Coaching changes at the collegiate level often force the "old dogs" of a program to learn the new tricks of a coach they were not recruited by out of high school.
That, or leave the school for greener pastures.
Such was the problem for the Auburn baseball team in 2014, which experienced a drastic change in atmosphere under first-year head coach Sunny Golloway.
According to players, the tight ship run by Golloway was a far cry from the relaxed program put together by former coach John Pawlowski, who was fired after three straight losing SEC campaigns in 2013.
"It was a much more intense atmosphere to say the least," said former pitcher Jay Wade, who played under Pawlowski and Golloway. "It was something that was needed, and I would say the demeanor of everything around the field definitely changed for the better at the beginning of the year."
Constant talk of a trip to Omaha and the College World Series made Golloway's postseason expectations for the program crystal clear from the moment he was hired.
"The way it was implemented in the program was different than it has been in years past, and I think it just caught people off guard with it being different," Wade said. "I don't think people were used to it because Pawlowski didn't have (expectations) implemented in the program the way Sunny liked to."
Early in the SEC season, the transition seemed to be right on track, as early victories brought optimism and a national ranking to the program.
Winning even allowed February departures of upperclassmen to be swept away with limited questioning.
But media coverage of the departures had a lasting impact on one player, who claims Golloway intentionally misrepresented his exit from the program.
"The airing of dirty laundry, that whole thing, I didn't agree with it and the fact that the dirty laundry wasn't true just made it sting even more," said former player Patrick Savage. "It wasn't in his style of coaching, but the way he talked to media outlets and how that was handled."
Golloway declined to comment.
The early optimism of March faded for the Tigers as the season dragged into April.
A home series loss to last-place Missouri was followed by a road-sweep at the hands of Ole Miss. The Rebels' extra-innings walk-off home run on an attempted intentional walk only brought more attention to the Tigers' struggles.
Rumors of tension between the new coaching staff and upperclassmen trickled into social media and message boards, bringing scrutiny to Golloway and his coaching methods.
"When you play a certain way for four years and a new coach is in town with his style, it's a learning curve for everybody," Savage said. "There wasn't really a strained relationship, it was more like growing pains. (Golloway) was just trying to implement his program."
The scrutiny reached its peak soon after the Tigers fell short of reaching the SEC Tournament and finished a disappointing 28-28 overall.
An internal investigation of Golloway was first reported by College Baseball Daily, which reported accusations of verbal abuse towards players as the crux of the investigation.
While Wade declined to comment on the accusations, Savage said verbal abuse is a subjective accusation and that he never felt Golloway crossed a line in his criticism.
"Whether or not people think he crossed the line is another story because everybody has a line that they believe is being crossed," Savage said. "I never felt like he crossed the line. But I don't know if things happened during the season where a line was crossed."
No confirmation of an internal investigation was made by Auburn Athletics and athletics director Jay Jacobs gave Golloway a vote of confidence in the days following the report.
Though Golloway's first season on the Plains was mired with disappointment and turmoil, Wade said he was supportive of the new coach and that the growing pains were an unfortunate necessity for the program.
"All I can tell you is that I'll put my face and Jay Jacobs' and the selection committee of [former players] Tim Hudson and Joe Beckwith; there's a reason they picked him," Wade said. "Regardless of personality conflicts people may not be happy about, all I can tell you is Auburn people put their faith in other Auburn people and I would be the first one to tell you Jay Jacobs, Tim Hudson and Joe Beckwith are Auburn people."
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