Auburn Football: My Take on the Coaching Situation

I want to start by saying I have ZERO inside knowledge of the situation. This is a blog for entertainment purposes only. I am stating strictly my opinion on the matter on the coaching situation with Gene Chizik.

Most Auburn fans find themselves asking is Head Coach Gene Chizik the right man for the job. There are a lot of good arguments out there that say he is not, but there are also some good ones that say he is.

I personally think that Gene Chizik can be very successful at Auburn. Is he right now? NO.

Gene Chizik came into Auburn has a very unproven head coach. His time at Iowa State was for a lack of words, horrible. He was only there for two years. He really didn’t have a chance to build the program the way he wanted to, but the time he was there was there was not good.

Chizik has proven that he can recruit top talent year end and year out. He is constantly bringing in the best and has shown that he will go anywhere in the US to get them. Auburn fans have to realize though that even though these players were great in high school they have to get used to the college game.

This offseason Coach Chizik went out and hired two new coordinators. This Auburn team has a completely new look. It’s really hard to do a complete overhaul and expect to win every game. It takes time to implement a totally new scheme in one spring.

As I watched each game this season I have seen bright spots. Auburn is a couple plays from beating Clemson. Auburn played a game against Mississippi State in which they played absolutely perfect football and Auburn had by far their worst game in a while. We won against La-Monroe, yes it was an overtime win, but a win all the same. Then LSU came to town. Auburn put up a big fight, and once again was a mistake away from winning the game. We had a bye week, in which most Auburn fans were expecting an improvement on the field, but that’s not always the case. Bye weeks can be good and they can be bad. For Auburn it was bad. Arkansas came into Jordan-Hare ready to play and beat Auburn. Yet when you look at it the game, Auburn had two interceptions in the endzone and a missed field goal. That’s 17 points. The final score to the Arkansas game was 24-7. If we convert those turnovers into points it’s a totally different ballgame.

Chizik had a great year in 2010 winning the national championship. Other school’s fans will be quick to point out the only reason Auburn won was because of Cam Newton and Nick Fairley. That’s no where near correct. Last time I check football is a team sport where there are 11 people on the field at the same time.  Auburn won the national championship because of the coaches and the players that were on the team.

Now Chizik is having by far his worst year at Auburn. Right now Auburn is 1-4. But like I explained earlier with a couple of breaks they could be 3-2 or 4-1.

Gene Chizik is a great man, and a great thing for Auburn University. He has done more things for the school and for the community than most people know, but college football is a business. A business that is determined by wins and losses, and right now that business is not doing well.

Chizik can be the man for the job. He needs to surround himself with people that can win. Auburn is struggling for an identity right now. Chizik needs to find that identity quick, fast, and in a hurry.

I think the most important thing right now for Coach Chizik is to run this program like a business. Expect nothing but perfection from the coaches and players, and if they don’t want that then ask them to leave.