What hit the cutting room floor in our chat with Jay Jacobs

We already got the juiciest quote out of the way Friday. And we put a lot of words in the newspaper today.

So what on Earth does Jay Jacobs still want to tell you?

Quite a bit, actually.

Here’s what would appear on the “special features” section of the DVD.

How planned was the athletic department for this economic tumult?
Our budget starts July 1 and we start budget planning in January, and that was a time where the economy wasn’t very good at all. The university started over a year ago with no raises and we didn’t know particularly what kind of funding the university was going to get and how much the tuition increase was going to cost, so we had to prepare for those. Each year, we go through the same budgeting process, but you also have to look at what your expenses are going to be and what your revenue is going to be. We do an exceptional job of forecasting where we may end up.

Was this year particularly difficult?
It makes it difficult because you have to be more sensitive to what may or may not happen, particularly in this economy. But, you know, because we have already established our July budget, we’ve already planned for this upcoming year. If we get through the next few months of this economic whatever it is, downturn or upturn, we’ll have a better idea in January for what the next year holds.

What did the decision to not replace associate AD Mark Richard come down to?
One part of it was financial, the other part was to give other people an opportunity to get more experience. We took what Mark Richard was doing with sport oversight and we gave a couple people that had wanted to have that experience, but didn’t have the opportunity to, so we gave them the opportunity to oversee a sport.

Auburn’s generating a whole lot of revenue compared to other athletic departments. That’s a good thing, right?
The great thing is that the Auburn people, they continue to support Auburn University and Auburn athletics. That report was actually from last year, so just appreciate their willingness to be able to contribute and support Auburn University. We’re very proud of Auburn people that are willing to give back.

Evaluate baseball coach John Pawlowski after his first season.
He’s the guy that’s going to get it done. He’s got a great plan and he’s the kind of guy that represents Auburn well. Somebody that’s part of the Auburn family. He wants to win academically and athletically more than any of us. He’s the right guy to get it turned around. We knew what we were getting into this first year. We’ll continue to see improvement in our baseball program with John’s leadership.

You have a new golf coach, UCF’s Nick Clinard.
Nick is one of those guys that has proven he’s had top recruiting classes over the last five years. Won the conference championship last year, top 10 in the nation. No. 1 thing was his character and integrity and just when he walks in the room, you just know he’s the guy you can trust and count on, do the right thing and do it the Auburn way. It’s great to have him on board.

Men’s golf and volleyball have been pretty wretched over the past few years. What goes into rebuilding a program?
Everything goes into it trying to help them turn the corner. They know more about what is best for them to succeed academically and athletically more than anybody else. My job, our job as administration, whether it’s sports medicine, academic counselor or myself, is to give them the best opportunity to compete. To recruit the highest caliber person and athlete and be able to provide the best circumstances for the student athletes and coaches and that’s what we do.

Are they even close to being there?
Because of the recruiting class that Mike Griffin left us, bringing in five freshmen, I think we’re in a good spot. I don’t know how long it will take to compete for the SEC championship. Women’s volleyball is probably two years away from being able to compete at the level Wade Benson would like them to. It just depends how everything works out and how everyone in the league is as well. Any time you change coaches, it takes a little bit more time then when you don’t.

Speaking of coaching changes, you like Gene Chizik, right?
I knew him before he was here and I suspected he could be a great head coach. After that interview and after having to interview other coaches, I knew he was the right guy for the job. He had a plan, he had been in this league before, he knew what a great team ought to look like because he was here in ‘04. He knew what a national championship ought to look like because he won one in Texas the next year. He was the nation’s top assistant coach after the 2004 season. I knew that he knew what it took to compete from the Southeastern Conference and I knew he was the kind of man with character and integrity because of knowing him before. My feeling isn’t any different than it was six months ago.

What’d you see in him back in the day?
It wasn’t as much as what I saw in him, as much as I saw in the players he coached. They always talked about him. They always talked about Coach Chiz. I’d ask them what’s up with that guy. ‘Hey, he loves us, he works us hard, he teaches us and he cares about us.‘ Those are the things that people like Junior Rosegreen and Carlos Rogers and those people would say about him. And it’s one thing to love a coach, it’s another thing to respond. They loved him and responded. It was just, that speaks volumes for a mans ability to lead a team and to coach and do the things that are necessary to raise men and win championships.

(Photo credit: Todd Van Emst)