Tony Franklin now has at least one thing in common with his quarterbacks—they’ve all been sacked unexpectedly.

Sports fans and journalists are going to say a lot about the midseason firing of Franklin over the next couple of days, and I’m sure Franklin himself will soon provide some interesting sound bites saying, in essence, that he was never allowed to run his offense.

That’s a moot point because I believe the issues that led to his dismissal had more to do with play calling and discipline than with offensive schemes.

Let’s face facts: I’ve never seen a more undisciplined and confused offense than I’ve seen on the Plains this year.

In addition (as I’ve written before in this space), Franklin insisted on playing an injured quarterback. I have no doubt that a healthy Chris Todd could be an excellent player, but his injury prevents him from being able to get the ball downfield, which is an essential part of the Spread offense.

Kodi Burns has also not developed at quarterback and at times seems lost during plays, most notably last week against Vandy. Coach Tubs really believes in Burns, and seeing him looking confused at this point of the season also contributed to the firing, I would guess.

Remember, Franklin wasn’t just the offensive coordinator. He was also the QB coach, and both of his QBs looked horrible against the Commodores—in the sixth game of the season.

But what has been done is in the past now, and I, for one, say let’s leave it there.

The question of the hour is simple: Is the Spread dead at Auburn?

No. It’s not. Franklin is (allegedly) a Spread guru, but his Spread offense is not the only type of Spread being run in college football today.

One of my complaints this year has been that the Franklin offense is really simplistic compared to, say, Urban Meyer’s more developed and sophisticated version, or even the Spread variants run by Kansas or Missouri.

For example, Auburn essentially had one running play—the Read-option play, which was rendered ineffective without a run threat at QB.

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