Chizik to Auburn

by jtlonghorn on Dec 13, 2008 2:34 PM CST Comment 20 comments

http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=888957

Ex UT and Auburn defensive coordinator Gene Chizik appears to be the next head coach at Auburn. Chizik was toiling away at Iowa State for the last couple of years.

So after many Muschamp rumors, Auburn goes back to the first D-coordinator that Mack lured away to Texas.

This surely isn't a WOW hire for Auburn. Chizik was definitely an up and comer at Texas which is why it was so puzzling that he would take the Iowa State job. He was 5-19 at Iowa State over the last two years.

This now leaves Iowa State looking for a head coach. They got pretty lucky when Chizik accepted the position, so I'm not sure where they go from here.

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Muschamp to Iowa State?

by 40AS on Dec 13, 2008 2:41 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

scoreboard!

Perhaps the most recognizable mascot in sports, and certainly the toughest looking, Bevo is a fixture

by run Bevo run on Dec 13, 2008 2:46 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Not a spectacular hire for AU...

…but I get it. Chizik ran AU’s best defense in recent memory (the 2004 undefeated season), and it’s really hard to imagine anyone else doing any better at ISU than he did.

Plus, it fulfills my all-important “anyone but Muschamp” condition that’s going to be applied to every HC hire this offseason.

A stupid system that works exactly like it's supposed to is still a stupid system.

by Microtonal on Dec 13, 2008 3:47 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Muschamp

I agree. If Muschamp was linked to the Auburn job only weeks after signing on the dotted line with Texas, he will be linked to head coaching spots for years to come.

Hook'em!!

by ArcticLonghorn on Dec 13, 2008 4:24 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Is it too late

for Auburn to tell Tuberville they were just kidding?

On another note, how good will Chizik be at grooming our next Defensive Coordinator?

by Horncasting on Dec 13, 2008 4:11 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

it doesnt matter. we dont need the next one for a few more years. we have ours right in austin, where we want him. as far as the dc when coach boom steps into his new role...

… we may follow tubberville to whatever school he is at and cherry pick that not-so-gentleman from there.

If You See Kay, Oh You

by texfan23 on Dec 13, 2008 9:07 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

It doesn't matter...

Because Chizik will be grooming him for us.

NICE!

by whoopspat on Dec 13, 2008 9:08 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Why?

by gahnki on Dec 13, 2008 6:17 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Horrific Hire

I understand you can’t really win at Iowa State. But you can go better than 2-10. What is Auburn thinking? This is going to fail miserably. Say what you want about our hire of Sherman but at least he had some success as a head coach in the NFL. You hire a coach with zero success at Iowa State over a coach who went 7-5 AT BUFFALO. It just proves that most of the SEC runs a “good ol boy” system and is basically against hiring black coaches. How a guy like Turner Gill gets passed for a guy like Chizik is ridiculous.

by PrimeTime2012 on Dec 13, 2008 10:25 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

Turner Gill would have done a good job. Plus, defense was never the issue at Auburn, they need help offensively. Chizik doesn’t necessarily improve their O. I would still like to see him succeed though.

Garrett Gilbert: 2014 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

by jordansb on Dec 13, 2008 10:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Auburn knows exactly what they're getting with Chizik

I don’t necessarily think he was the best pick, but he definitely was the most known quantity out there to be had. There’s something to be said for that.

by jw4425 on Dec 14, 2008 2:17 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

SEC

It is also much easier to have a strong defense in the SEC where there is not an over abundance of spread offenses.

by JohnsonUT on Dec 14, 2008 8:35 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

That he is the known quantity is the problem.

He’s known to fail as a head coach. Iowa State was kind of sort of bad when he showed up, coming off a bad 4-8 record but with two straight bowl appearances immediatley prior to that. Chizick showed up and, incredibly, they got worse, seemingl defying a normal regression towards the mean. He did it again this year! It’s not that easy to win fewer than 4 games, even more difficult to win fewer than 3 games, especially against a schedule that includes: South Dakota State, Kent State, and 5-7 UNLV.

I am baffled.

Go register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on Dec 14, 2008 2:03 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Kent State is a below average MAC team. Their head coach is actually under heat for not performing well in the MAC. Their game was actually quite close until the second half when the depth problem kicked in. They were tied at halftime.

I am also baffled.

by gahnki on Dec 14, 2008 5:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Can we at least take a second to celebrate the man?

Yeah, I get it. He didn’t leave on the best of terms and left our pass D with a lot to be desired. But the dude came in and helped us win a National Championship. He maximized the potential of two low-ceiling prospects in Derry and Bobino. He, along with Akina, got an entire starting secondary into the NFL. He loved coaching at Texas. And he called the play to freaking stuff LenDale White on 4th and 2. Come on, now.

Maybe Auburn could’ve done better. But who knows? Following the ‘06 Rose Bowl, Chizik was hot property. He knows Auburn’s system and its convoluted Athletics Department. It’s possible he can succeed. And we should be rooting for him.

by jc25 on Dec 14, 2008 11:16 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

"And he called the play to freaking stuff LenDale White on 4th and 2. Come on, now."

Didn’t I hear somewhere that Huff ignored the play call to come up and make the stop? Not trying to slight Chizik, but I could have sworn I heard that somewhere.

by Texas Wahoo on Dec 14, 2008 1:44 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I heard it was Huff and Robison.

Time for a playoff.

by Hook'em13 on Dec 14, 2008 1:54 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Chizick...

I think he ranks 3rd behind Carl Reese and Greg Robinson and ahead of only Duane Akina. The defense he inherited was already pretty damn good in 2004 and, admittedly, he made them pretty damned better. I wouldn’t discount the effect of a down Oklahoma team. They weren’t even ranked when you guys beat them in 2005 and Chizick was the beneficiary of that. He also benefitted substantially from playing opposing offenses that were constantly in come-from-behind mode, making their play calling very predictable. In many instances the game was so far out of hand that 2nd stringers (from both benches) were on the field, and I think in all instances that favors Texas, as you guys have such superior athletes throughout the ranks.

Robinson did more with less, in my opinion, and doesn’t have a comparable collapse on his short Texas resume that Chizick has, see: 2006 pass defense. Factoring in what happened at Iowa State and I think it’s safe to say that Chizick probably wasn’t as good a coach as his 2005 season. In fairness, that represents a considerable portion of his resume, but when everything that has happened since (including the 2006 Texas defense) has gone down hill, there’s a better than not chance that ’05 was the outlier.

Go register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on Dec 14, 2008 2:14 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with your assessment,

but wish Gene the best of luck at Auburn. He was an important part of that ‘05 team, and we’ll always remember him fondly for that, regardless of what the future holds. To Outliers!

by ctex80 on Dec 14, 2008 5:59 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs