Tony Franklin Fired at Auburn
Sports - Sports News Headlines
Written by Associated Press   
Wednesday, 08 October 2008 22:52
Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville fired offensive coordinator Tony Franklin on Wednesday just seven games into his tenure, pulling the plug after the Tigers' rocky attempt
to adapt to his spread offense.

The 20th-ranked Tigers have struggled offensively all season after entering regarded as the favorites to win the Southeastern Conference Western Division. They have dropped Southeastern Conference games to LSU and Vanderbilt after beating Mississippi State by a score of 3-2.

"After evaluating where we are at this point of the season offensively, I felt it was in the best interest of the Auburn football program to make this change," Tuberville said. "I'm not satisfied with where we are and I am personally going to take a larger role with the offense the remainder of the season.
"We are going to work harder than ever to make sure we consistently improve as we move forward."
It was not immediately clear who would call plays Saturday against Arkansas.

Franklin brought a spread offense to the Tigers (4-2) that was a big departure from the more smashmouth, conservative style Tuberville had long favored. It received an abundance of attention
leading up to the season but never clicked.

Auburn (4-2) is ranked 104th in total offense out of 119 FBS teams and quarterbacks Kodi Burns and Chris Todd have alternated most of the season. The starting spot is still unsettled.

Franklin spent four seasons at Kentucky, serving as offensive coordinator and receivers coach during the 2000 season for an offense that finished second in the country in passing.

His hiring led to plenty of excitement among Auburn fans, and Franklin also signed Todd, who had committed to play for him at Troy. The Trojans led the nation in offensive snaps in his
fast-tempo, no-huddle attack. They averaged 453 yards a game, seventh-best nationally. The tempo had never reached that pace this season.

Franklin spent 16 years at seven high schools before that, and his "Tony Franklin System" has been installed at high school programs across the country.