Envy gets the better of Tuberville

By John McMullen  |   Thursday, October 16, 2008  |  Comments( 7 )

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"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house; neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any
thing that is his."

-Exodus (20:17)

I'm not a religious guy, but even I know envy is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, according to the Catholic Church.

Still, there are degrees of envy.

It really isn't going to upset the universe if you wish you had your buddy's car or you are secretly pining for your neighbor's wife. Unless you act, of course.

In Tommy Tuberville's world, envy is what Urban Meyer has accomplished at Florida and the Auburn mentor acted on his subsequent jealously.

Tuberville decided to play copycat and bring the spread offense to a program that was built with a power running game and great defense.

To most, that sounded like a bad idea when you consider that the personnel the Tigers sport is still better suited to play traditional Auburn football.

That didn't mean the switch in philosophy couldn't work. Programs shift gears all the time and you have to expect a few hiccups along the way. Look no further than Rich Rodriguez's struggles in Michigan this season to prove that thesis.

So, when Tuberville brought in Tony Franklin to pound a square peg into the round hole, it predictably failed this season.

It almost had to. But so what?

If Tuberville truly believed the spread offense was the future of college football, he should have taken his lumps and continued turning over the personnel with a goal of recruiting athletes that better fit the scheme.

Instead Franklin was out after an ugly loss to Vanderbilt and Tuberville came across like Charlie Brown, a wishy-washy guy who has no earthly idea what he wants.

With his scapegoat (Franklin) safely out of the picture last week, Tuberville and the Tigers lost again, this time to a rebuilding Arkansas team that has nowhere near the talent of Auburn.

Instead of looking in the mirror, however, the flighty Tuberville took the time to push the panic button again and throw both of his underachieving quarterbacks under the bus.

Tuberville said Tuesday that freshman Barrett Trotter will compete for the starting quarterback job this week and will have his redshirt pulled if he wins the backup job from Kodi Burns.

Nothing like a little panic to stop a slide, huh?

Perception is often far greater than reality and Tuberville may soon find that out.

It took just half a season, but, at least from the outside, Tuberville looks like he has lost control of the Auburn football program.

All in the name of envy.
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About John McMullen

John is the managing editor of The Phanatic Magazine, the assistant managing editor of The Sports Network and the co-host of the highly rated 'Johns on Sports' radio show on WTBQ in New York. Every Saturday from 6:30-9 p.m. (et) you can hear John along with his co-host, John Gottlieb, talk to the...
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CommentsComments: 7  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
warbird		03:14 AM
10/16/2008
Franklin was no scapegoat..... when you start dog cussing players and involve yourself in physical altercations its time for you...
No.2
warbird		04:24 AM
10/16/2008
Spawn After the Vanderbilt game you may recall that coachTuberville would not allow him (Franklin) to speak to the media....
No.3
Spreadeagle		12:22 PM
10/16/2008
This writer is just slinging an unfounded opinion which happens to be wrong. You know what they say about opinions. I won't write...
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