Auburn Athletic Director Jay Jacobs has been under much scrutiny for the past few years for hires, decisions and, in general, ways that he has handled various situations involving Auburn athletics.
But his open letter to the Auburn Family, after the ESPN story on synthetic marijuana broke last week, may have been his shining moment.
It is hard to say that it will define his tenure at Auburn because, as of right now, he still has more time to accomplish greater things, but to date that was the best thing that he has done since he was hired at Auburn.
He finally gave Auburn fans something they can beat their chests about and say "that's my athletic director," and we are proud that he is leading our athletic department.
Ever since his tenure began at Auburn he has been repeatedly ridiculed for decisions he has made: from the controversial firing of Tommy Tuberville, to the controversial hiring of Gene Chizik and the tight lipped methods in the Cam Newton investigation.
All of these things have caused the calling for Jacobs' job time and time again.
It was almost as if he said, I have had enough and I am ready to stand up and let people know how it really is.
"Some of the statements made in the story are wrong and need to be corrected, while others need to be put into proper context," Jacobs wrote. "One player interviewed by ESPN, for example, alleges that up to half of the 2010 football team was using synthetic marijuana. It's hard to be more wrong than that. The facts and our drug testing results simply do not support such a claim."
While this was an excellent step in the right direction for Jacobs it still does not change the obvious fact Auburn has finished last in the SEC in football and basketball already this year, and it looks like baseball could end up the same way.
He did however go out and hire an excellent football coach, that has since hired an equally good staff, and he also made the right decision by giving basketball coach Tony Barbee another year to turn things around.
All this being said, it is time we start seeing more of these things from Jacobs. It is time that he steps up and ensures the athletic community that he is the leader in the athletic department.
Now there will be an investigation into all the allegations that have been made against Auburn, so it is difficult to say that Jacobs is in the clear. But if the fantastic investigative reporting that the Auburn beat writers have already done holds up then it looks like there is not going to be anything more to this situation.
But it is time that Jacobs forgets his tight-lipped philosophy and stands up and says these allegations have to stop. The NCAA has cleared us time and time again. Jacobs needs to embrace the national media and convince them that what is done at Auburn is done the right way.
The open letter was a great start to this, but we need to see more of it in the future.
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