Auburn Football: Tigers Make a Splash with Brian VanGorder Hire

Gene Chizik was preparing for his first appearance for the pregame shows on ESPN yesterday when news began to leak that he had found his new defensive coordinator.

Before lunchtime, during head coach Mike Smith’s news conference, it was announced that the Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder was departing for the same position at Auburn University.

The Auburn recruiting trail has been leaking in the wake of both coordinators announcing their departure from the Plains and the Tigers coaching staff has done their best to keep guys on board while continue to bring in top talent.

This coming weekend looks to be a great weekend for recruiting in Auburn with names like Stefon Diggs coming to campus. There will also be a host of current Auburn commits like Javon Robinson and Ricky Parks, as well as early enrollees Shane Callahan, Javiere Mitchell and Zeke Pike*.

With the announcement of VanGorder as defensive coordinator, the Tigers are one step closer to filling out the staff. There were a few names that were tossed in the mix for the Auburn coordinator position, but VanGorder was a splash out of nowhere hire.

VanGorder knows the college game well. He was a Broyles Award winner in 2003; the year before Gene Chizik won the award at Auburn. VanGorder won his at Georgia. He coached a Georgia defense that finished in the top 10 three years in a row and had a scheme that dominated the run while harassing the opposing quarterback.

VanGorder has a great reputation for his work with linebackers and has coached some very good NFL talent. When the news leaked that he would be taking over the defense at Auburn, former players responded well with nothing but high marks for the former Atlanta Falcons and Georgia coordinator.

Travis Williams, a former Auburn and Atlanta Falcons linebacker, is supportive of the hire. He said that “He’s the real deal” in an interview with auburnsports.com. Williams also goes on to say that when he was a linebacker at Auburn, the Tigers would watch film of his linebackers play while he coached at Georgia and that the Auburn players would try and mimic their technique and attack points.

A former player under VanGorder, David Pollack, stepped out to say this on Twitter:

“Congrats to Brian VanGorder for his new DC job at Auburn. He knows defense inside and out. Not good news or SEC O's”

“VanGorder was the biggest football junkie I have ever been around. Studies hard, demands excellence and teaches u how 2 b a man”

VanGorder has quite the glowing endorsement of former players and guys that studied his defenses. He has a great reputation with the Falcons and has helped the Falcons guide a young squad to the playoffs. Granted they finished this season with a loss this past weekend, but it was a very youthful group that overachieved expectations.

There was really no better time for the Tigers to make a splash hire at the defensive coordinator spot than this week. Recruiting is winding down, and the big-name players are making their final decisions on official visits and which school will receive their signature.

If there's no coordinator in place, it's tough for kids to make a decision to go to that school. The Tigers saw targets like Deon Bush commit elsewhere this past weekend at the All-Star games, mainly because of the lack of clarity and assumed disarray that the program found itself in.

With the hiring of VanGorder, the Tigers are ready to tackle the recruiting trail again with vision and direction to discuss with the defensive recruits. VanGorder was known to be a very good recruiter in his time with Georgia. He was especially well known as a great talent evaluator and player developer. He's a darn good on-the-field coach.

VanGorder will also bring a unique perspective to recruiting in the state of Georgia. Georgia is already a location that the Tigers perform well in on the recruiting trail, but with VanGorder recruiting the state for four years while at Georgia, he has relationships that will be easy to rekindle.

VanGorder has another edge on the trail outside of already knowing the ropes and the high school coaches, he has NFL experience. When these recruits are choosing a college a number of them want to find a place that will prepare them the best so that they can reach the next level. Who better to coach you then a former NFL defensive coordinator? There isn’t a better option.

VanGorder is also known as a players' coach. Hes able to build strong relationships with his players where they play for him as well as their school. VanGorder will be able to come to Auburn and get the players who are in the program on board. They're hungry for success as they witnessed it two years ago, but finding the right mix of coaching and effort is the answer that the Tigers may have found.

VanGorder is a coach who expects excellence from his players and will not settle for the “I’ll get it next play” mentality. He has an intensity that rivals that of Chizik’s, and that intensity matched with expectation was welcomed by the players during the bowl preparation.

VanGorder is expected to be officially announced as the new defensive coordinator at a press conference tomorrow in the midmorning. The Tigers staff will not appear to have much more of a shakeup with one or two assistants possibly joining VanGorder on the staff. Keeping continuity is crucial for the Tigers this offseason.

VanGorder will run a defense that's very similar to Chizik’s. There will be a wealth of linebacker blitzes and zone coverage that will assumingly lead to turnovers. The VanGorder defense is aggressive and allows for the linebackers to fly around to the football and make big plays. It will be fun to watch develop and fun for players to take part in on the field.

VanGorder was a big-time hire for the Tigers who were looking to make an impact on the recruiting trail and on the field with their current team. VanGorder brings a glowing resume to the table and will bring a new level of intensity to the defensive side of the football. If Auburn was looking to return to the “old days” of hard-nosed defense, they got the right guy.

*Zeke Pike has not officially been cleared to enroll at Auburn this spring by the NCAA, but the Pikes have made the trip to Auburn under the assumption that he will make it through the clearing house in time for acceptance for spring semester.

*1.11.12 Auburnsports.com is reporting that Zeke Pike is now enrolled at Auburn.

In Other News…

***Onterio McCalebb announced his return for a senior season today. The Tigers will look to McCalebb to provide leadership for a young but talented backfield this coming season. McCalebb is currently ranked No. 9 on the Tigers all-purpose yards list.

***Auburn is closing in on the recruiting trail relatively well with the new hiring announcement giving the Tigers a new advantage. Recruits like to be a part of new and exciting change, especially when the team has established a winning tradition. It will be interesting to see how Auburn closes with guys like Eddie Goldman, Deon Bush and Kwon Alexander.

***Basketball head coach Tony Barbee has signed his contract with Auburn. It's good for $1.5 million a year through June of 2017.

***Michael Dyer looks to be transferring to Arkansas State. Former Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn will be his head coach.

***There's one really warm name for the offensive coordinator search for Auburn. It's Kerwin Bell—Bell played at Florida during the '83-'87 season's where Chizik and he were first acquainted, and is current Jacksonville University head coach. Dirk Koetter was rumored to be a hot name until today when reports were pushed out that he was not a candidate.

***It appears that Kodi Burns will join Gus Malzahn at Arkansas State as a member of Malzahn’s staff.