'I'd boo me'

Tony Franklin knows he has critics.

He knows his spread offense hasn’t lived up to the billing it received prior to the start of the 2008 season.

He hears the boos.

“… If I was them, I’d boo,” Auburn’s first-year offensive coordinator said Sunday. “I’d boo me. I’d be angry. Everybody’s expectations were high. My expectations were high. … if I was a paying fan I’d be (ticked).

“This product has not been good, and it was my product.”

To date, Franklin’s offense, which was heralded coming into the Plains after successful stints at Kentucky and then at Troy and has been installed at countless high schools across the country, is ranked 10th in the SEC, averaging 329.4 yards a game, just in front of Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, respectively. The Tigers are also 10th in passing offense (173.2) and in scoring offense (19.8).

“I don’t blame (fans) for being upset,” Franklin said. “I don’t take it personal. When they said how wonderful you were, I didn’t take that personal because I knew it wasn’t true.

“I said all along that I wasn’t very smart and y’all thought I was joking. Now you know. It’s pretty true.”

Franklin has been the first to point the finger at himself for the offense’s struggles this season. A season that was supposed to be promising with a new, go-for-it-all offense. Just look at Franklin’s first game as offensive coordinator.

In the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Auburn’s offense ran 90 plays, racking up 423 yards in a 23-20, overtime win over Clemson. And that was with only nine practices under Franklin, who was hired in place of Al Borges last December.

So far this season, the Tigers haven’t come close to running 90 plays, or even 80. The most AU’s run in a game is 75 plays against Southern Miss. In three SEC games, the Tigers are averaging 68.6 plays and 12.6 points.

“Again, I guess I coached them down since the bowl game, because they certainly haven’t gotten any better,” Franklin said. “That’s for certain. Like I said, it’s a mystery. It’s a mystery right now.”

But Franklin and the Auburn coaching staff is trying to uncover it. Every game, the Tigers throw something in and take something out in hopes of hitting the right button to make it work.

So far it hasn’t.

Is it the athletes? For the past four seasons, Auburn’s been a West Coast team, recruiting athletes to fit that scheme. But head coach Tommy Tuberville says that isn’t the problem.

He’s confident AU has the athletes to run the spread.

“I think we’ve got the personnel,” Tuberville said. “We don’t have the experience. We’re asking a lot more out of the receivers than we’ve asked in the past. We’re making a lot of mental mistakes, not blocking the right guy on the run, not running the right routes.

“There’s so many more opportunities for mistakes in this offense. Instead of just turning around and handing off, each player is asked to make a contribution each play in this offense. There’s so many variables. We have the tools, I think.”

Franklin says the spread he’s running at Auburn isn’t the same he’s known for. There’s some of the same stuff, but because of the personnel Auburn has, Franklin said he’s got to tailor the offense accordingly.

“Well, I mean, there’s the quote ‘Tony Franklin Offense’ that I’ve run most of my adult life, since the Kentucky days of being able to go and freely do whatever, and then work with different high schools throughout the country and do all that stuff,” he said, “but this is definitely not that.

“We’re having to try to adjust. We’re trying to adjust to what these guys can do. So that’s a never-ending challenge, trying to figure it out. And just when you think you might have your finger on it, there’s another adjustment to be made.

“So we’re still searching, trying to figure it out. Trying to figure out what works best for Auburn.

“It’s not the ‘Tony Franklin Offense’, it’s the ‘Auburn Offense’. It’s Auburn’s offense. It’s these players’ offense. And it’s my job to find out what they can do.”

So what’s the problem? Where’s the hold up?

For Franklin, it’s simple.

“I think, honestly, I just don’t think I’ve done a very good job of coaching it,” he said. “I mean … it’s pretty obvious that these guys don’t look well coached. And that’s me. I have not done a good job of coaching. The finger’s pointing at me and it deserves to be.

“I’ve done a crappy job coaching football.”

So what does he do?

“Keep working hard,” Franklin answered. “It’s all I know to do. It’s all I’ve ever done in my life. You look in the mirror and you know what the answer is. It’s always you. You’re always the problem.

“So you look in the mirror and you go back to work. You work harder, you keep looking for answers, you ask for help, you listen to people, see what they say, and try to fix what’s broken. That’s all I know to do.”

mszvetitz@oanow.com | 737-2513