Chizik's first day is about to begin
Hey everyone. I'm here in Auburn now, preparing to chronicle Gene Chizik's first day as the Tigers' head coach. He was late leaving Ames today aboard one of the school's three jets, but he's now in transit.His estimated time of arrival is 6 p.m. CST.
He is scheduled to meet with the team around 8. Several players will be made available after that briefing. One of my favorite guys to talk with, Coach DeMarco McNeil, said he'll be around as well.
I'll keep you updated as the night progresses.
posted by Jay G. Tate at
4:17 PM
165 Comments:
First!!! I hope this all works out!!!
DeMarco McNeil is a coach? Was he at ISU w/Chiz?
He was the defensive GA at Auburn in 2008!
Ah, that is interesting. He is truly a great american!
Jay, any signs of Billy Joe Bob at the airport?
Seriously, I leave town for two days and we hire Gene Chizik?
Can't wait to see who shows up at the airport!
Welcome and WARRRRRRRRRRRR EAGLE!!! Coach Chizik.
There. I knew I'd get over it sooner or later.
I don't know if I convinced y'all, but I sure didn't convince myself.
I don't have time to go through the pages and pages of comments, so what's the general thought on this hire?
It's a huge risk, when I found out about it yesterday when I was in Asheville, I was a little bit shocked.
There is video of the hecklers yesterday on youtube. Pretty interesting and funny.
I would go to just show that now that the choice has been made, I am behind the new Auburn Coach.
Wonder if these guys show again today...
I'm with you Denny.
I hope Gene does a great job. It's really all going to depend on who fills out his staff.
Take it with a grain of salt, but Auburn Undercover just sent an e-mail that Chizzie has made his first staff hires (bet that was hard while on the plane) I don't sub so maybe someone who does can check it out
I got that same email, but I don't suscribe either.
They're celebrating in Ames RK.
That should tell you what the comments here were like.
Jeff koonz = michael4au room mate. Thought I would share that. That is the only really good thing about this hire so far for me.
Probably best I was out of town and had other stuff going on then.
So who will be the drunk lady who kisses Chizik? I hope nobody acts a fool because this is going to be seen nationally. If you don't support the hire this isn't the place to show it. Hit them in the pockets where it hurts the worst. While I am optimistic I am going to support Chizik until he gives me a reason not to. War Eagle!
I made fun of the drunk lady when Saban showed up but I would rather have elation than disappointment and anger. I hope this works out but have read where most recruits said....who?...never heard of him.
This hire was so bad on so many levels I have to wonder if Jacobs grew up a Bama fan.
"It's like hoping for a brand new car on your 16th birthday, and getting a nice bike instead."
Josh Moon nailed it!
New Auburn Coach Gene Chizik appears to have made his first staff hires. Sources close to the coach tell AuburnUndercover.com that Jeff Koontz will be coming to the Plains as secondary coach. Jay Bouleware will likely coach special teams and running backs. It is also believed Mike Pelton will join the new Auburn staff in some capacity. He currently coaches defensive line. All three are current members of the Iowa State staff.
No more Gran. That's for the best IMO. Like him or not, you cannot keep Tubs' adopted son on the new staff.
Chizzle's my hizzle!
Has the athletic department staff and families been dispatched to the airport with shakers?
I forgot to mention, thanks for the info Steve
Wouldn't it be better to hire an OC before populating the offensive staff? I can see Chizik bringing in a defensive staff, but I would hold off on offensive staff hires until a new OC is in house.
I would like to see one coach handle special teams instead of multi tasking trying to coach RB's.
Keith, Gran is actually the one member of the offensive staff I would have liked to keep around, but I am unsure of his attitude. Nall would have been fine with me until I read his comments that made me think he wouldn't have worked and played well with others.
You are welcome Keith. We are all excited to see what happens with the staff. I got a lot of reading to do on these new coaches.
GREAT!!! Why not bring the rest of the losing staff with you. Would hope he would seperate himself from that whole entire staff he had in Iowa State.
Perhaps when Sheriff Chiz flies into Rock Ridge Airport this evening, the Waco Kid will be in the jail, and will be able to help him win over the angry citizens.
