Nearly 20 years after the infamous "Jetgate," Bobby Petrino will once again face the university and team that once tried to hire him. For both sides, however, much has changed over the last 20 years.
You know the story. In 2003, Auburn President William Walker decided it was time to move on from Head Coach Tommy Tuberville. A year earlier, Tuberville hired Bobby Petrino as his offensive coordinator, and Petrino revitalized the offense. However, after the season, he accepted the position of head coach at Louisville.
Tuberville attempted to keep the system Petrino installed for the 2003 season, but without the original designer, the offense struggled. President Walker had enough. He was ready to fire Tuberville and hire the offensive mastermind, Bobby Petrino.
Two days before the Iron Bowl, with the support of the Board of Trustees, President Walker, Athletic Director David Housel, and two board members flew to Louisville to meet with Petrino. The following Saturday, in the Iron Bowl however, Auburn would defeat Alabama 28-23.
The story was quickly exposed, and Auburn fans were outraged. Tuberville wound up keeping his job, but with no doubt an ego hit, and Auburn would go on to a perfect season in 2004.
Many of the current players that will suit up at both Texas A&M and Auburn this Saturday were not born when "Jetgate" took place, and those that were would not have been cognitive enough to understand. Despite this fact, the story of "Jetgate" is still relevant.
Since "Jetgate," Auburn has had six head coaches, including a former running back for Petrino, Carnell Williams, who may have cost Petrino the head coaching job for the Tigers with his 80-yard touchdown run on the first play of the 2003 Iron Bowl.
"Jetgate" saw the end of President William Walker's tenure at Auburn, and the university has had four different presidents since then. Athletic Director David Housel was not far behind, and since his tenure ended, the university has had four different athletic directors as well.
For Petrino, he would continue as head coach for Louisville before becoming head coach for the Atlanta Falcons and then the Arkansas Razorbacks. Scandal would then cost him his job with the Razorbacks. He would go on to Western Kentucky, back to Louisville, and Missouri State before finally returning this season to the SEC as the offensive coordinator for Texas A&M.
As for current Auburn Head Coach Hugh Freeze, he was just a high school football coach in Tennessee when "Jetgate" took place. Current Texas A&M Head Coach Jimbo Fisher was the offensive coordinator for Nick Saban at LSU.
This Saturday in College Station, however, will bring the past and the present together again. Who knows what would have happened had Bobby Petrino replaced Tommy Tuberville as head coach in 2004. Would Auburn have gone undefeated? Would Gene Chizik, who led Auburn to a national championship, have been hired eventually?
On Saturday, Petrino will look across the field to a team whose colors he once wished to wear and a sideline he once desired to pace. He'll see two of his former star running backs, one as a coach and one as a radio analyst. He'll see his former quarterback, Jason Campbell, who is now the color analyst for the Auburn Tigers. Seeing his former players will no doubt bring back memories and plenty of "what ifs" for Petrino.
Once the ball kicks off, though, it will be another SEC football game, and the "what ifs" will have to wait for another time.
