I Guess We Just See Things Very Differently. Alabama unveiled a bronze statue of coach Nick Saban as part of their spring football game activities today. Saban's statue sits among a group of Alabama football coaches, including Bear Bryant and Gene Stallings. Auburn announced plans in the works for over a year to erect statues of their Heisman trophy winners: Pat Sullivan, Bo Jackson, and Cam Newton. They will also display a bust of John Heisman, for whom the trophy is named. Auburn is the only school where Heisman coached which has produced a Heisman trophy winner.

Florida also announced plans to display statues of their three Heisman winners: Steve Spurrier, Danny Weurffel, and Tim Tebow.

Some sports writers and fans of other schools, especially Alabama, have criticized Auburn University for erecting statues to players, and particularly to Cam Newton. Most of the critics don't seem to find any problem with statues to current and past coaches. This, to me, is just another example of how very differently people can see things.

I have always appreciated Auburn's approach of focusing on the players, rather than the coaches. At Auburn, our heroes in football are most often our players rather than our coaches. At Alabama, especially under coach Bryant and now under coach Saban, the focus is almost totally on the head coach. The assistant coaches and players rarely share the limelight. At Auburn, the assistant coaches and players speak often to the media and receive much of the attention. Trooper Taylor and Gus Malzahn may be more popular than Gene Chizik! No one doubts that Chizik is the man in charge, but he seems to feel quite secure in his position. He allows Trooper, Malzahn, Roof, and the other coaches to be far more prominent than is the case at most schools, and is in striking contrast to Alabama. I don't recall a single time when one of their assistant coaches was prominently shown and allowed to speak to the media.

In my view the players are the guys who pay the price on the field and perform at such a high level at game time to make it a thrilling and rewarding experience for everyone. While some head coaches try to have some "hands-on" experience, most of their time is spent performing in the role of figurehead and representative for the entire program. I appreciate the importance of that role (and it is well-rewarded), but still believe we should honor the players who reach the very top, as exemplified by the Heisman Trophy--presented to the most outstanding football player in the United States.

Auburn has had three such individuals, and their exploits in football are indeed legendary. They each earned their place in Auburn history. While Cam Newton was at Auburn for only one year, he managed to produce what many have described as "the most outstanding single season in college football history." He earned his statue as much as Bo or Pat did, and all three are very deserving of this honor.

It should be pointed out that Auburn has honored coach Jordan by naming the stadium Jordan-Hare stadium, and coach Dye by naming the field Pat Dye field. I hope at some point we will see fit to honor coach Tuberville for his excellent ten years as head coach, and when coach Chizik completes his career here I am sure he will also be appropriately honored.

As I stated at the beginning of this discussion, I guess it is just all in how we look at things. My view, and one I believe is shared by most Auburn fans, is that the program is mostly about the players, so why not honor them as well. I would also be willing to bet the players would agree with this view!