Texas Players Gush About Chizik. Sort Of.

by Peter Bean on Jul 25, 2007 3:23 PM CDT in Football Comment 2 comments

I've got a Google Alerts subscription for Longhorns news, which means about a half dozen emails a day with various headlines from around the country. I don't click through most of them - they're often stories about something I've already read about and/or covered.

Sometimes, though, the headlines grab you. Like this one today:

Curious, I checked out the DesMoines Register story, and was more than a little surprised by the "glowing" reviews.

"Coach Chizik is a great man, and a good father," [Derek] Lokey said. "He loved to be around his kids, and they were always at the fieldhouse. We miss him."

[...]

"He wouldn't have to yell and get in your face," Lokey recalled. "But he knew the things to say to get you amped up."

Chizik's tactics were part of Texas' run to the national title in 2005. He also helped Auburn go undefeated as an assistant coach in 2004.

"I feel like Chizik is a man you'd be proud to say you're involved with," said Frank Okam, another defensive lineman. "He was a great coach, but a better man."

Okam also remembers watching Chizik's son, Cally, hanging with the Longhorns during practices.

"(Chizik) wasn't shy about brining his family around," Okam said. "He lets you know that this is his pride and his joy."

And that's it. Those are your glowing reviews. I mean, they are glowing quotes, but they sure as hell don't speak to Chizik's capabilities as a football coach. My conclusion from the article? If I want a guy to mentor me on parenting, I know who to ask.

--PB--

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Couple that with

the comments in this diary entry...

http://www.burntorangenation.com/sto...

and I don't think that parenting and coaching (at least on the college level) are too far apart. In both situations you are trying to get the best out of the kids.

Chizik will have as much success as any coach is capable of having at ISU.

by Brandon 97 on Jul 25, 2007 5:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

OVERRATED

I think people give credit to some of the things Chizik accomplished at Texas. Maybe too much. In my opinion, he is a bit overrated. Believe me when I say this: I think he is a good coach, a better coach than Carl Reese ever was.
However, I feel like he has been riding on good programs past couple of years. While I see better defensive game plans than from Reese days, I am highly suspicious of his ability as a defensive guru that everyone makes him to be. Auburn and Texas are talent-rich teams that always had good players. It takes a great coach to bring the best out of these players and I think Chizik did so.

As people get credit for the good things they have done, I think people should be blamed for the bad things they have done as well. Bad being last year's secondary. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but I was baffled by the fact that how our run defense could rank 2nd or 3rd in the nation while our pass defense ranked 99th or 100th. Does anyone else think this is weird? Typically, good run defense carry bad pass defense and vice versa.
Last year, I saw opposing qbs having tons of time to pick apart defense. UT didnt blitz like back in Greg Robinson days. Instead of helping rather weak secondary, I feel like Chizik didnt do anything to help them out a bit by bringing pressure.
Best of the luck to Chizik at ISU, but I dont think we are going to skip a beat

O who? and what kind of name is atm?

by hookemkp on Jul 25, 2007 8:36 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs