Lebo isn't the only one at risk

Rachel Morand

The sixth regular season of the Jeff Lebo era has come to a close, and the Tigers (15-16) yet again will more than likely watch March Madness from their couches.

Fans and critics alike are calling for the head of Lebo, saying that a coach who cannot produce a championship-worthy team with seniors should be out of a job.

Perhaps Gene Chizik's revitalization of the football program in his first year gave hoops fans hope that a new coach could do the same for Auburn basketball.

But if the rule of thumb is, "No championships automatically results in termination," under that circumstance, a few other Auburn coaches might want to get their resumes together.

Softball, for example, is led by 14-year head coach Tina Deese. She boasts a 428-367-1 overall record, and under her direction the Tigers have reached the SEC tournament 10 times in the last 11 years.

However, with 11 teams in the conference (Vanderbilt doesn't have a softball program), all a school has to do to qualify is not be one of the three worst teams.

Since 2006, Auburn hasn't been seeded any higher than sixth out of eight spots in the tournament. When Auburn hosted the 2007 tournament at the beautiful Jane B. Moore facility, the Tigers didn't even get to compete.

But Deese also built the university's softball program from the ground up. She brought the sport to the Plains in 1997 and by the early 2000s had a team competing the in NCAA regionals.

In soccer, Karen Hoppa just concluded her 10th year at the team's helm and holds a 115-76-16 overall record in that time. She is nationally-recognized in women's soccer and this week was named Olympic Development Program Region III head coach. She also coaches the U.S. under-18 women's national team's goalkeepers.

With the exception of 2005, the Tigers have appeared in the NCAA tournament every year from 2001-2009. Auburn was knocked out in the first round this past season, just like it was in 2007 and 2006. The farthest the Tigers have gone recently was in 2008, when they reached the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Tennis, led by Auburn's all-time winningest men's tennis coach Eric Shore, also reaches the NCAA tournament consistently, but is yet to pass the Sweet 16 level.

Softball is off to a promising start so far this season with a 13-6 record with losses coming at the hands of top-ranked teams. And if the spring exhibition game victories over Tennessee and Mercer correctly preview what's to come this fall, the soccer team will be worth following.

All of those teams have been able to recruit, rebuild, etc., without "Fire coach (blank)" Facebook groups being created.

Auburn is no more of a basketball school than it is a softball, soccer or tennis school. So why is Lebo subjected to harsher criticism than other coaches?

Is simply reaching the NCAA tournament automatic job security? Coaches of the under-the-radar sports are getting a free pass from the public's complaints. In Lebo's defense, that is unfair.

If one is looking strictly at championships and titles, few besides swimming's Brett Hawke and women's basketball's Nell Fortner are safe from the axe.

A miraculous run in this week's SEC tournament could land Auburn a spot in the NCAA bracket. But considering the Tigers finished 6-10 in the conference, unless Chuck Person is allowed to don an Auburn jersey again, that probably won't happen.

Lebo may be short on championship production, but he is running a clean and respectable program. He took over in 2004 after Auburn was put on probation for two years because of multiple violations in recruiting. The Tigers have consistently stayed out of trouble under Lebo.

Regardless of whether criticism for poor coaching is deserved, basing a decision to fire Lebo strictly on lack of championships is not.

Just like Deese, Hoppa and Shore, his accomplishments outside of winning titles make him a coach worth keeping.