Auburn fires Chizik

My how far and fast the mighty have fallen.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8674097/gene-chizik-fired-auburn-tigers

 

Chizik's tenure was marred by off-the-field problems, too, to the extent that Chizik had employees of a private firm run curfew checks on players this season.

Four members of the 2010 national championship team were arrested on robbery charges in March 2011. Antonio Goodwin was convicted in April and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Dakota Mosley, Michael McNeil and Shaun Kitchens are awaiting trial.

Two-time 1,000-yard rusher Mike Dyer transferred to Arkansas State with Malzahn after being indefinitely suspended before the bowl game.

Freshman quarterback Zeke Pike was arrested in June for public intoxication and later dismissed from the team. Starting center Reese Dismukes was suspended for the opener against Clemson following a public intoxication arrest.

Auburn is also the subject of an NCAA investigation that includes the recruitment of Memphis running back Jovon Robinson.

Memphis City Schools said in August that the NCAA had contacted the school district regarding allegations involving a former Wooddale High School athlete, identified by the Memphis Commercial Appeal as Robinson. A school guidance counselor resigned after admitting to creating the fake transcript.

The Birmingham News reported on Wednesday that NCAA investigators had interviewed at least one assistant coach and several players during the week leading up to the Iron Bowl.

Chizik's contract includes a clause that it wouldn't owe the buyout money if he is fired for cause, including findings of major rules violations or significant or repetitive violations" involving him or his program.

Chizik and Auburn have weathered past NCAA scrutiny. The governing body closed investigations into the recruitment of Newton and allegations from four former players that they were paid thousands of dollars during their college careers.

 

Kind of an odd question...is Auburn a good job? Better/worse than Arkansas? I figure the formula for a great college job is Expectations < Resources + Talent pool. I don't know if Auburn qualifies. Hell, if I was a high school kid right now wanting to play in the SEC, I might be headed to College Station.

 

Some parallels to Mike DuBose getting the axe is 2000. Off the field problems (Mike diddling his secretary, and that was before we heard of Albert Means) and a 3-8 season, though only one season after winning the SEC Championship and going to a BCS Bowl. God, that certainly was a tough year on campus.

 

(holds nose)
Auburn is the better job, and better than UT as well. Even in bad times they get their share of in-state kids, plus they are only two hours away from Atlanta. More tradition than Arkansas and broader base of financial support.

 

While the firing isn't surprising, the quick and deep fall from the top is. Granted a rebuilding process was expected but few could've envisioned this in such a short period of time.

 

The curfew thing also upset a lot of players, who, rightfully so, questioned why as adults they had to be told what time to go to bed.

Kinda hard to get your players to buy into your program when you're treating them like little kids.

 

Professional teams have curfews so that's not really that big of a big deal.

 

I don't think Auburn is a better job than Tennessee, Arkansas is debatable... Tennessee, for the longest time was one of the most stable programs in the SEC. Fulmer was there for what seemed like forever. The program has been down awhile, but I could see it being a top program very quickly if the right coach is hired.

Arkansas was well on its way back until Petrino fucked it up earlier this year.

Auburn has the money to compete, but this is a place that isn't known for treating its coaches very well.

Petrino is a perfect fit there for so many reasons.

 

Seems to be working well for Meyer at Ohio State.

 

They may take a run at Petrino. And actually, it's a marriage that could work. But don't look for him to be there for more than say five years, six years tops.

 

Petrino is going to be a tough sell at a public (state) school. I think that's the only reason Kentucky isn't interested.

He should be a no-brainer at Auburn. You can give him the strictest integrity clause ever and he'll likely be on his best behavior. He also might not cost as much as he would have a year or two ago.

The guy is a great coach. He will win at whatever school hires him.

Malzahn would not be a bad hire. But if you're deciding between Malzahn, Sonny Dykes and Petrino, it should be a no-brainer...