How do ya like me now?

This is likely to appear as a column in the Citizen of East Alabama Thursday:

Everyone remembers the public outcry in the wake of Tommy Tuberville’s firing/resignation, and Jay Jacobs’ subsequent hiring of Gene Chizik. People criticized Jacobs’ ability to lead a program the caliber of Auburn and called for his job. Charles Barkley even went so far as to call Auburn racist for hiring a white football coach over Turner Gill.

Well, let me ask you all a question: with the recent additions of Gus Malzahn (OC), Curtis Luper (RBs), James Willis (LBs?), Trooper Taylor (WRs) and Jay Boulware (STC) to the staff, what do you think of the Chizik hire now? Is Jacobs still an idiot?

Of course, the verdict will still be out until actual football games are played, but it appears as though instead of hiring the guy with the best record, they hired the guy with the best plan. They hired the best “fit” for Auburn.

It also looks like Gene Chizik is a very smart man. Instead of demanding $3 or $4 million a year to rival Nick Saban, he took only $2 million, or somewhere close to it, and decided to spread the rest amongst his supporting cast. How ingenious is that?

The great ones understand that you can’t do it by yourself, especially in the SEC. Tommy Tuberville understood that, too. The difference is that Tuberville had his posse formed early on, when assistant coaches didn’t make very much. And he made good choices off the bat.

Today, nearly all coaches make a ton of money – arguably way too much – especially if they win. And I guarantee you this: If Gene Chizik wins more football games than he loses next year, and improves upon that the next year, he’ll get a raise. Wins a conference championship? A raise. Competes for a national championship? A raise. My point is that in college football, there is almost always room for your salary to grow – just keep winning. But the best way to establish yourself as a winner is to surround yourself with the best coaches and recruiters in the country, which will draw the best players in the country.

One of the greats said the best way to ensure that you win football games is to surround yourself with the best players. 

Malzahn is one of the best offensive coaches in the country; Chizik is one of the best defensive coaches in the country; Willis, Luper and Taylor are some of the best recruiters in the country, not to mention their outstanding coaching abilities. Now that sounds like a formula for success.