McLovin-
It's pretty common for one coach to be stuck with double duty (a.k.a. special teams). NCAA only allows so many coaches. I'm just shooting from the hip. Wiser folks please speak up.
Looks like he's starting the staff off with Auburn alums, minus the Bouleware guy. Does this give credence to the rumor of Garner and Nix joining the staff?
In an earlier question from Chris about what Chizik could do to make me feel better. Well, if the reports are true about coaches, then this is not what I want to hear.
Word is
I like Gran personally, thought he was a poor ST coach but a good recruiter, good RB coach and good program guy. I just think with Tubs in town and Gran on staff, there would be a lot of potential for staff turmoil.
Gran will land on his feet very quickly.
Word is there are alot of people up at the airport....AND GET THIS
early word is that Greg Knox will be retained
Mike Pelton - DL - Heard he's actually good, an Auburn grad who was DL coach at Troy when they developed DeMarcus Ware and Osi Umenyiora.
Jay Boulware - RB/ST - Texas grad...experience at Arizona, Stanford, and Utah (under Whittingham after Meyer left).
Jeff Koonz - DB - Another Auburn grad...from get this, 2004. He was a grad assistant under Chizik at both Auburn and Texas.
Knox may be retained ... through signing day in an effort to keep some of the class together. At least, I hope that's what you mean.
Maybe you all know something good about these coaches, SFC, if you think they are ok, then they are ok by me.
nevermind, I guess Pelton is the D-line coach. Perhaps Willis sticks around to coach linebackers?
Any news outlets going to have live broadcast???
it's a circus here at the airport. I'd say there are 200 people already.
AUant, you are correct. Any coach that believes in the people he hires and doesn't just dump them must be horrible.
By circus do you mean an angry mob?
Glad you agree Steve...LOL
Jay....are people going to boo or cheer by what you are seeing?
Greg Knox being retained is interesting, alhtough he is a great recruiter. I seriously wonder about him being the receivers coach.
ummm....how about hiring an offensive coordinator FIRST and letting him help choose his coaching staff??? amazing, isn't it?
i guess i don't understand football, or the republic, or democracy for that matter.
Denny, I am unsure of these coaches. Koontz is a real question mark with so little experience, but Chizik must be high on him he has been with him at Auburn and Texas.
Anyone that boos Chizik ... should be declared a Bammer.
There are a hundred ways to express your displeasure (some are even effective) ... but booing the coach on camera -- even if the AD's with him -- is hideous.
Even if he was my 34th choice to be coach.
scottie b in tennessee, I am with you. It disturbs me if they are hiring offensive position coaches before the OC. It is possible the OC has already been lined up, so lets wait and see.
Hi Jay,
Let out a big War Eagle for me when he arrives. I'm stuck at work 505 miles away.
seems pretty calm here. Crowd growing. Just talked with antarrious Williams. There's nobody better.
We just lost a recruit.........to southern miss
Jay,
whats AWill doing these days?
Jay, why am I reminded of that WKRP Thanksgiving episode where Carlson gave away Turkeys by bombing a shopping mall with them?
scott, which recruit?
Give Coach Koonz a chance. I roomed with the guy from 2002-2004 and worked with him from 2000-2004. The guy is young, but he works his butt off and before he joined Chizik at Iowa State, he was dang close to staying on at Texas with Mack Brown to coach linebackers. Plus, he's an Auburn man.
I talked to him a few times over the last couple of seasons and I know he is disappointed that they only won two games at Iowa State this year, but I also know how bad the situation was there.
I live out in Denver right now and Coach Koonz actually hooked me up with a sideline pass for when they came out to Boulder to play CU. Like about three or four other games this year for them, they lost a heartbreaker, coming up a yard short from victory. I have reservations like a lot of people do about Chizik, but being on that sideline, he had those kids belieiving despite being 2-7 at the time and they fought like hell till the final whistle. Luck deserted them more than once this season. I'm willing to give the guy a chance before crucifying him.
Mike Pelton DT #50 (converted LB?) I remember him well and very glad to have him coming home. Koontz...no bells. But then short term memory goes first with Alzheimers.
