A final suspension-era helmet alteration
was made for the 1979 season as an orange facemask replaced the standard gray,
which made the traditional Auburn striping stand out a bit more. Finally, the
play of the team was coming together as the Tigers went 8-3 despite NCAA
probation for recruiting irregularities that kept them from bowl consideration
for a year. Barfield switched to the I-Formation from the Veer in order to
give both Brooks and Cribbs commensurate carries. Cribbs would leave Auburn
with a slew of rushing records and star for the Bills until leaving for a
larger USFL contract before finishing his career with the 49'ers in a fine
eight year pro career. Warren again led the "D" and again was All Conference.
Despite the 8-3 record of 1979, Barfield was not offered a contract extension,
in part due to his inability to defeat Alabama and what was seen as the
inconsistency of the team. This hurt recruiting and the players spent '80
feeling as if they were playing for their coach's job. It didn't work
despite backfield heroics by James Brooks who went on to a stellar dozen years
with the Chargers and Bengals and DT Frank Warren who put in the same amount
of NFL time with the Saints. Lionel "Little Train" James kept the "Running
Back" in "Running Back U" as Barfield announced his forced resignation
immediately after the Bama game, another loss in a desultory 5-6 year.
However, Barfield's overall record was a surprising 27-27-1, modified by the
two forfeits from Mississippi State. Listening to Auburn fans, one would have
thought that he rarely won a game but this was the curse of having to follow
in the footsteps of a legend. The search for a new coach proved that one never
wants to be the man that follows "THE MAN" and Shug Jordan was surely "The
Man" of Auburn football. When Pat Dye emerged as the coaching choice, it
proved the adage that it is better to be the man that follows the man who
followed "THE MAN" and Dye, with less pressure and time to build, used the
eight-and-a-half years he spent as Bear Bryant's assistant at rival Alabama
and head coaching experience at East Carolina and Wyoming to bring huge
success to Auburn in the seasons to come.
