Last night overheard some in the high school coaching world talking about Gus. Man, those present did not like him. They said some pretty nasty stuff, which I will not repeat here.
Another question as a wise person mentioned to me – why all the hate for him at Auburn? Is it because he’s not won enough? Or is it because he’s really not a nice guy?
I don’t know a lot about Gus. I was mad at him years ago because of all the drama that tarnished an SEC-West title – but I’m way past all that and not interested at all in re-hashing that in this post, so please don’t go there.
I’m intrigued by him being the new Hog coach. The spin from taking a Coach from Auburn will be huge for Arkansas. I have also heard he is a great recruiter, and I expect he will win big next year with all the experience returning. Plus he’s won some big games at Auburn – and he gets credit for that, just as Coach B gets credit for that abysmal SEC record at Arkansas.
So, why do some detest him so strongly? Anybody know what those high school coach folks were getting at??
You won’t get a straight answer on why people don’t like Gus, because most don’t know why. You’ll hear he’s a jerk, from most who haven’t even met the guy. I don’t care.
Pros- he is familiar with the SEC and knows what it takes, players and coaching. He has recruiting ties already developed. Runs a unique offense that when he has a good qb, is almost unstoppable, but the key is the qb. Has great connections to make good assistant hires who are worthy of being in the SEC. He’s a Razorback, and knows exactly what the fans want and deserve, that’s one of the main things.
Cons-
His offense is very dependent on the qb, which most are. His down years at Auburn were due to bad QBs.
Probably are some high school coaches in the state that do not like him still. Oh well.
He’s apparently said he only wants to coach for around 5 more years, I don’t necessarily want to go through another coaching change in 5 years.
Gus is focused and intense in what he’s doing and maybe he doesn’t see everyone around him or feel what they think. Wants to coach, period. Wants to call plays, period. If he’s not calling plays now, I’d be stunned. If you have Gus on your staff (head coach or not), he should be calling plays. I don’t know too many who have bad things to say about him who really know him. Maybe he doesn’t let enough get to know him, but I believe he’s a decent guy. I know some folks (and these are high quality folks) who know him very well and they think the world of him. I defer to them.
Whst I’ve heard from people in Jonesboro that were around him. Totally focused to the point he could come off as aloof. They personally liked Freeze better - much more gregarious, outgoing, etc. They also thought Gus was a better coach.
There are high school coaches in the state that carry a grudge against Gus. When he coached high school football here, he beat the dog out of everybody. Opposing coaches claimed he recruited. There’s definitely some bad blood there.
Another factor, if Gus is not fired at Auburn, if he was hired by Arkansas, Arkansas would have to pay his buyout, which is 6.9 million. Throwing in Bielema’s buyout, at some point this hire could get very expensive. I wonder what the choke is?
I think the pros are his roots here, his success in the SEC and that his offensive system is the type that can offset some recruiting challenges. From a coaching standpoint, I think his five-year record in the SEC West speaks to his quality.
The cons are that he has a past in the state and many Arkansans seem to have a long memory. He would start with some strikes against him by some, whereas that is not the case for most new hires.
For all the people on here that have complained about losing Arkansas kids to other schools (KJ Hill, etc), you better hope Gus doesn’t get the job. If he does, there will be more recruits leaving the state than ever before.
Refer to the OP. Whether you think it is right or wrong, Gus piled on high school coaches with suspicions of recruiting to the degree they changed the rules with the AAA (Arkansas Activities Assoc.) to “level” the playing field. Gus isn’t a good sport, never has been. Even his comments after the UGA game reflect that. Gus isn’t considered “one of us” even though he started his coaching career at Hughes. He’s made his bed and will now have to sleep in where many high school coaches are concerned. The only hope Gus would have is if he keeps Barry Lunney Jr. and brings Coach Tim Horton with him-both of those guys are viewed as “one of us” . But even so I don’t think it will be enough. If you guys think I have a major ax to grind vs. Gus, it is nothing compared to some of the high school coaches in Arkansas.
I think we all have life experiences with some of the type-A personalities who are driven to success. They very often don’t notice others around them or are conscious they might be ignoring some person – and folks who feel like they got ignored or disrespected are making it all about themselves but in reality it has nothing to do with them. It wasn’t personal, just someone focused on doing their job, etc. Your comments make me feel a lot better. I wonder too if some of that anti-sentiment from the high school coaching world goes back to lost football games, competitive jealousy, etc.
Was an admirer of his football mind, hoped he would be a difference maker when he joined the staff at Arkansas. Believed Houston’s ego limited his contribution, might have been a bad combination of egos. Learned to dislike him at Auburn, guess I am old school enough to place a high value on class and sportsmanship and think he enjoys embarrassing people. Will learn to love him if he starts sporting a Hog on his visor, probably love him more if he has a lot of his “bam” moments on our sidelines, hopefully without the gestures.
Competency wise, I think he is a gifted play caller with a real flair for maximizing his teams offensive proficiency. I know he needs the right kind of quarterbacks for his system, but he has done pretty well in finding them or hiding them until they master his system.
Since, I think they beat Bama today and Georgia, next week, I feel this is an academic discussion.
Gus is a self centered spoiled punk! There is no "I " in team and everything Gus cares about is himself. He is and has never been a good team player. Especially as a coordinantor. The actions he took as a high school coach reflect just how much integrity he has.
When you drive through the country side of Arkansas and see a jack ass that’s Gus with 4 legs and hair.
If he manages to win here more than CBB it would suprise me! With more talent at Auburn he hasn’t bone much better.
The fact he has been facing getting canned last year in the Auburn LSU game and won Les Miles got fired instead of him.
Well he has been on the hot seat this year as well. He wants to gain the stroke to have power to protect his job here! Just don’t be surprised when he’s on the hot seat here and we are talking about him getting fired in3 to 5 years of he is the next coach.
This is what I think when Gus is concerned. I have zero knowledge of any of it but sometimes somebody just rubs you the wrong way. Gus does that for me.