Jamar travis......he had not committed yet but it was down to Auburn and Southern Miss
Is Chizik picking his assistants with the Price is Right style, "Come on down! You are the next assistant coach at Auburn!" There are a ton of ex-Auburn players in the crowd just hoping Rod Roddy calls their name.
SteveFC
That was my favorite episode. Hilarious!!! They got plenty of mileage out of it in subsequent episodes.
BTW...Bailey, hands down.
this place is almost wholly positive. I'm surprised.
some random plane just landed... Wrong plane. Funny.
Michael4Au,
When you say 'how bad the situation was there' regarding Iowa State....can you expand?
I hope the crowd is respectful. When coach Chizik gets off the plane, hes going to have his family with him. Regardless if it was what we had hoped for or not, hes a member of the Auburn family now. Its important to remember that we are Auburn men and women first, and to conduct ourselves in any other way is unbecoming. Besides, what better motivation to be on the top of your game than a warm welcome.
I'm going to sit in the corner with you, Scottie B.
We are in a pretty fortunate situation here. Jay G will have access to Chizik and we can express intelligent questions and likely get some kind of response. As long as we behave in a dignified manner, we should be able to get answers. If that doesn't work, we start rolling yards.
23 miles out
plane landing.
Touchdown AUBURN!!!
Sorry could not resist....
Anyway someone can crank up that Elvis intro music at the airport?
this crowd is going to be respectful.
speaking of Elvis, i would prefer "A little less conversation, and ALOT more action" please Coach Chizik. thank you.
That's the best news of the day ... last thing we need is a bunch of yahoos booing our new coach, his wife and children (if they're on the plane).
Of course, he might have to use them as human shields. Just kidding.
All sorts of Elvis possibilities ...
I'll Have a Blue Christmas (Without Boom)
Suspicious Minds (The story of the fans vs. TPTB)
I Can't Help Falling in Love with Gill
scottatl,
The talent base as a whole was pretty terrible when Chizik first arrived. On top of that, a lot of the players he did inherit were not willing to buy in and it was detrimental to the team and they had to run some players off, but it also meant they had to build from scratch.
I'm not saying the guy is going to be a bonafide SEC coach, I just don't think you use Iowa St. as the only barometer and deserves at least a year before we harshly judge him. I was a big fan of Turner Gill and wanting him there, but the truth is that Iowa State was probably not in much better shape than Buffalo and while Gill did turn them into a winner in his third year, he also benefitted from playing in the MAC as opposed to a BCS conference.
We need a live video stream at the airport.
sounds like a rent-a-crowd by jacobs
I did it my way seems strangely appropriate.
Michael I appreciate your input here. It's good to have the Eddie/Michael combo on this blog.
where's Kristina and her video camera when we need her????
I just had a thought...do you guys think Tubs will make an appearance at the press conference tomorrow to endorse CGC? Would this be part of his continuing to be part of the Auburn program and "helping Auburn in any way I can"?
What do ya'll think?
rent a crowd? I like that concept. If there are protesters, they're outside the airport.
Maybe Kristina is drunk and crying - "we bawlin' baby, we bawlin'!"
TT will take JJ place as AD...
Don't count on it!!!
Michael,
thanks for the info.......looking at the Iowa state scores this year and the points they gave up is pretty dang scary
Tub's participation may depend on duck season - maybe he will just fax in an "I concur"?
Thanks Mon; me and him are really split on this, except that we are both happy for Jeff. I mean, like I said, I have my reservations, but I'm willing to wait and see what happens, but Eddie a little less so. We both hate Lowder and the BOT, though. That we agree on heartily.
chizik said this is why he got into coaching.
Curtime, I think Tuberville would avoid this like the plague. Him being there would likely distract from Chizik and cause controversy.
Does he mean the $2M salary?
dnatl-
BINGO
See...I don't know. Tubs endorsing CGC could end some of "Chicken Little" attitudes in the fan base...JMHO
I agree. Lowder & Co. are a cancer to Auburn and I'm not sure of the cure.
Agreed scottatl, their defense was poor, no question, but just about every defense in that conference was. I have to think with Chizik's background at Auburn, if nothing else goes right with him as HC, the defense will still probably be pretty solid.
We really need to look at the positives of this Auburn offense and maybe Chizik can take advantage of them. As I understand it, we don't have a single offensive player that we might lose to the NFL.
