On Monday, Auburn University announced Cam Newton's No. 2 will be retired at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 11 when the Tigers host the Georgia Bulldogs. Naturally, the gravity of Newton's achievement back in 2010 -- winning the Heisman Trophy and leading Auburn to a 14-0 season and a BCS National Championship victory over the Oregon Ducks -- became a talking point.
Newton's supporting cast, which featured no NFL talent offensively, has been acknowledged as underwhelming. That makes Newton's achievements all the greater and justifies his jersey number never being worn again. Officially.
Gene Chizik's name has also come up. And it wasn't venerated.
OutKick's Austin Perry called Chizik a "glorified gym teacher" as a coach without Newton in a takedown of the Tarpon Springs, Florida, native.
"Tigers fans famously booed then-head coach Gene Chizik after he landed on the tarmac in the Yellowhammer State, and for good reason," Perry wrote.
"Chizik's record at his previous stop (Iowa State) was a robust 5-19.
"Without Newton by his side, Chizik's record at Auburn was a perfectly balanced 19-19 (14-0 with him).
"Newton won a national championship in the SEC at the height of the conference's powers with a MAC roster and a glorified gym teacher for a head coach."
The unmitigated gall. On several levels.
Chizik was a legendary defensive mind who worked under Tommy Tuberville during Auburn's legendary 2004 season and was with the 2005/2006 BCS Champion Texas Longhorns under Mack Brown. Undermining his abilities is a fool's errand.
On the other hand, throwing gym teachers worldwide under the bus by disrespecting their profession to dig Chizik is shameful.
Newton was more of a Gus Malzahn success story, but any head coaching record Chizik built does nothing to take away from his prior achievements in the aughts.
Just uncouth and uninformed analysis here.