12.13.2008

Jacobs non-committal

Live from AUO: Jay Jacobs neither confirms or denies the Gene Chizik stories.

He says The Process is ongoing.

Asked if he got his guy, Jacobs said: "Nope, we're still in the process."

Asked how close he is to a resolution, Jacobs said: "If everything continues to go well in the next few days, that would help narrow down the process pretty well. We'll go from there. We've just got to move along. It's been good so far."

Asked directly if Chizik is Auburn's coach, Jacobs said: "we're still working through the deal."

ALSO OF NOTE: Protesters were in attendance at the airport. Several were boisterous. This is not a good sign for Jacobs, Chizik or Auburn in general.

136 comments:

  1. That leaves room for Chizik NOT to the the HC, right?

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  2. JGT at 7:44 yesterday

    'This has NOTHING to do with Auburn in any way, but ...

    the Yankees and A.J. Burnett have agreed to a five-year, $82.5 million contract.

    This, to me, is more far-fetched than Gene Chizik interviewing for the Auburn job.'

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  3. I am guessing Jacobs won't take the cigar out of his mouth at the press conference and say, "I love it when a plan comes together," like I hoped.

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  5. I agreed with you 100% Jay

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  6. maybe chizik is Gill's new D coordinator?

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  7. I would go for that Michael...

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  8. Jeez i hope gene will be he dc and someone else will be the hire. Mark schlabach is blastin us and chizik right now. Sayin chiziks success as a dc is the kicker for chizik.

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  9. How will we address the OC problems, chizik just demoted his oc, i hope he isn't who is coming.

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  10. There, see. IT IS NOT OFFICIAL YET! There is still hope.

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  11. I'm going to write what Jay Jacobs says, he's credible, but I have no direct evidence supporting the idea that the deal is finished.

    So ... I'm not going to be reporting that for now.

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  12. Hopefully this is the biggest smokescreen in the history of smoke screen. Either way, all this smoke is gonna give me cancer.

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  13. If Chizik comes don't be surprised if Borges comes back as OC...

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  14. Don't report it Jay. It is too preposterous to be true. It doesn't even come close to passing the smell test.

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  15. Did you ask him if he could pass along some of whatever he's smoking???

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  16. scottatl, does this mean they go after Peavy again?

    In other news, ESPN reported that the University of Auburn hired Gene Chizik as it's head coach. This is how relevant Auburn is with this hire.

    Jacobs commments tells me that he has little to do with this hiring process.

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  17. This whole search hasnt passed the smell test.......there have been smells but they weren't nice

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  18. So I guess when everyone was getting excited about Muschamp, Jay Jacobs sez to emself, "Wow, these people will apparently love me if I just pick an ex-D coordinator who left for Texas. Now watch this..."

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  19. Nothing against the guy, but I hope you never have to report that Jay. By the way, all of our recruits decommitted....even the ones that don't have any other offers.

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  20. AL.Com has gone as far as to say this...

    "Chizik has called assistant coaches from other schools to compile his new coaching staff, said someone familiar with the situation."

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  21. good one Michael.

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  22. Those other schools are in Russia.

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  23. AUWade,

    Braves front office is operating about like Auburn's...... not willing to make a bold move and it looks like Smoltz is moving on as well

    Bad sports month for me

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  24. Asked directly if Chizik is Auburn's coach, Jacobs said "we're still working through the deal."

    That confirms that the offer is on the table and more or less confirms that it has been accepted in principle.

    Something else has been confirmed for me today as well and that is this: The vast majority of posters on football message boards and blogs are people with nothing worth saying who insist saying it over and over again. The quality of posts seems to have some non-linear inverse relationship to the quantity.

    Since JGT has been mentioning and PMarsh (among others), I don't feel that it should be out of line to link PMarsh's commentary on the hiring of Chizik. Go read.

    And please, stop with all of the melodrama already. It was old before it even began.

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  25. Still no official word from either ISU or AU other than Jacobs saying "Nope" when asked if he had his guy. That's good enough for me to hope this isn't happening.

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  26. Well, at least he has been a head coach.

    He has coached in the SEC.

    He, um, knows Auburn and the area.

    Um, he, well, probably still has some orange and blue clothing... and um, well - lets see... um...

