From the Editor’s Desk
An entertaining search
Arthur McLean
Being an Auburn fan, I have to admit that Alabama’s latest coaching search has been a source of entertainment.

Although I can empathize that any coaching search at a high profile college could turn into a circus, this isn’t, as they say, Bama’s first rodeo, an entertaining thought in itself.

While much seems to have already been written that there will never be another “Bear” Bryant, some people still don’t seem to get it.

My goodness, what would people do if they got Nick Saban at $5 million a year and he had a 8-4 season in his fourth year with a loss to Auburn? That could get very ugly.

I think there’s also something else that other columnists seem to have missed. The Auburn factor.

Whatever coach Bama winds up hiring will have almost no effect on the success, or lack thereof, of the Auburn program.

And therein lies the rub. You can only play the Iron Bowl once a year. Hiring the greatest football coach on the planet is not going to suddenly send the Auburn program into the tank.

No matter who they get, there will likely be no more nine straight Iron Bowl victories, and likely no more years of Auburn football frustrations overall, simply because of who is at the helm of the football program in Tuscaloosa.

It’s a different era in college football in general. Graduation rate requirements and scholarship limitations imposed by the NCAA have permanently changed the landscape of college football.

If you doubt it look to the rise of success in the programs at schools like Louisville, West Virginia and others.

While they may not be considered powerhouse programs today, they could still go toeto toe with nearly any program in the country.

Even the week sister programs of yore can pull off upsets of stronger teams these days that would have been unthinkable in the 70s and 80s.

Will Auburn continue it current streak in the Iron Bowl? Maybe, but, even with Alabama’s current struggles, there is still plenty of parity and talent to go around. Things will even out again over time.

What will happen next in the coaching search? Only time will tell.

On a side note, I’d like to thank those who’ve prayed for my father’s recovery. Progress has been hard to come by, but we’re thankful for even the smallest signs of improvement.

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