It’s no secret this state, as a whole, is Pro-Bama. With all the bandwagon fans Bama has captured thru the glory years of the Bear and Saban, this is truly a state of Crimson and White biased media. With that being said and it’s a tough pill to swallow, why is there no love for the man leading the “other” team in Alabama. We all know it would take a Herculean effort by the coach at Auburn to get attention and credit taken away from the university across the state.
With that being said, why is there no love given to Chizik?
Since his controversial hire on December 13, 2008, Chizik has proven he is capable of running a championship caliber program. With all the talk of his
record and inexperience as a head coach, I wonder how he would have been received if he had not left the confines of Austin, TX and moved to the proverbial graveyard of coaches that is Ames, IA. We all know Chizik was one of, if not the best defensive coordinator in the country when he was with Auburn and later with Texas. He proved this by winning the Broyles Award, which is awarded to the best assistant coach in the country voted on by his peers.
After helping lead Texas to its first national championship since 1970, Chizik thought it was time to take the plunge into head coaching as he took over the reins at Iowa State. Void of talent, Chizik struggled his 2 years in Ames, but had the program going in the right direction, as evidenced by Paul Rhoads recent success. Even with a less than impressive 5-19 record, Jay Jacobs knew he had a winner in Chizik as he took a chance and hired the young head coach at Auburn. Chizik immediately hired an impressive staff which included one of the best recruiters in the nation and a young offensive coordinator who proved he was one of the best his first year, even with players from the Tuberville era who were not made for the type of high-paced spread offense we seen under Malzahn. He followed this by piecing together a top 20 recruiting class his first year on the plains with only a few months to recruit. Once he got settled in, Chizik has compiled an impressive group of talent each year, consistently ranking in the top 10 recruiting rankings each year. His most impressive feat was recruiting a top 5 class in 2010 which included players such as Cam Newton, Trovon Reed, Corey Lemonier and Michael Dyer. He only followed this impressive achievement by winning the team’s first national championship since 1957.
Still no love for Chizik?
We all have heard the rumblings that Chizik only accomplished this because he had one of the greatest quarterbacks in college football history and a first round pick on the defensive line that terrorized backfields all year long. Isn’t the goal of every coach in America to gather talent to win championships? Why do we have to apologize for recruiting a talented player? Why doesn’t Chizik get credit for recruiting such a dominant player to the program and following it up with a National Championship with a less than stellar defense?No love for Chizik at all.Granted, last year was a difficult year for the Tigers. 8-5 is not a year you would like, especially after winning the ultimate prize the previous year. Most of that we have Tubs to thank for and his complete white flag raising effort in recruiting. That program loses 27 seniors, 2 first round picks and follows that with a banner year? I can’t think of one and that is exactly what Auburn was facing last year. Let us not forget to mention we had one of the toughest schedules in the country, with road games at LSU, Arkansas, Clemson, Georgia and the annual Iron Bowl against the National Champion. What team in college football goes through that schedule and wins those games? I’ll let you in on a secret, not a single one. Getting blown out in those games was not fun but I think it’s something a young team has to go through in order to get back up and compete even harder. Growing pains as some would call it.
Now it’s time to see what kind of coach and what type of talent the Auburn Tigers have. With 2 new coordinators, year 4 of the Gene Chizik era is about to begin and this season promises to offer excitement and challenges. Without an established quarterback, at least in public, could this be a disappointing year for the Tigers. With a daunting schedule to start with and a road trip at the end to face the defending national champions, we will definitely get to see what this team is about and what type of coach Chizik is.
Will this be the year Chizik is shown some love?
It all depends on how this group of Tigers perform. I for one can’t wait. See you September 1st in the dome.