In 1978, Jon Voight and Jane Fonda starred in a film entitled “Coming Home”. It was a dramatic adaptation of a novel by George Davis. The movie told the story of an injured Vietnam War veteran’s difficulty re-entering civilian life after he returns home from the war. Both Jon Voight and Jane Fonda won academy awards for their roles in the movie, and if you look, you can probably find a DVD or Blue Ray at your local Blockbuster Store.
I have read many articles over the last couple of weeks regarding the state of the football program at Auburn. One of the themes that seems to be resonating of late is one of “coming home” under new coach Chizik. He has symbolically reached out his hand to former lettermen and to Coach Dye by saying “come home…you’re always welcome here.” And if there is any truth to the rumors swirling, there will be a few coaches who used to play football at Auburn invited to “Come Home” and coach the Tigers.
One name that is getting a lot of attention is Stacy Searles. Searles played football under legendary coach Pat Dye, blocking for such superstars as Bo Jackson. He was the offensive line coach for LSU for 4 seasons, and most recently the offensive line coach for Georgia. Searles is a throwback to passionate football fundamentals. His words are “whip em in the trenches.” It is a lesson he says his father taught him when he was growing up in Trion, Georgia. His father was a proud blue-collar worker, who delivered milk for 23 years, and drove a truck for 20 after that. But he always made time to come to Stacy’s practices and ballgames. And according to Stacy, Wayne Searles knew more about line-play than most coaches even today. After all, Wayne Searles was an all-state lineman himself back in 1952.
Searles says his father never fussed about a missed block or making a mistake, but if he ever saw his son loafing, there would be “hell to pay when I got home. He felt that if you played hard and put forth all the effort that’s within you, you can overcome any physical deficiencies you might have.”
Stacy followed in his father’s footsteps and made all-state in 1982 before signing a scholarship with Auburn.
It looks as if Searles may be coming home to coach at Auburn.
Thinking about this possibility, I remembered the Fonda/Voight movie in 1978. Or maybe it’s just the season. After all, it is a phrase we use quite a bit during this time of year. “Are the kids coming home for Christmas?” “When are you coming home?” And of course, there is that phrase which causes both anxiety and excitement….”Is anyone coming home with you?”
Frankly, I think it is why many people who don’t otherwise attend church, will find themselves at a Christmas Eve service, or church Christmas program. Going to these feels a little bit like “coming home” and it should. After all, that’s why Jesus came. To give us a way to “come home”…..back to God.
Merry Christmas,
WJLaneSR
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