Who for AU?

I know everyone's been waiting for this post since joaj34 hinted at it the other day. Well, here are my thoughts on possible replacements for Tubs, a coach much beloved of me. (Still, I think it was time for he and Auburn to part ways.)

1. Mike Leach - I'm kind of disappointed to hear he's supposedly no longer a candidate. Sure, his system might be a dud in the SEC, but if what we're looking for is a splashy hire, Lubbock's Pirate King is the flashiest, especially to recruits.

2. Paul Johnson - Me, I love to run the ball having the option to run the ball three ways on any given play is right up my--and Auburn's--alley. Still, he's not leaving GT after a year, and I don't know that I'd want him were he disloyal enough to.

3. Butch Davis - Please come to the Plains and contend with Saban year in and year out. That could become one of the awesomest coaching rivalries in the nation. But he ain't leaving Chapel Hill, and I don't blame him.

4. Chris Peterson - Fine with me. If you want to go undefeated, why not go to the mid-major king? But I read somewhere he was a Scientologist (no kidding), and that BS wouldn't play in the buckle of the Bible Belt. Unless he could bring us an National Championship. Then nobody would care.

5. Todd Graham - Only if he brings Gus Malzahn with him.

6. Turner Gill - I'm intrigued but don't know enough to know how intrigued.

7. Will Muschamp/Jimbo Fisher - I'd rather have Charlie Strong or Dan Mullen. Plus, they're already tied up.

8. Jim Grobe - Maybe but is he better than Tuberville?

9. Houston Nutt - I love the Right Reverend, but he's not better than Tuberville no matter how many times he beat him (6 times out of 11).

10. Steve Spurrier - Are you kidding me? Tuberville's biggest problem is his lack of fire. The OLD Ball Coach ain't getting any younger. Plus, have you seen SC? They're not exactly setting the world on fire.

Tuberville seemed to have lost his drive, and his teams have steadily been declining since the undefeated season that he failed to build a solid foundation upon. But he was steady, constant, and ran a clean program. We absolutely cannot hire down (Nutt, I'm talking to you) or laterally (Grobe). With Saban upstate, the hire has to be big, Shamu splash zone big. We shall see...