Jay Jacobs is in control of Auburn athletics

Jay Jacobs is the most powerful Auburn athletics director since Pat Dye.

For 10 years in the big office, David Housel’s options were limited in a lot of areas. When it came to hiring and firing coaches in major sports and other major decisions, there were lots of fingers in the pie.

It became obvious just how dysfunctional the situation was when Housel, trustees Earlon McWhorter and Byron Franklin and president William Walker sneaked away to interview Bobby Petrino two days before the Iron Bowl in 2003.

The trip, along with its atrocious timing, wasn’t Housel’s decision. It was Walker’s. That, along with SACS probation that hit shortly thereafter, changed the way the Auburn athletic department runs.

Even before Housel officially retired, Hal Baird took over as the man in charge of Auburn athletics. But Ed Richardson, who followed Walker as president, was determined to make final hiring decisions. He wouldn’t seriously consider hiring Mike Anderson as basketball coach. He rejected John Pawlowski as baseball coach.

Six years later, Jacobs is firmly in charge of Auburn athletics. He made the call, controversial at the time, to hire Gene Chizik as football coach. He’ll make the call on whether Jeff Lebo returns as basketball coach and he’ll make the call on who replaces Lebo if a change is made.

President Jay Gogue puts it very succinctly: “I don’t fire coaches. I fire athletics directors.”

And that’s as it should be.

No one operates in a vacuum. I’m certain there are people who Jacobs turns to for advice and counsel. But the final decisions are his. The Board of Trustees and president have their proper roles to play, too. But, in the final analysis, for the first time in a long time, the drama and intrigue that were so much a part of Auburn athletics for so long are gone.

And that is refreshing.

Article courtesy AuburnUndercover.com

Notre Dame coaches serving dual roles

Notre Dame assistant football coaches Chuck Martin and Mike Elston will be serving dual roles for head coach Brian Kelly. Martin, the defensive backs coach, was named recruiting coordinator, and Elston, the defensive line coach, was named special teams coordinator Thursday. “Chuck will do a great job coordinating our recruiting efforts because he is very persistent and very organized,” Kelly said in a statement. “With Mike directing our special teams, I expect us to have a similar philosophy as our offensive and defensive units this season and that is to be well coached and aggressive.” Martin worked under Kelly at Grand Valley State and took over when Kelly left for Central Michigan. “We didn’t have a coach with the title of recruiting coordinator at Grand Valley State, so, in essence, I was the recruiting coordinator,” Martin said. “We’re going to be looking for the best players in the country, and we’ll continue to recruit nationally.” – Journal Gazette

USC adds special teams coach from Fresno State

USC announced Thursday that Fresno State assistant coach John Baxter was hired as the Trojans’ special teams and associate head coach. Baxter, 46, spent the past 13 seasons at Fresno State and was one of Bulldogs coach Pat Hill’s original assistants. Fresno State kicker Kevin Goessling made 15 of 16 field goals last season, including a school- record 15 in a row. “Hiring John Baxter is something that I thought could probably never happen,” USC coach Lane Kiffin said. “Having him here will be huge for our team on and off the field. “He put together a 13-year run of special teams at Fresno State that were better than any in the country.” Fresno State blocked 83 kicks during Baxter’s tenure and leads the nation with 48 blocked kicks since 2002. – LA Daily News

College football broadcasting legend Keith Jackson returning to TV

Keith Jackson, 81, will be back on-air to host and do interviews for on Big Ten Icons, a 20-episode series the Big Ten Network will launch in September. The series will count down what it will deem the 20 most-iconic Big Ten athletes, from any sport. Here’s how Jackson explains his role: “I’ll just try to stay out of the way. They needed an old-timer to wobble around in front of it to get it going.” Not exactly, says BTN senior coordinating producer Bob Lanning, who worked with Jackson for years at ABC. “When I first talked with him about the project, it was like flipping on a switch with him about who should be on the list of icons. He said he wanted to have some editorial control, not just read a script.” – USA Today