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  27. I can see it already, our recruiting is going to be AUSOME.

    Coach Chizik: Hey son, this is Coach Chizik. We'd love for you to be a part of the Auburn program, I'm going to get things turned around.

    Recruit: This is who?

    Coach Chizik: Gene Chizik, I'm taking over at Auburn and guys like you are going to help us get back to 3rd place in the SEC west.

    Recruit: Sorry Coach, Neil Callaway is on the other line. I'm sticking with the Blazers.

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  28. What if they hired him to make one last slap at CTT?

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  29. There is a linear relationship between the position of my middle finger relative to the rest of my hand...

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  30. Well, since he has been an unsuccessful head coach before, at least he knows what NOT to do. Muschamp didn't even know that.

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  31. This is what is on the front page of Iowa State's Rivals page:

    "According to multiple reports, Gene Chizik will be Auburn's next head coach. No, really, they actually hired him. While it's bad news for Iowa State that its here today and gone tomorrow head coach of the past two seasons was a titanic failure and colossal bust, it's good news that the decision makers at Auburn can't count and have unburdened Iowa State of its most unprepared, overmatched and incompetent head coach of the modern era."

    This is sad.

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  32. http://iowastate.rivals.com/default.asp?SR=RivalsFP

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  33. The only people happier than them are the mullets.

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  34. Why would they meet in Memphis?

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  35. Jimmy Sexton lives in Memphis.

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  36. Sexton is in Memphis

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  37. Greg, they met in Memphis to avoid the mass of Iowa fans that would have been in Des Moines helping Chizik pack his bags.

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  38. So was Sexton the source for all the news since nobody is naming a source?

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  39. Stay classy Auburn fans. I'm not crazy about the hire either, but dang, can we at least wait till the end of 2009 before we burn a good man in effigy.

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  40. Well, not that I am a Chizik guy, but for all the negativity, he was the DC on the 13-0 Auburn team. He was the DC on the National Championship Texas team that beat USC. Hmmmm. Only bad decision he made was going into a tough situation at Iowa St hoping to turn it around. If he is the next Auburn coach, I do believe his pedigree is better than Boom. I would rather have Paul Johnson. But, it seems beggars can't be choosy. Recruiting is about working non-stop. I don't think a losing coach with the Dolphins had much pizazz with young recruits, but when they see you over and over, well, that's the difference.

    On the basketball side, the same would go for Billy Donovon at UF. Not much sizzle to hire him, but he is relentless when it comes to recruiting. Sizzle has less to do with recruiting than does hard work.

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  41. I hear ya Kris... one thing is for sure, we have helped alot of head coaches get raises with our search.

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  42. We don't even know if this is a done deal yet. I'm getting mixed signals.

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  43. I wonder if Jay Jacobs will get thank you letters from the Cyclone fans for "unburdening Iowa State of its most unprepared, overmatched and incompetent head coach of the modern era".

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  44. Denny.. I have always thought that Fla must have a person with great insight who does the hiring of coaches. They pluck Billy Donnavan from Marshall and Meyer after short stays at Bowling Green and Utah.

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  45. Also should mention there were protesters at the airport.

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  46. Preach it Jay, Preach it. No press conference yet. There is still hope.

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  47. Bark, I'm going to link that column on the front.

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  48. Jay, thank you again for not buying into the hysteria like the rest of the dang media. I love it that you keep your cool in situations like this.

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  49. I don't get where everyone says that ISU was a tough gig. Haven't other people won there in the past? If so, why did Chizik struggle so much?

    It seems to me that the only argument in favor of Chizik is, he was a great DC at AU and TX, only one prob there, we aren't looking at hiring him as DC. I noticed that ISU's D gave up over 34 pts in 9 of their 10 losses this yr and gave up over 50 to two of their opponents. Of course those two opponents who scored fitty were in the top 15 at the time...I suspect that he'll play against more than 2 top 15 teams each yr if he comes to coach at AU.

    We lost some tough games this yr, but we never gave up a half a hundred. GC did it twice.

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  50. I think we should all give Coach Chizik a chance...

    or maybe not.

    I'm still stunned.

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  51. I might be wrong, too, but I'd rather hold back and wait until I get clear-as-day confirmation.