It is going to come down to the staff he hires... it will be make or break for him...
choose well grasshopper!!
Mon,
I think of it more as AU having a fever. The only prescription ...
SteveFC
Wow! your ability to turn a negative into a positive has no limits ;-)
Every college has its Lowders and they are needed to some degree.
Nor are me and Eddie.
He is very lucky he didn't come last night. I would bet the reaction would have been different. After a day to digest all of this, I think most people are taking the wait-and-see approach to Chizik. I am still pissed that this looks like they hired a puppet coach to bring in their beloved assistants from around the country.
I hope he proves me wrong. I doubt he will.
The consensus is that we will go 2-10 every year with Chizzle ... obviously that's an overstatement.
I suspect the energy level within the program is about to rise.
And we'll all to get to see if that's enough to get things going on the right track.
Dear Leader, I agree that the staff is the key. I haven't seen anything in terms of staff that gets me excited yet. It is kind of encouraging that he brought some of his Iowa State staff, so apparently they weren't hiring mistakes.
Maybe Tubs can stop by for a quick cameo at the presser tomorrow, perhaps when he picks up his big poster-sized check, which won't fit in the mail?
Monica ... having been accused of being Lowder a few days ago, I'm not sure I like what you're saying.
SteveFC, I hear ya bro... most of the staff rumors I hear have me running for rolaids.....
I agree that every college has is influential boosters, but few have such an booster who wields such absolute power. I mean, for God's sake, the school was put on probation by SACs a few years ago because of it. I don't know of too many other schools with that big of a problem, and I don't think the problem was really addressed since then, not in reality anyway.
Jim in Scranton, so far the only coaches names that have come up are his assistants from Iowa State. I do think there is an advantage of bringing some of the proven Auburn coaches back home. I would get very excited if Tracy Rocker or Rodney Garner showed up.
As I understand it, we don't have a single offensive player that we might lose to the NFL.
Thanks Steve, now there is Coke all over my keyboard.
Lowder definitely carries a big stick, as evidenced by his appearances in those Enzyte commercials
Hahaha, sorry about that Jim.
I keep getting asked by people why TT is gone but Lebo still is employed and all I can answer is he is not on Lowders SH*& list...
Lowder is that rash in a place you cannot itch... always making its self known to you and reminding you that there ain't crap you can do about it...
Join the crowd, Jet.
Hey guys, couldn't take it any longer. We are on are we back and the wife wanted to drive, so I fired up the computer and thank god for broadband card.
Michael and I are split, but we do want what is best for Auburn and that does not include Lowder and his money. I hope colonial goes belly up tomorrow. Also, if you have a colonial banking account, go pull it and move somewhere else and I will be doing my best to not purchase any more "yellow wood" products. Not that it means much, but my company does by a good bit and I have a say in where we get our material from, so I will do my tiny part.
Bear Bryant Jr has a lot of influence at Bama, but I have to admit that Lowder is probably in a class by himself in terms of influence.
Something people don't mention is that Pat Dye is a close friend of Lowder's. Lowder is not an Xs and Os guy. Some of what we see may be influenced by Dye. It wouldn't surprise me for us to see a 3 yards and a clould of dust offense.
By the way, I think there is the possibility we have the best defense in the SEC next season. The only big question marks I see are depth and size on the interior of the defensive line.
This comment has been removed by the author.
I don't think the Lebo and Tuberville comparisons are valid ... it's not like we've taken basketball seriously ... but I think this is Lebo's make or break year ... and obviously if he sees the opening of the new arena, then it's game on for him.
Steve,
Florida doesnt have one uppercalssman on defense, and bama only has a couple, those for starters will be better than Auburns D
FYI...Brady Hoke to San Diego State
Rage against the machine, Eddie!
scottatl, Bama's defense doesn't have the talent that Auburn does. They are weak at linebacker to start. I am not overly impressed with their defense.
Eduardo ... I know you're frustrated ... I'm frustrated ... but I'd rather not see hundreds of people in my hometown lose their jobs for Colonial to go belly up ... or for the Yellawood folks, either.
The day is coming that they won't be around, and I hope that we've got a wiser generation of generous stewards to help us get where we want to.
