Gene Chizik is a lucky guy. His first head coaching job at Iowa State had been a total failure. After going 5-19 in two seasons, it was only a matter of time before he was fired.
But, the Auburn job opened and the former Texas defensive coordinator took it. Now, Chizik is sitting pretty at 5-0 at Auburn, which broke into the Associated Press Top 25 at No. 17.
Being undefeated at an SEC power is quite a contrast from being at the bottom of the Big 12 standings in the wasteland that is Ames, Iowa.
Fortunately for Chizik, he has learned from his mistakes and is doing things right the second time around. In football, just like in life, second chances happen, and you have to make the most of them. Take New England Patriots coach Bill Belicheck, for instance.
Belicheck went 36-44 in his first coaching stint at Cleveland and was forced out. He has won three Super Bowls so far in his second head coaching job at New England.
So far, Chizik is making the most of his second chance.
“I think his two years at Iowa State helped him when starting over at Auburn,” said Texas coach Mack Brown, whom Chizik worked under as defensive coordinator.
This time around, the biggest thing Chizik has done is hire quality assistants and proven recruiters.
He brought in former Arkansas and Tulsa offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who has brought a high-octane, no-huddle spread attack. Under Malzahn the team leads the nation in total offense. Chizik was able to lure in one of the top recruiters in the country, Trooper Taylor, as his assistant head coach.
At Iowa State Chizik, like many first-time head coaches, fell into the trap of nepotism. He hired good friend, former Stephen F. Austin University head coach Bob McFarland, as his offensive coordinator. McFarland was unable to bring any ingenuity to the offense, and Chizik relieved him of his duties after his second year at Iowa State. Fortunately he didn’t make that mistake again at Auburn when he hired Malzahn.
Chizik has also taken a CEO-type approach at Auburn. Instead of trying to be hands on and running the defense, he’s turned it over to his coordinator. He tried to be more of a Pete Carroll at Iowa State and now is more like Brown — another lesson learned.
Part of his early success at Auburn is due to the fact that it is a better fit for him. He probably shouldn’t have taken the job at Iowa State but more or less had to because a source close to the situation said he may have been nudged out of Texas after the 2006 season.
He didn’t win at Iowa State, but there are not many coaches who can. A coach who went 26-0 for two-year period as defensive coordinator doesn’t become stupid overnight.
Auburn is more comfortable for him, having served there before as defensive coordinator from 2002-2004. Chizik oversaw the Tiger defense that led the nation in scoring defense and was fifth in total defense in 2004 when the team went 13-0.
“He knows the system and knows the school,” Brown said. “I think that familiarity has helped him.”
It was that familiarity that probably got him the job in the first place. Several wondered whether racism played a factor when Chizik got the job over Buffalo’s Turner Gill, an African-American who had more success as a head coach than Chizik did. For Auburn Athletic Director Jay Jacobs, it seems to be more of a matter of fit.
“I know that we have found the right fit for Auburn,” Jacobs said after hiring Chizik. “He has a strong knowledge of this athletics program, this university and the community, and he knows how to be successful in the Southeastern Conference. He is a high-energy coach that is an outstanding motivator and demands a tough, physical style of football.”
So far it’s a match made in heaven. But it’s a game of What Have You Done For Me Lately in college football, and if Chizik needs anyone to remind him of that, he has Brown. Brown texts Chizik two to three times a week and sent Chizik a message after Auburn’s 26-22 win over Tennessee.
“I told him it’s a great win but he better be careful because he’s winning too many games too fast,” Brown said. “That only makes the fans’ expectations higher.”
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