Published September 10, 2012 - 8:20am
NEW: Discuss this topic in the Google+ community for SEC fans.
Joker Phillips. Derek Dooley. And now, Gene Chizik.
Chizik lost ‘the game’ he couldn’t lose Saturday against Mississippi State, and the Tigers didn’t even pose a threat the entire game. The 28-10 final seemed more like 35-0, and it very well could have ended that way if not for some miscues on MSU’s end, namely giving up the 100-yard kickoff return to Onterio McCalebb.
Can an SEC and BCS national championship-winning coach really be on the hot seat?
Chizik is squarely on it.
Cam Newton delivered greatness in 2010, a 14-0 year with an SEC Championship and national championship.
But it’s becoming increasingly obvious that Cam Newton transcended greatness with Gus Malzahn calling the plays. Both have left chasms behind in the Auburn program that are not even close to being filled.
Two coaching coordinator changes later, and the team is no better…and may be looking worse. Brian VanGorder’s defense can’t bust a grape, and Scot Loeffler’s offense is regressing at a rapid rate.
Outside of 2010, Chizik sits 16-12 as the Tigers’ head coach, including an 0-2 start this season. The Tigers have lost three straight regular games by 18 points. Chizik is 8-7 since the beginning of 2011. It was bad, but it’s getting ugly fast.
Auburn is not just losing games; they’re getting destroyed in remarkable fashion.
Clemson’s Andre Ellington ran for 228 yards the first week, and Clemson as a team ran for 320 yards. Auburn even knew going in that Clemson would pound the ball. What do the Tigers do for an encore? Try five turnovers and a drubbing against Mississippi State, a game in which they couldn’t get out of their own way. It was awful and bewildering for Auburn as a program.
Clemson is a top-ranked team in the country, and it looked like Auburn made mistakes against a better and more athletic CU team. AU can live with that. Auburn kept that game close and really had a chance to win if a couple plays went the right way late. That’s all you can ask for.
But this game? The young team excuse is getting old. This group returns 15 starters from last year, nine of 11 on defense. Auburn has notched three straight top recruiting classes, but the product on the field shows no development or progress. Auburn’s linebackers are completely invisible on the second level, and the quarterback position is atrocious. Kiehl Frazier, himself, was responsible for those five turnovers last weekend, and he finished the first half with -2 yards passing. I didn’t know that was possible.
The schedule is not getting any easier, either. With the program in its current state, the Tigers have three games you can pencil in as wins…three! ULM, New Mexico State and Alabama A&M all are likely wins. But what about swing games like Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Texas A&M? We know what will happen against Alabama, LSU and Georgia.
With Chizik and his team’s back against the wall, how will Auburn respond? All of the SEC will be watching.
If Auburn loses to ULM next Saturday, and…I just don’t want to go there.
Want more? Check out our June 2011 analysis of Gene Chizik’s contract when Auburn awarded him with a raise. Read that, then come back and chime in with your thoughts.
ULM won’t beat Auburn. They will be emotionally drained, but that doesn’t mean much. Auburn will have a rough rest of the season.
I agree, im thinking 4-8. Maybe its just what we need. Wipe the slate and go after Petrino.
Don’t forget that they’re 0-8 against Alabama, LSU, Georgia, and Arkansas w/o Newton.
AU has had several great recruiting classes in a row. There is some talent on the field, it’s just not being coached well. And the youth excuse is just that; a fallback for the uneducated and/or willfully ignorant. Alabama played 11 freshmen against Michigan, and Yeldon, who was amazing, is one of them. I didn’t see them having any problems.
It’s evident that their 2010 title was 90% Cam Newton, with some timely help from Fairley, Blake, and Lutzenkirchin at various points. Which is fine, as there’s a lot of schools out there that would love to have a national title every 50 years. :)
But let’s call things for what they are right now—a train wreck. Anyone who believes that Chizik is a quality head coach is fooling themselves. The sooner he’s gone, the sooner AU will get back to doing what’s necessary to compete for the SEC West title.
“But it’s becoming increasingly obvious…”
You cannot start a sentence with but, much less a paragraph.
It’s good that correcting grammatical mistakes can make you feel better about the state of your favorite football program.
I dont believe he is on the hot seat. But obviously he has to show us something more than he has the last two seasons. You can’t hang your hat on 2010, even if you look at that season, Auburn won several games by 4 points or less (Kentucky, Miss. St., etc.). We’ve had some good recruiting classes lately, but if you dont coach the guys up right, recruiting classes dont matter. Im a die-hard Auburn fan, and have been since I was born, but it does seem as if Chizik is resting on the BCS championship in ’10. Some of the players have gotta step up though. Saturday it looked like Auburn was doing a Friday walk-through practice while Miss. St. was going full-speed.
That being said, it IS just 2 games we are judging this on, obviously its been horrible to watch so far, but everyone needs to keep in mind that there is still plenty of football left to play.
Well, sure, but I seem to recall major tackling issues LAST year…
Gene Chizik. HAHAHAHA. I hope he stays at Auburn for 15 years.
I think we now know why Brian VanGorder got fired from the Falcons.
Anyone who watched the Falcons defense last (as I did in person, several times, including the plaster job Green Bay put on us) knew that BVG wasn’t going to fix things.
This article says it all. It is right on target. The only glimmer of hope I see is that SOMEONE just is able to knock or talk some sense into Chizik’s thick skull so he can get the program out of the ditch before the entire coaching staff forfeits their “great paying” jobs because of his stubbornness. I think we have another Tommy Tuberville on our hands. Enough said.
Im a huge Auburn fan, I like Chizik, I really do. He has strong morals and values, that being said, I dont think that he is a championship caliber coach. In 2010 he had Newton and more importantly Gus Malzhan. If you look at Auburns record without those two hes like 11-16 and winless against the SEC West. I think Auburn needs to look at Petrino as a possible replacement.
So in other words, you’re bailing on the morals and values part of the equation.
I am a Mississippi State fan and am happy we won the game but I always love the game with these 2 teams it has always be been very compettative. but this time wow an 18 point win. something needs to change auburn is a great team and it is hard to see them at 0-2 atm. but on that note Hail State.
Chizik was never a good coach. He didn’t deserve the job at Auburn to begin with after going 5-19 at Iowa State. But he is 3-0 in bowl games, but two of those games were against Virginia, and Northwestern. A win against either of those teams are exactly impressive.
Next, 2010 wasn’t without mishaps. MSU, Clemson, and Kentucky all nearly knocked off the team. Plus those games should be contributed to the play of Cam Newton, not the coaching of Gene Chizik. Chizik is a mediocre coach who has no business coaching in the SEC.
Chizik is a great coach. Auburn should keep him for years and years. HAHAHAHAHAH.
I wrote this earlier in my Blog: Patience is not a virtue in the SEC. Look at Fulmer and DuBose….
If you don’t win, you’re right, The SEC has high standards.