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  52. Hey JGTate, someone said Chizik was not on the plane when it landed. Would you mind going back to see if Turner Gill was on there?

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  53. I am still standing by earlier contention that the Chizik pick is one where they scare us with it to make the other candidate seem better. Had Chizik stayed at Texas, I think everyone would have felt better. He was ill-advised to take the Iowa State job.

    I only pray to God that I am right.

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  54. Jay - please find a way to blow this deal up. You will be an instant hero among all Auburn faithful!

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  55. Does the G in Jay G Tate stand for Genechizik?

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  56. One thing is for sure, it does not seem like Auburn has had Chizik done and dusted all along. I had drinks with an Iowa State assistant coach a few weeks ago and he knew Tubs was in trouble, but nothing else with regard to Auburn's future HC being his boss.

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  57. Supposedly Chizik wants to tell his players first according to what I read on al.com.

    Have no idea if that is true or not, but it might explain the wimpy responses from Jacobs.

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  58. If it is Chizik - AU fans will support him once the dust and shock settles.

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  59. Jay G., I am still holding out hope that this is not true. How can this hire be justified? I'm sure the President's inbox is exploding. This cannot go through if true. This job is going to be difficult enough. AU does not need to have a divided fan base on top of everything else. What is your feel for this?

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  60. Honestly, and I know I drop his name all the time, but Howard Schellenberger is a better choice for a Head Coach...Am I right?

    What is the saying, better to keep your mouth shut and have people assume you are an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Well, Gene unfortunately has removed some doubt about his head coaching ability.

    Let's assume that for the sake of argument that his record at Iowa State was of no importance, then his decision to take that job should tell you something about his decision making abilities. CTT took over a bad ol miss program suffering from probation and turned it around.

    A very burned out CTT is still better than anyone on the interview list.

    At least when they replaced me at Uof L they got Rick Pitino. Think about that for a moment.

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  61. Denny:

    I'm a better choice for HC...

    I haven't lost ten straight games...

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  62. If its Chizik, I think it shows AU was suprised by Tub's walking.

    If he builds a great staff and recruits his tail off, we'll just have to wait and see.

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  63. scottatl, I disagree. This is a bold move. I wish I had the testicles required to make a move like this.

    Folks, with regard to Chizik, there were many people that wanted him as the head coach before he jumped ship for Texas.

    Another thing to note is that Iowa State got worse, not better, when Chizik showed up.

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  64. Is there any way to figure out which planes are coming and going from AUO? I live about a mile away and sizable (much larger than a Cessna) plane just left a few mins ago. Is there any way to figure out who that was?

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  65. Bravo Jay Jacobs. Bravo. (slow clapping)

    You have confirmed my suspicion that you have oatmeal for brains.

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  66. The newspaper in Ames is reporting that ISU players are "irate" about Chizik's decision to leave.

    ... something else to consider.

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  67. Iowa St got Sennecca-Wallace-less as well.

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  68. NBC National Sports just broke away reporting Chizik has been named AU's Coach

    I hope there is a retraction in their future.

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  69. On TV that is....Should have said that.....

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  70. Guys, I sense that this is happening. I just don't want to report it unless I have cash-money assurances that it's correct.

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  71. Jay:

    Not sure where you were going with that quote about the irate players, but aren't they usually irate when a coach leaves?

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  72. Understood Jay..

    Thanks for all your work.

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  73. Welcome to the Shula Dimension - Do Not Adjust your set.....

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  74. We must look to the positive side of this. Should Chizik be hired, Jacob's balls will have grown to a size where they will be available for rental as party balloons for kid's parties.

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  75. Jay,

    I think it is safe to assume that this is a fallback hire. Will you be able to state your opinion on who the original target was?

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  76. Did you just start a post with a "Howard Schnellenberger is a better hire," then end it with a thought about keeping your mouth shut? That's funny, seeing as how that crazy old man has no idea how to keep quiet.

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  77. I believe, for all intents and purposes, that it is done. Too much other circumstantial evidence is being to pile up.

    Then the only that is left to do is for him to assemble a killer staff and for Auburn fans to get behind their program and quit this talk about giving up seats and not going to games.

    The most important pick will be OC and the rest of the O staff. I am curious to see what happens.

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  78. Jay,

    Thanks for good journalism. That's why we come here..

