As we reported yesterday, Iowa State head coach Gene Chizik interviewed this week for Auburn's head coaching vacancy. There's a little more to report now; apparently, he's headed back to the Loveliest Village on the Plains, as he will be Auburn's next football coach. Des Moines TV station KCCI confirmed that Chizik got on a commercial flight to Memphis, and Auburn has sent a plane to Memphis.
Chizik leaves the Largest Village in Story County after two seasons with a 5-19 record. Auburn just finished a 5-7 season. Do the math; the season that got Tommy Tuberville fired had as many wins as Chizik's entire career.
As you might expect, many in Alabama are questioning the wisdom of hiring a coach fresh off a 10-game losing streak. As you might not expect, some in Iowa are questioning the same thing. There are now two athletic directors burning new ulcers in their stomachs. Auburn's Jay Jacobs knows he's got one heck of a selling job in front of him if he doesn't want to see the booster money dry up like a Slim Jim left in the back window of a '93 Corsica. But his problems are nothing compared to ISU's Jamie Pollard.
Chizik restructured his staff two weeks ago in a move I called "rearranging the deck chairs on the Cy-tanic." Now he's just flat out gone, and Iowa State has to recover from two years of spinning their wheels. They've fallen behind the rest of the Big 12 in football, while across the state Iowa has improved over the past three ugly seasons.
The onus is now on Jamie Pollard to put things right. He's the one who ran off Dan McCarney, whose only real mistake was not doing what Johnny Majors and Earle Bruce did before him: use ISU as a stepping stone towards a better job. There isn't much margin for error in Iowa State football, so Pollard had better be ready to bust his hump over the holidays.
There's even less margin for error at Auburn, so Jay Jacobs better hope his gut feeling wasn't just gas.
Comments (Page 1 of 3)
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! Good job Auburn. You fired a guy who led you to an undefeated season just a few years ago and hired a guy that can't win 8 games in the Big 12. HHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! What kind of idiots are ucking cow teets down there in Auburn/Opelika.
Gene who?
OMG !!!!!!!!!!
the wheels have came off the Auburn wagon and
there are sparks shooting out of the back of it !!!!!!!!!
coming off a 10 game loosing streak ?
and this is a good hire ?
what the heck is going on at the Plains ?
do they want to lose every game ?
new AD ? I think so !
this is crazy !
Awful hire. Hehe. At least AL should dominate the iron bowl for the foreseeable future. Tubby was a great coach and Auburn got what they deserved for firing him.
To all you Bammer fans who are scratching yourselves and raggin' Auburn: Mike Shula = loser, Dennis Franchione = loser, and that no nothing name of a topless bar patron who didn't even coach a single game = loser, Saban = transient. There are better programs to go to than Bammer and Saban will be gone soon... Say where's that snaggle tooth wench who met Saban in a halter top... got any more of those classy broads?... or was that really a woman???
HA HA HA HA HA ROLL TIDE ROLL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a classic case of hiring a "puppet", similar to what Al Davis does in Oakland and like what Jerry Jones does in Dallas. Someone who is pretty much a "Yes" man.
Good hire..... for Bama. We will run rings around Auburn for years to come. Ha ha ha Rooooooll Tide!
I am tempted to type in a few ha ha's but it would take a million of em. It's been a long time since ive belly laughed this hard. I was born and raised an ALABAMA fan but for once I am embarassed for auburn folk. OMG this is absolutely hilarious. I just cant think of anything substantial to type for laughing so hard. Please let your next breaking news be . . . . JUST JOKING!
I went to auburn and miss my 2004 games and tommy what in the world have they been putting in the water since I left to hire this guy......
thanks, Auburn, maybe ISU has a chance now!!!!!!!!!!
This is getting better and better for all the thousands of Bama fans by the second. I am in total hysterics as all Bama fans are who know who Aubie hired for their coach. I told them this am on the sports blog they (the shot callers) would do better hiring a highschool coach because of all the damage control down on the cow pasture that only an idiot would come there. I was wrong, you out did yourselves you hired a total loser. They already lost recruits because of what they did to Tommy that was totally unjustified. Even Saint Nick said the same thing. I also posted on the blog that the Aubie AD, Alums and the "shot callers" must be drinking something that has toxic chemicals in it that causes them to encounter serious psychiatric "hallucinations" and I was totally right on the money.. The "shot callers" went as far to say they wanted somebody similar to the one and only Saint Nick Saban and they hire a total loser?
"Saban Kool Aid" is the best in the world and it worked miracles for our team and fans as we showed the entire country this year.
SABAN NATION ALABAMA ROLLS!! KEEP IT UP YOU PSYCH CASES AT AU WHO HIRED THIS TOTAL LOSER.!!! YOUR STUPIDITY DID RUN RAMPID THROUGHOUT THE COW PASTURE JUST LIKE I POSTED.
THANKS THOUGH. WE BAMA FANS DO APPRECIATE IT. ROLL TIDE ROLLL!
REMEMBER THIS NEW COACH BEAT YOU 3 OUT OF 4 YEARS. CHEW ON THAT BIG BOY
Perfect example of the assinine things that administrators and the "higher-ups" do. In this age of dumba$$ CEOs, idiotic presidents, retarded congressmen, brain dead GMs and owners, this takes the cake. How and why? I mean please explain this to me, Auburn people? Look at the facts, and the records, and the numbers. That should say it all. Unless, we don'tknow something- Tuberville did somethinga nd they arent tellingus, and they had no choice but to grab someone like him, but Are you really going to tell me that this is a better candidate than Turner Gill? or even Patrick Nix?
Stoooooooopid hicks in the plains. Good for you.
Should be an interesting season for Auburn next year or the AD might be looking for a job in his 83 Corvair.
"83 Corvair?" GM stopped making the death trap in 1969
Turner Gill to ISU, his family would love Ames
What the heck is the athletic director thinking. He is making every Alabama fan dream come true. We wanted Tubby out as Auburn coach because he has been so successful. I say fire the AD for Auburn. He's a knuckle head and his day is coming.
Hey, c'mon, Tyrone Willingham is available and he has a 13 game losing streak
I wanted Tommy to stay but that isn't going to happen,so...let's give the guy a chance. Now get rid of Jacobs, make Tommy the AD and impatiently wait out Lowder's term.
As for the Bama fans chuckling over the choice I just say...
Dubose, Franchione, Price and Shula,LOL!
WDE!