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Hey everyone.

When Auburn hired Willie Martinez early late last week, everyone assumed he’d be coaching defensive backs since that’s his specialty. If that was the case, though, what would happen to safeties coach Tommy Thigpen?

Now we know.

Thigpen, himself a former linebacker during his playing days at North Carolina, will coach linebackers beginning immediately. Defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder said last week that he’ll prefer to be in a situation where he coaches every position rather than focusing on one element of the Tigers’ defensive enterprise.

Now he gets his wish.

“After carefully evaluating our staff, I feel this restructuring best suits our program,” coach Gene Chizik said.

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Todd Van Emst/Auburn U.

Women’s basketball coach Nell Fortner on Tuesday tendered her resignation after eight seasons on the Plains. She was 143-105, but never was able to recapture the excellence Auburn showed during the 2008-09 season.

“I love Auburn and have absolutely loved my time here during the course of the last eight years,” Fortner said. “I have dedicated the last 28 years to coaching basketball and feel it is time for me to pursue something different. This was not an easy decision, as I have contemplated this for several months, but I am looking forward to the change. I’m proud of where the Auburn program is and what we’ve accomplished.”

Fortner was hired in 2004 by Hal Baird, the former baseball coach who was acting as de facto athletic director in the months after David Housel’s resignation. It was an outstanding hire — Fortner had a successful run at Purdue and with the U.S. Olympic team to her credit and also had experience coaching in the WNBA.

She began rebuilding the Tigers’ program with forward DeWanna Bonner, point guard Whitney Boddie and Sherell Hobbs, who played a little bit of everything. That trio became the nucleus of a 2008-09 team that was the best Auburn team since Joe Ciampi’s last Final Four team in 1990. That 2008-09 team finished 30-4, a swell accomplishment, but fell flat in the NCAA Tournament’s second round at Rutgers. Bigger things were expected.

The Tigers have gone 42-48 in the three years since the Bonner-Boddie-Hobbs group graduated. This season has been particularly bad with Auburn losing by double digits in seven of 14 games against Southeastern Conference opponents. That’s not getting it done.

Fortner always was a gung-ho advocate of all things Auburn. She kept a close eye on the football team throughout the fall and often asked reporters questions about the team. Fortner seemed genuinely happy during (most of) her tenure at Auburn and loved living in Lee County. Many casual fans didn’t know much about Fortner, which is fine given the relevance of women’s hoops in the sports world, but believe me when I say she was, is and will be a classy person who represents Auburn in a classy way.

The search for Fortner’s successor is expected to begin immediately.

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Hey everyone.

Todd Van Emst/Auburn U.

Daniel Koger.

GAME ONE: Mizzou 6, Auburn 4. The story here was Slade Smith, who allowed five runs in 4 2/3 innings. He just didn’t have the good stuff today. Auburn built a nice rally in the ninth inning that included a bases-loaded situation with two outs. A strikeout ended the rally.

GAME TWO: Mizzou 4, Auburn 3 (in 7 innings): The story here was freshman lefty Daniel Koger, whom Montgomery fan may remember as Huntsville High’s ace in the AHSAA Class 6A Championship at Riverwalk Stadium. He worked five innings, allowed zero earned runs and struck out five batters. Reliever Zach Blatt struggled in the seventh inning, allowing two runs without retiring a batter. That allowed Missouri to score three runs and snag the win. Why seven innings? Missouri had to get home. Bad weather on Saturday forced the Sunday doubleheader.

TOP AU HITTER: Catcher Blake Austin goes 5-for-9 during the weekend with four doubles and a pair of RBIs.

TOP AU PITCHER: Koger. Great first college start.

WHAT’S NEXT: Auburn (1-2) plays Alcorn State on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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Frankie Sullivan, left, scored 19 points in the Tigers' win against Mississippi State on Saturday night.

Hey everyone.

So my mandatory, unpaid furlough has ended. I am happy about it, but still sorrowful that I wasn’t here to blog about so many things happening in the Auburn world. I was paying attention from a distance, of course, so let’s quickly run through the important stuff.

• AUBURN 65, (23) MISSISSIPPI STATE 55: They didn’t fold. Auburn watched its lead dissipate during the final seven or eight minutes. Yet the Tigers rallied. They cast aside their usual panic and instead ended the game on a 12-5 run. There’s no doubting the fact that Tony Barbee’s second Auburn team (14-12, 4-8) is much better than its immediate predecessor. That’s a start.

• WILLIE MARTINEZ HIRED: The former Georgia defensive coordinator spent the entire week at Auburn, but wasn’t officially named the team’s new DB coach until Friday. The hire surprised nobody since Martinez was in the market for a gig and he’d worked with DC Brian VanGorder a few times before. I’m forecasting significant improvement for the Tigers’ defense during the next 10 months; perhaps the biggest one-season statistical improvement in school history.

• MEN’S SWIMMING/DIVING WON ITS 16th CONSECUTIVE SEC TITLE: That’s a pretty incredible run. This meet, held in Knoxville, included some drama — Auburn clinched the title during the final two relays. The next step is the NCAA meet, which begins March 22 in suburban Seattle.

• BVG SPEAKS: Auburn’s new DC took some time Thursday to talk with reporters. He explained that his linebackers need to get bigger, taller, stronger during the next few years. The days of 5-11 linebackers may be nearing an end at Auburn. I’m sure you’re not upset. VanGorder also said he’ll likely coach all positions on a rotational basis rather than focus on one position, which is customary. I took that to mean Tommy Thigpen, himself a former linebacker, will begin coaching linebackers. VanGorder also said he’s surprised by how much attention his moustache has generated on the Plains.

• SCOT LOEFFLER SPEAKS: Auburn’s new OC was far more evasive than VanGorder and shed essentially zero light on his plans for revamping the Tigers’ attack. He said it’ll be “Auburn’s offense” — not his — and simply explained that running the football will be a priority. He said he’s always looking for QBs with the “It Factor,” which he described as “intelligence, toughness and the ability to run and throw.”

I asked Loeffler to scout himself as a Michigan QB during the mid 1990s. Here’s his response:

I had the potential to be a good player. I was a backup as a true freshman. After I got hurt, I wasn’t very good at all. Everything happens for a reason. If I didn’t get hurt my freshman year, who knows where my life would be. It got me into the coaching profession at a very, very young age. That injury set the stage of where I am today.

• TOP-RANKED AUBURN EQUESTRIAN LOSES: It’s worth mentioning since Auburn is the reigining national champion and entered the meet ranked No. 1. Georgia edged the Tigers by the smallest of margins in the equestrian version of overtime. We’ll see these two again.

• AUBURN BASEBALL OPENS WITH A WIN: The Tigers beat Missouri on Friday on the (considerable) strength of ace Derek Varnadore, who struck out 11 batters. I’d say he’s rested and ready. The Saturday game was rained out, so the teams will resume play with a double-header today.

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Hey everyone.

I am on a mandatory, unpaid furlough this week. I will not be able to blog or answer email or do anything associated with the site. I am sorry for the interruption of service; it was unavoidable.

See you on February 19.

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