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  79. I mean about keeping a mouth shut is like Chizik went someplace and removed some doubt about his headcoaching ability. Meaning he has a lot to prove now, more so than if he hadn't been the HC at Iowa state and lost 10 straight. That is why Schenllenberger is a better hire.

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  80. another thought: jj doesn't want to land the big name, as he might be pushed out of the football side of au athletics.

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  81. scott from tucson, if near is defined by being on the same continent, yes, they are near. I have driven it directly, but I would guess that Cincinnati as about 10 hours from Memphis.

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  82. Scott, please look at the map before making such statements from now on. 472 miles. I guess that's closer than Istanbul is to Cincy, but no, I wouldn't consider that close.

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  83. People, we don't even know if Jacobs is the guy that made this decision. Remember, this is Auburn.

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  84. in fact, according to google, Birmingham is closer than Memphis to Cincy.

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  85. So, since we are going for the non-conventional hire, whatcha say Franklin gets another chance.

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  86. What's the whine-table?

    24 or 48 hrs to vent?

    I hope Rodney Garner's at the presser!

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  87. With this kind of smokescreen, Auburn must've caught someone really big, right? Is Pete Caroll having a press conference tomorrow?

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  88. Anonymous5:14 PM

    You know, it would really be hard for him to be any worse than Tuberville was this year. Tubs only lost to every team in his division except MSU, and even that victory was by just a point.

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  89. Chizik went 0-8 in the Big 12. But the Big 12 is really good, right? I mean, they had Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech go 11-1.

    What the hell do you mean ISU didn't play any of them. He went 0-8 and didn't even play the 3 best teams. WTF are we doing?

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  90. except for phoenix, tucson is 10 hours away from everything. it's all relative, pf.

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  91. People, I don't tend to believe rumors, so don't get upset if you hear about Tuberville having health issues. I just heard that he died laughing.

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  92. Although I didn't think they would hire him, I did mention Chizik's name at the beginning of this. I only did it to compare him to Boom to point out that a good DC doesn't always make a good HC. So, if he is the new HC and he becomes great, you're welcome, if he stinks, I'm sorry.

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  93. I'm about to throw up.

    File me definitely in the "time for JJ to go" camp.

    First Marsh, Muschamp and Tuberville gone AND NOW HIRE CHIZIK?

    This is a cruel joke.

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  94. Well, I am looking for analogies. An Auburn coaching search is like prison sex. They aren't screwing you because they enjoy it. They are screwing you because the like looking at the surprised look on your face.

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  95. Jim from Scranton that is the first time I have laughed since this thing was announced! Thanks for that!

    That should be the front page quote.

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  96. It is not even a cruel joke. It show complete idiocracy in action!

    Beyond stupid, beyond ignorant, beyond comprehension.

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  97. Jay, you don't ever have to report this if you don't want to.

    I'm ok with just pretending Tubs is still the head coach until Chizik is fired.

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  98. OK Steve you gave me my second laugh!

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  99. A Gene Chizik coached team has not beaten a team with a WINNING RECORD from a BCS conference folks. Thats all you need to know.

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  100. Anonymous5:25 PM

    Can you tell us more about the protesters, Jay G?

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  101. Done blame Jacobs, blame the Tuberhaters. I didn't see this becoming so blatantly obvious so soon, but I did see it coming. I just thought it would take a couple of 6-6 seasons for people to suddenly go, hmmm, wait a minute, maybe that Tuberville guy wasn't too bad.

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  102. I will support the team no matter who is the HC, but this sounds too much like a "Shula type of hire." Good Cordinator bad HC. I hope we dont have to find out....

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  103. Anonymous5:32 PM

    if what we are hearing is true, this is just pathetic. Seriously, I am all for giving guys a chance, but not from a DC to a really BAD HC to AU. Grated, Iowa State is not Florida, trust me, I played college ball in Iowa, but at least when ISU had Troy Davis they were at least a .500 team. 2 wins this year for ISU? Kent St. and South Dakota ST. (which is not near Memphis.. sorry guys, had to throw it in) and ISU lost to UNLV. Almost as bad as losing to ULM. I agree with earlier posters... this guy will not impress HS Seniors, and if we cannot compete with CNS in 'crutin, we will be second tier for a while, which no one wants

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  104. Not being supportive of this hire doesn't mean you aren't supporting Auburn. I'll support Auburn no matter what, but this is just insane. Chizik wasn't supporting Auburn when he ditched us for Texas in '04, we don't owe him anything.

