Finebaum: Auburn's ascent makes Gene Chizik hiring look inspired
Paul Finebaum
View full size(Press-Register Illustration/Brian Lyman; Slot photo: morguefile.com/Clarita; Gene Chizik photo: Press-Register/Mike Kittrell)Paul Finebaum: Auburn has gotten lucky with the Gene Chizik hiring.
Taking in the spectacular scene last Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium, it was difficult to avoid thinking back two years to a similar game against Arkansas. It was an ugly day and an even uglier game, watching Tommy Tuberville's career go down in flames.
Three days earlier, Tubs had fired offensive coordinator Tony Franklin, and an expected cake walk over Arkansas (the Tigers were a 16-point favorite) turned into a nightmare.
Saturday, in an Xbox game for the ages, the Tigers came close to blowing out the lights on the scoreboard, 65-43, setting up an epic showdown game with LSU and proving a point about tough decisions.
As Tuberville's career was fading (remember that scintillating 3-2 win in 2008 over Mississippi State), Auburn officials had to make an intricate call. The decision to dismiss Tuberville wasn't difficult. The choice was the hard part. Should Auburn go and hire the hot and sexy name -- Gary Patterson, Chris Peterson, Paul Johnson, Jim Grobe or Turner Gill? Or find someone who fits Auburn? Someone who can utter the phrase "Auburn family" and sound like he really understands the meaning.
To the shock of nearly everyone, Auburn picked Gene Chizik. He had a stellar resume as an assistant. His 5-19 record as a head coach at Iowa State was a disaster.
Phillip Marshall, the dean of Alabama sportswriters (he has covered Auburn for more than 40 years) wrote a column for "Auburn Undercover" headlined "Wrong place, wrong time for Chizik."
He wrote: "What is obvious today is that, fairly or unfairly, Chizik would be the most unpopular choice in modern Auburn history. And under those circumstances, it will be very difficult to succeed."
And don't forget what Keith Dunnavant, the award-winning writer, noted author and sports historian said in this space in the days following the hire.
"I believe it's the worst hire in the history of the SEC. Name another coach who lost 19 games over two years and was rewarded with a promotion and a $1 million raise. In fact, I think it's one of the worst hires ever for a major football program. It smacks of desperation and stupidity. How in the world do you justify trading Tommy Tuberville for a guy who seemed destined for the unemployment line a year from now?"
One Auburn acquaintance, upon learning the news, sent me a short note.
"Two weeks ago, after Alabama beat us 36-0, we went back to being Alabama's little brother," the person wrote. "Now, with the hiring of Gene Chizik, we've become Alabama's little sister."
Well, that was then.
Today, as Auburn has become the darling of the nation and Cam Newton among the leading Heisman contenders, it is breathtaking to think about the transformation and astonishing ascent of this program.
Could you have gotten odds in Vegas that the game of the year in the SEC -- at least to date -- would be LSU-Auburn? What would have been the odds of Auburn being ranked ahead of Alabama right now and Newton possibly succeeding Mark Ingram as the Heisman winner?
With all of this in mind, I couldn't resist chatting up the greatest coach in Auburn history, Pat Dye, about the new hero, Chizik. Many believe Dye, at 71 and still beloved in Auburn circles, engineered the Chizik hire. The wily Dye flatly denied the allegation recently with a few choice words unsuitable for a family newspaper.
However, Dye did relate an interesting conversation with Jay Jacobs, the school's athletic director, and a former player and confidant.
"When he called me to tell me he had chosen Gene to be our next coach, I couldn't believe it," Dye said.
Dye asked Jacobs when he made the decision.
"He said, 'I decided to hire Gene the day he left Auburn (for Texas).'"
The meaning was obvious, according to Dye. Jacobs understood that Chizik (having spent three years as an assistant) would be a good fit for Auburn. And has he ever.
Who would have ever thought what looked like one of the worst hires in college football history would turn into this?
(Contact Paul Finebaum at finebaumnet@yahoo.com. His column appears on Tuesdays in the Press-Register.)