Gene Chizik Interviews at Auburn; No, Seriously, Gene Chizik Interviews at Auburn

While everybody else was wondering if Will Muschamp was actually going to be Auburn's next head coach, there has been a development involving another former Auburn defensive coordinator. Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard has confirmed that Cyclone head coach Gene Chizik has had talks with Auburn, and apparently they weren't talking about the weather.

Chizik just finished his second season in Ames, where has has now compiled a 5-19 record. This year's Cyclone team beat only a single I-A squad all year and didn't win at all after the first Saturday in September.

And he interviewed at Auburn? Apparently so. Was it the the 27-point win over South Dakota State that caught their attention, or was it the two-point loss to Kansas?

Truthfully, Iowa State might be the crappiest job in any BCS conference. The in-state talent pool is thinner than an Olsen twin and has to be shared with Iowa. The only way to win is by doing serious shots of Jucomeister. Fortunately, junior college football in Iowa is excellent, but still. The odds are seriously stacked against any coach wearing the cardinal and gold, which just proves what a genius Dan McCarney really was. Is there any meat to this?

Probably not. 5-19 is 5-19, and you can color the Tiger Bulldog War Eagle Auburn faithful unimpressed with the possibility of getting Chizik back. Paul Finebaum said so, which means it has to be true:


I think you can classify Chizik's interview as one of three things: A long shot, a courtesy (though on whose part I haven't a clue), or an escape attempt. Chizik fired two assistants and demoted both his coordinators right after the season; he has yet to announce replacements. More than that though, Chizik has three things at Iowa State that he wouldn't find at Auburn. Those things are patience, control, and the absence of Bobby Lowder looking over his shoulder all the time.

The Auburn job is a good job for the right person, and Chizik is the sort of highly passionate coach who could succeed there. It would be a lot easier to think Chizik was a serious candidate if he was coming off a 7-5 season, however.