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  105. Kent State beat Buffalo this year so obviously Chizik is better than Gill.

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  106. I expect that halfway through the presser, Jacobs is going to cue the Bama fight song, throw on a houndstooth blazer, and Paul Bryant, Jr. is going to come out from backstage and they're going to laugh, dance around, smoke cigars, and maybe hit somebody with a folding chair or kick a puppy before they leave for their next WWE match. It would explain everything.

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  107. barkley, I don't fault any coach for furthering his career.

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  108. Firecoachchizik.com. I will never support this hire. This is the low point of me being an Auburn fan. I actually want him to fail miserably.

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  109. Wow does Jay Jacobs work for one of the other teams in the SEC this is a horrible decision. Chizik is not a SEC caliber coach in any sense! How low have we fallen that this is what we hire! Welcome to 3rd or 4th place in the SEC West for the next decade Jacobs has handed Bama and LSU the division on a silver platter.

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  110. The protesters? They were long-haired hippie types, and they reaked of patchoulli

    Or, perhaps that was just the overwhleming skatole stench of this whole "process"?

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  111. Saban and the bammer nation are shaking in their boots.

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  112. I agree Steve it looks like it worked well for GC

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  113. Yeah, I think JJ is taking a lot of heat for just being the third party go between gofer. Ease up....give a lakey a break. Lab dogs like JJ are hard to find. Think about

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  114. This last year of Auburn football has been a prime example of stupicide. We have been committing serial stupicide. It started with the hiring of Franklin. It continued with the firing of Franklin. We also provided seven other examples, including the meltdown in Tuscaloosa. I thought firing Tuberville would top the stupicide list for the year, but it appears Jacobs is going to prove me wrong.

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  115. I think Jay Jacobs is the kind of guy who would buy his wife a vacuum cleaner for Christmas and then wonder why she wasn't excited about it.

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  116. Well - with the new arena coming online, perhaps AU is making a move to become a basketball school?

    *ducking*

    Would there be any possibility that AU is bring him back to be DC for a Turner Gill?

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  117. Anonymous5:43 PM

    Jeez - I fell asleep again and something happened. I thought I was dreaming.

    Auburn hasn't officially announced Gene Chizik as its new coach, and one of the big reasons for that is he first wants to tell his Iowa State players good-bye in a team meeting, said someone close to Chizik on Saturday afternoon.

    The deal is done. Chizik, who has been Iowa State's coach for two years, is tentatively scheduled to be introduced as Auburn's new coach on Monday. He was Auburn's defensive coordinator from 2002-04.


    courtesy of al.com

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  118. GregD, it really doesn't matter. The list of candidates for the HC job are all on the Chizik level.

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  119. Anonymous5:45 PM

    Now I know why money was no object....we didn't have to shell out any.

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  120. That's a done deal.

    I have a new thread up.

    Thanks for your patience. I just wanted to make sure I got this right...

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  121. HE'S 5-19!!!!!!!!! NO CANDIDATE WAS ON THAT LEVEL.

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  122. That is the teams record, not the quality of the coach. There is a difference.

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  123. He has a $750,000 buyout at Iowa St.

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  124. Anonymous5:48 PM

    HC - Chizik
    OC - Nix
    DC - Gardner
    Gran, Willis stay....since everyone is saying there will be an Auburn flavor.

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  125. Anonymous5:49 PM

    JAY G CALLS IT!

    NEW THREAD!

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  126. But...but...how do you go 2-10 in the Big 12 and none of those losses are to Texas, Ok, or TT???

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  127. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  128. Dear Jay Jacobs,

    You totally just got scooped by some dude in Iowa. Way to make an announcement.

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  129. Considering that everyone else in the world apparently knew Chizik had taken the job, and Jacobs is on YouTube going "the process is ongoing"... doesn't that frankly make Jacobs look like he has all the honesty of a used-car salesman? How can you believe anything from him? The protesters heckling him certainly knew Chizik was the coach. Are AD's like coaches themselves now? You know they're lying when their lips are moving?

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