Gene Chizik explains why he decided to return to college football coaching
Gene Chizik is back on the sidelines, leaving his post as an SEC Network analyst.
Chizik, who has accepted a defensive coordinator position at North Carolina, explained his decision to his long-time SEC Network colleagues Chris Doering and Peter Burns.
“I’m getting into a point in my life where I’ve got one more shot left in me,” Chizik said on SEC This Morning, per 247Sports. “I’ve always known that. And you know, CD, I’ve turned down a lot of jobs over the years — both head-coach opportunities and coordinator opportunities. And the coordinator opportunities that I’ve turned down are because I don’t have to do this. I do it because I love it, but I have to be with the right guy. I have to be with a guy that I believe in. I have to be with a guy that I know. I have to be with a guy that I’m comfortable with. And what better way to go out for me — because this is my last shot.
“I’m not doing this again. I’m going to North Carolina. I’m being with what I consider to be one of my dearest and closest friends in Mack Brown. And what’s a better way to go out with a guy that’s a College Football Hall of Famer, right? And so, I’m with a great friend. It’s a place where I’ve been before, that I really enjoy, had two fantastic years there — and the only reason I got out then, guys, was because I needed to be with (daughter) Cally. I needed to be with my son as he finished high school, and I wasn’t seeing him play enough. So I got out of coaching not knowing whether I’d get (back) in or not again but was willing to keep an open mind. And of all the last five years, you guys have been my team. And I’ve never been without a team for seven years. And you guys have been my team. And that’s why I love everybody so much at the network, because it’s been a blast. But I’ve got one more shot in me.
“And if I’m going to do it, I want to do it with a guy that I love. I want to do it at a place that I’ve been to and I love. So I’m going to give it another shot. As crazy it is, man, I’ve got to learn the transfer portal, the NIL rules — I don’t know any of that stuff. And we’ve talked about it. I’ll jump back in and I’ll figure it all out. I’m going to have a lot of fun doing it, because it’s my last go around.”
This is not the first time Chizik has left the SEC Network for UNC. Chizik was with the network in 2014 but took the North Carolina defensive coordinator position for the 2015 season under then-head coach Larry Fedora. Chizik resigned from North Carolina after the 2016 season and returned to the SEC Network.
A former Florida linebacker, Chizik is best known as the head coach of the 2010 Auburn national championship team. He coached at Auburn from 2009-12, notching a 33-19 record.