Ole Miss paying DC Tyrone Nix $500k per season

Ole Miss held on to Tyrone Nix this offseason, even after the defensive coordinator entertained a job offer from one of the nation’s premier programs in Florida. Now the Rebels are paying for that privilege. Nix has signed a three-year contract that will pay $500,000 annually - a substantial increase from the $360,000 he made in 2009, according to figures obtained by The Clarion-Ledger. The former Southern Miss star is the highest paid assistant coach in the state of Mississippi. Under Nix, Ole Miss had the fourth-best defense in the Southeastern Conference last season, giving up only 18.6 points per game. – Clarion-Ledger

Nevada’s Chris Ault not worried about hot seat

Chris Ault is approaching spring practice the same way he has his previous 25 spring practices — with a goal to build depth and evaluate newcomers. As for any added pressure coming on the heels of a 2009 season that ended in abject failure, the Nevada football coach said he doesn’t feel it. “Most coaches who won eight games would be pretty pleased. I’m not one of them — not the way it ended,” he said, referring to the Wolf Pack’s 8-4 regular-season record, which preceded a 45-10 loss to SMU in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve. “As far as feeling any pressure, it’s no more than any other spring since I’ve been here. I just want to get better.” – Reno Gazette-Journal

Alabama’s Nick Saban taking players to meet President Obama

Alabama’s national championship football team will tour the sights in Washington, D.C., on Monday, including a stop by the White House to meet with President Barack Obama. The White House and University of Alabama on Tuesday confirmed details of the trip, which has been expected since the Crimson Tide beat Texas in the Jan. 7 BCS national championship game. During the day in Washington, there are scheduled stops at the U.S. Capitol, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and National Mall. Alabama’s team will also take part in a service project, meeting with a group of D.C.-area youth and encouraging them to stay in school and discuss the positive impact of making healthy choices, according to the White House. The Crimson Tide will depart Tuscaloosa on Monday morning. Coaches and players will return in time for next Wednesday’s on-campus pro day workouts for NFL draft-eligible players and the start of spring practice, which is scheduled two days later. – Huntsville Times

Northwestern, Illinois to play in Wrigley?

Even the voice-cracking humiliation of singing at a Cubs game has not soured Illinois Coach Ron Zook on the idea of returning to Wrigley Field — especially if the occasion is a game against Northwestern. The teams are set to meet Nov. 20, and Zook hopes the teams can square off at Wrigley Field. “It would be great national exposure and a neat thing for both sides,” said Zook, who visited Chicago on Tuesday. “Wrigley Field transcends the whole country.” Northwestern officials, buoyed by the success of the NHL’s Winter Classic, have been trying for more than a year to make a Wrigley Field game a reality. On Jan. 17, NU athletic director Jim Phillips said: “Within the next month or so, we’ll decide if it’s something that can work. There are a lot of moving parts.” – Chicago Tribune

Memphis needs more football wins to join major conference

Former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese says the University of Memphis needs to win more in football to complement its compelling case for a major conference bid. Tranghese served as a paid consultant to the UofM athletic department during a sixth-month stint in which he evaluated a Tiger program positioning itself for inclusion in a Bowl Championship Series conference. Tranghese’s consulting work ended Dec. 31. He was paid $5,000 monthly through private donations, according to athletic director R.C. Johnson. – Commercial-Appeal

Report: Big Ten wants Rutgers

The consensus among Big Ten sources, officials from other conferences and TV executives is that Rutgers offers the best package. Missouri is second and Pittsburgh third. Why Rutgers? It doesn’t hurt that the New Brunswick, N.J., campus is less than 40 miles from midtown Manhattan. Or that the state of New Jersey alone would be the nation’s fourth-largest television market - after New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Fans wonder: Does New York care about Rutgers? The simplest answer: When Rutgers wins, yes. During Rutgers’ football nirvana season of 2006, its game against Louisville on ESPN drew an 8.1 rating in the New York market, a “phenomenal number,” according to one TV executive. That night, the Empire State Building was lit up in scarlet. The New York market has 7.5 million TV homes, and the Big Ten Network would love to get them on expanded basic cable rather than forcing subscribers to pay extra via a sports tier. Rutgers just completed a $102 million renovation of its football stadium that added more than 12,000 seats, 1,000 club-level seats, a $5 million recruiting lounge - and earned the ire of opposition groups. Capacity is up to 52,454 with an option for building a third deck. – Chicago Tribune

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