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Auburn Football: Pat Dye’s 3 biggest accomplishments

By Michael Hanich

Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn football (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn football (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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Gus Malzahn, Auburn football (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

1. Creating a win-driven elite program

The Tigers’ program was a respectable one before the arrival of Pat Dye. They benefitted from two prestigious head coaches in John Heisman (1895-1899) and Ralph Jordan (1951-1975). Jordan helped the Tigers achieve their first national championship in program history under Jordan in the 1957 season with a 10-0 record.

After Jordan retired at Auburn, the Tigers had a 29-25-1 record in the five seasons with Doug Barfield as head coach. He was dismissed from the program which was looking for a solid coach to develop players and consistently win games. Dye showed his potential to develop players as he did at Alabama and to lead like he did at East Carolina.

Outside of on-field performances, Dye was instrumental in moving the Iron Bowl rivalry with the Alabama Crimson Tide away from a neutral site. As athletic director, he moved the game to Auburn in the 1989 season which is the first time since 1903 where the game wasn’t played in Birmingham. This was the first time the Tigers hosted the Iron Bowl in their stadium. The Tigers are 14-13 versus the Crimson Tide since Dye left the program.

Coach Dye has built a program that demands a high level of consistency and hunger for wins. The Tigers have developed great recruiting classes since the arrival of Dye and continue to this upcoming season. Since Dye left the program, the Tigers have benefitted from several solid head coaches that have given them great seasons.

Tommy Tuberville won 85 games in his 10 seasons at Auburn from 1999-2008, including a 13-0 record in the 2004 season. He led the Tigers to five West division titles and an SEC championship in 2004.

In the second season under Gene Chizik (2009-2012) in 2010, the Tigers went on to accumulate a 14-0 record and a win against the Oregon Ducks in the 2011 BCS National Championship.

Auburn’s current head coach Gus Malzahn has accumulated a 62-31 record in the seven seasons including a 12-2 record and an appearance in the 2014 BCS National Championship.

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