When Auburn hired defensive guru Gene Chizik to replace Tommy Tuberville late last year, there was an overwhelming number of people who not only disagreed with the decision, but made fun and argued that it was the worst decision that could have been made. It’s not really my style to gloat, but I was not one of those people.
I’ll admit, when I first heard the news I was not excited. I got a text from my dad confirming the news and I was like, “Are you kidding me?” I wanted someone who had a proven track record for putting up big numbers on offense. I wasn’t thrilled to have a 5-19 coach come to the Plains.
But then I began doing my homework. I read A LOT of stories about Chizik and what he had to overcome at Iowa State. I quickly understood that it was a program in disarray before he arrived and he started 11 true freshman while there. It was obvious why he hadn’t won many games. I also looked at his experience and record as a defensive coordinator, which nobody can deny is second to none. Who else can say they coached three straight Thorpe Award winners? Had consecutive undefeated seasons with two different schools?
Then I began to hear what former players were saying about Gene Chizik. Carlos Rogers spoke out in support, telling how Auburn couldn’t have made a better decision. But of course he would say that. He went from virtually unknown on the national scene to becoming the nation’s best defensive back. But when Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams spoke well of him, saying he is a player’s coach that really knows how to get players to rally together and unite behind him, I was sold. Then came Kirk Herbstreit’s thoughts of how good of a fit Chizik would be at Auburn. Well that was just icing on the cake.
So I began telling people that I was sold and I thought he would be a good one. I can’t express to you how much criticism I got around here for supporting him. People called me an “Auburn homer,” and said I was simply trying to convince myself that it was a good hire. They went on to call him Cheez-it, and other such names. But I continued to believe in the new coach, even if I didn’t have much of a choice.
One thing people don’t seem to understand is that it does no good for people to criticize and belittle their own, so they might as well support them. While this was not my rationale, it was something I tried to impress upon other Auburn fans who weren’t quite as keen on Chizik as I was.
So as the offseason progressed, Chizik went on to hire the most prolific, up-and-coming offensive coordinator in the game, Gus Malzahn, and then hired two big-gun recruiters as offensive assistants, in Trooper Taylor and Curtis Luper, and a defensive coordinator, Ted Roof, who shared very similar beliefs as he, one of the best in the business. Then he pulled in Jeff Grimes, a laid back offensive line coach that many claim to be the best recruiter on the staff. He followed that up with a surprise hire out of North Carolina: the silent assassin Tommy Thigpen – one of the best recruiters in the country.
Over a span of just two months, Gene Chizik had come in and hired one of the best coaching staffs in the country, then followed it up with upgrading an already solid recruiting class to top 20, including pulling several four-star recruits that didn’t even have Auburn on their radar before he was hired.
Since then, all he has done is take a squad with severe depth issues and win seven games, including a few that Auburn wasn’t supposed to win this year. And he’s done it all with record-setting offensive numbers. The Tigers will now move into Amen Corner at 7-3, with a real shot at beating Georgia in Athens. But then will come the real test: the undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide. Can Chizik fare any better than his predecessor’s 0-36 mark last year? I don’t know. But I do know this: I told you Gene Chizik was a good fit and now you understand.
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