Steve- Does the sun ever go down where you live?? Or do you just keep pumping it in all night long?
Rocker, Pelton and Garner all coach the same position. that could pose a problem
geez Jet, you seriously think Eddie meant he wanted folks to lose their jobs? You know who you're starting to sound like????
Eddie, I sleep rarely.
Hiring Garner as DC might not be bad since Chizik will obviously be very involved with the defense.
Trying to get people to focus the anger properly ... the BOT has its responsibility ... obviously the Jays do, too.
I guess I want to see Chizzle flop before I bury them all.
LMAO Eddie
Can you get email on the road, Eddie?
Steve....you think what Auburn has is better than Donta Hightower and Rolondo McClain!!!! Each of those guys are 1st round NFL draft picks..
I think we have plenty of "anger focus police" on the blog.
Yepp, sure can Mon.
I think Rodney has coached OL in the past ... and we know he played OL at Auburn... I could envision him coaching TEs and being AHC.
Monica ... I ain't the cops ... they won't let me have a gun.
Steve- You have a future as Jan Terri's agent. :)
Jet- Gardner coached TE's at Auburn. I don't believe he has ever been an OL coach.
Hahaha, Eddie, I am content with my job as is. I hide in my apartment 24-7. It works well for me.
couldn't remember if he coached OL... i know he played it.
I watched a bit of the Auburn/A&M cotton bowl from 1986 the other day. One thing that surprised me is how much bigger our defense looked than it does now. I wonder if we will see this small linebacker thing go away.
One name to maybe keep an eye out for as a possible assistant coach, especially given the theme of Auburn connections for the coaching staff, is Joe Whitt, Jr. Seems like he was a pretty good recruiter for Petrino at Louisville.
Sorry guys, I got drunk on SteveFC's boone's farm and passed out before I could make it to the airport. ;-)
What's the latest? Have we heard anthing about who may have been actually offered the job, but turned it down?
Agreed Michael. He is with Green Bay in some sort of capacity.
auburnsports.com has a summary up of the 'landing'. apparently it was a pretty positive event. lots of cheering and no boos.
Not necessarily Steve. Antarrious and Travis Williams were two of the starting linebackers in 2004, but if we get more players like them coming in, all fine by me.
Thanks Scottie - if anyone knows where I can see some video - like a local tv station please hook a sister up.
Kristina.....that is exactly what i want to know
Rodney Garner is the best recruiter Auburn could possibly hire.
He was run off by Tater Tot.
Another named I'd like to see is Jow Whitt Jr. as WR coach.
Assistants change positions as far as coaching a caertain spot all the time. No problem there.
Gone for the weekend but what a way to return!! Is the tension a little high tonight. Ha!!
Do any of you think that AU can have a season ANY worse than what we just endured?
Jay-G,
What's the guy have to say?
Chris,
I'm all for Joe Whitt
Wow - Whitt Jr was mentioned by a UT Vol site as heading to UT under Kiffen.
He's director of quality control for the defense at Green Bay.
http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2008/nov/28/source-kiffin-become-vols-head-football-coach/
Kristina - I've been asking and asking and asking that too. Who was offered the job and turned us down? Would be an interesting piece of info.
Chris, I agree. Getting rid of Garner and Hall were what convinced me that Bowden was a moron. Both Tennessee and then Georgia were happy to get Garner.
mdaniel -- Jow Whitt SR spoke very highly of CGC on AuburnUndercover.
Testing - Posting from my Ipod Touch.
Chris, no problem for Whitt, Jr., anyhow. He we as SA with wide receivers in 2000-20001 and impressed Petrino enough in the course of 15 spring practices before 2002 to hire him a year later at Louisville.
mdaniel- 2-10 tells me yes it can get worse next year, but let's hope not. Let's see how many JR's leave AU now.
New thread up.
Mon-
wsfa.com should have something sometime tonight. At least I hope when I get home from work I'll find something there.
Chris,
Missed out on Fridays blog, what happened w/ yout interview?
Steve- You ever think of the real reason Bowden got rid of Hall and Gardner? I heard nasty rumors of what was still hapening after the NCAA punishment. A lot of people believed it was in Auburn's best interest to do so.
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