Awww-Burn?
I mean, Tennessee got Lane Kiffin who came from the Pete Carroll coaching tree. Hell, his daddy's one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL and he's coming too. Rocky Top found itself a suitable replacement for Phillip Fulmer, whose voice just got dimmer after its national title. Go fig. Okay, back to Auburn. Auburn's got a great facility, but more than that, it has a rising power in Alabama. It has Nick Saban, who ran the table during the regular season with what most experts are calling his least talented team in Tuscaloosa. So to counter this, you need a coach who can go into homes and go toe to toe with the likes of Nick Saban.
Auburn, with its resources and the like...turn to Gene Chizik. (Crickets chirp.) Yes, Gene Chizik. For those of you unaware, Gene Chizik was the head man at Iowa State. The very same Chizik who "coached up" the Cyclones to 10 straight losses to close out the 2008 season. (Crickets stop chirping.) The very same Chizik who went 5-19 in two years as head man as...(Crickets are trampled by angry Auburn boosters.) Uhm, yeah. This guy is the new head man, but wait. Apparently he was the defensive coordinator for the aforementioned 2004 team and just one year later, had the defense which short circuited OU and USC en route to a national title. So alright, he's a great defensive coordinator. So what can we safely conclude? From the two seasons he spent as a coordinator, compared to his two as a coach, he's more than capable calling a game from the box rather than the sideline. Iowa State if nothing else, is probably glad they won't have to fire this slug. They can turn their attention towards someone who can lift their beleagured program from the dregs of the Big XII North, while Auburn has to hope and pray that with a better roster, Chizik can prove everyone wrong. Sometimes you find yourself asking 'what were they thinking' with some moves. I ask... Were they even thinking with this?! Here are the 8 men that were interviewed for the job, according to ESPN.com's article on this.
Ball State's Brady Hoke (they like Alabama, were unbeaten until a title game loss), Buffalo's Turner Gill (handed Hoke's Cards their only loss of the year in a MAC Title game that was thought to be a walkthrough for BSU), Wake Forest's Jim Grobe, Louisiana Tech's Derek Dooley, TCU's Gary Patterson, Miami O-Coordinator Patrick Nix, Georgia assistant Rodney Garner and two other assistants you may have heard of.
Florida State's Jimbo Fisher (next in line when Papa Bowden steps down) and Texas' Will Muschamp (whom the New Ball Coach might want to hit up for tips on how to slow up OU's offensive attack). So out of these 8, minus the last two since they most likely weren't about to leave their present spots, there wasn't a single guy on this list that could get the job done better than Chizik?! Wow. Couldn't find a Pop Warner coach in a local field to take the job? But if nothing else, there are people in Alabama who are overjoyed with this decision. Unfortunately, every last one of them are wearing Crimson. Roll Tide, indeed.
Posted 12/17/08 by Len | Filed under: NCAA Football
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