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5-19, to most of the country those numbers mean nothing. To the SEC, it was Gene Chizik's record for his first two years as a head coach while at Iowa State. Gene Chizik, Auburn's defensive coordinator during its perfect season in 2004, was quickly swept away after that season to the Longhorn state where he coached at the University of Texas under Mack Brown.
Chizik was a key to the Texas Longhorn's 2005 National Championship. After a quick stint as the Defensive Coordinator at Texas, Chizik was hired on as the Head Coach for the Iowa State Cyclones. Chizik's first two years at Iowa State were what you could say, less than stellar. Chizik amassed 5 wins over two seasons. Then as luck would have it, amidst much turmoil on the campus of Auburn University, Chizik was hired back to a place he called home. Chizik's arrival at the airport was not the most welcome arrival of all times, and rumors swirled about how Auburn was bringing in a loser not a leader. Despite much criticism from the Auburn Faithful, a group that often considers itself the most gracious fans around, Chizik was quickly hired as Auburn's next head coach. The Chizik regime began much different than most people thought. Chizik would not take a huge pay check like other top tier SEC schools, but would instead, take less, in order to pay his staff more. The Auburn Faithful doubted him at times, however Chizik stood strong in his principals of bringing Auburn back to the top of the heap. Chizik brought back Tracy Rocker, an Auburn great who was coaching at Ole Miss. Chizik also brought in one of the fastest rising Offensive Coordinator's in the country in Gus Malzahn. Chizik then dipped into Oklahoma and scooped out Curtis Luper, who brought along his counterpart Trooper Taylor. Chizik finished his staff up with Phillip Lolley, Jeff Grimes, Tommy Thigpen, Ted Roof, and Jay Boulware. Chizik's staff immediately hit the recruiting trail hard trying to salvage the last weeks of the recruiting season. After all the hard work and determination, Chizik and Co. brought in a very reputable class. Auburn filled in with players such as Tyrik Rollison, DeAngelo Benton, Nick Fairly, Emory Blake, and Onterrio McCalebb, to name a few. Auburn's days of conservative "3 yards and a cloud of dust" football was over. Chizik, with the help of Gus Malzahn, quickly transformed the Auburn Tigers into a team that could score at will. The "new" Auburn team would blitz the opposing teams the first five games of the season before falling to the Razorbacks. Despite the loss, Auburn would still pull the top player out of the State of Arkansas this recruiting season. The Tigers ended the season a respectable 8-5, pretty good for a first year SEC coach who had struggled to get 5 wins in two seasons. After Chizik's first full season as Head Coach, Auburn would pull out one of the best recruiting classes in Auburn Football history. Auburn pulled in the top players in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Auburn Nearly pulled Marcus Lattimore away from South Carolina, and as of Saturday before signing day, he was attending Auburn. Over the last whirlwind week, Auburn has found itself in the mix for the best recruiting class in the country. Chizik has not preached playing time to these young men, but has talked about Family. Family is what makes Auburn great. Family is what makes it ok to say "War Eagle" to a complete stranger in the London Airport. Family is what makes it ok to talk about the best times of Auburn Football. Family is what shows when you are at the Under Armour high school All-American game and all the Auburn recruits, including Erick Mack, are hanging out together because they know that they are part of a family. Family is what happens after an Auburn loss when the band and fans sing "It's great to be an Auburn Tiger". Family is when you fill up 3/4 of the stadium in Tampa at the Outback bowl just to watch your team leave it on the field after winning three times. Family is when all the fans brave a thunderstorm and flash flood to cheer for its brethren on the field. Auburn is Family. Now, if that doesn't get you excited, you're dead. WAR EAGLE and we hope to see you at A-Day |
