. Let offensive coordinator candidates meet with the position coaches to determine if the relationship is going to work. Let Tuberville know that his loyalty to the offensive position coaches is in question. But ultimately, let him make the final decision about the next offensive coordinator.

Auburn's football program is definitely in better shape right now than when we hired Tommy Tuberville. We have loads of talent on the defensive side of the ball, and we have some decent offensive talent. However, if we continue to deteriorate as a program, we could just as soon be in the same position as we were in 1998. And with the high level of coaching in the conference and the amount of talent at other SEC programs, it would be a much harder task to rise back to the top from that level than it was back then.

War Damn Eagle!!