Auburn Offensive Line Coach J.B. Grimes Leaving for Cincinnati

After three seasons at Auburn, a 1,000 yard rusher every season, and Auburn leading the SEC in rushing in 2013, J.B Grimes is heading to Cincinnati to take the Offensive Line coaching job with Tommy Tuberville and the Bearcats.

First off, according to the article by Phillip Marshall who broke the news of the Grimes departure, Grimes was not forced out and did have an offer to return to Auburn next season. It was the chance to work with his son, who is on staff at Cincinnati, that led to the change.

Who will replace him? Well, that article confirms that Herb Hand is choice #1. He was Gus' first choice in 2012 when he took the Auburn job. After that, I'm not sure. Could Gus reach out to the previous Grimes that coached at Auburn when Gus was OC? The AFCA convention is going on, so he'll have a good opportunity to find a replacement, that's for sure.

Will this hurt recruiting? Considering that Auburn only has one offensive lineman on the current commitment list - Brodarious Hamm of Spalding High in Griffin, GA - I doubt it will have a great affect in a negative way. Depending on who Gus hires, it could boost the OL recruiting down the home stretch.

I did see earlier that there was confirmation that Cincinnati hired the Miami Dolphin's OC, so no, there will not be another coach leaving that many of you would probably like to see gone.

Personally, I won't mind if Lashlee stays. I think the primary issue is settling on a play-calling system since I believe I read a while back that they don't have a clear plan on who calls plays and when.