Auburn to name Iowa State’s Gene Chizik as football coach
 |
Bill Jempty | Sunday, December 14, 2008 |
How many times does a career 5-19 head coach get an offer elsewhere. From ESPN-
Iowa State coach Gene Chizik has been hired as the next football coach at Auburn, Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard said in a statement.
A former Auburn defensive coordinator, Chizik will succeed Tommy Tuberville, who resigned following 10 seasons. The hiring was first reported by several media outlets, including AuburnUndercover.com, the Birmingham News and the Mobile Press-Register.
*****
Chizik made $1.05 million in base salary and guaranteed pay last season under a six-year deal and would owe Iowa State $750,000 if he takes the Auburn job.
Auburn was paying Tuberville an average of $3.3 million a year and agreed to give him $5.1 million to buy out his contract despite calling his departure a resignation. He stepped down after a 5-7 season and the Tigers’ first loss to rival Alabama in seven years, a 36-0 rout that was the final blow for a team that was predicted to win the Southeastern Conference Western Division.
Chizik is 5-19 in two seasons at Iowa State after stints running the defenses at Auburn and Texas. He coached the nation’s top scoring defense in 2004 in his third and final season with the Tigers. That defense allowed just 11 points a game and Auburn went undefeated.
*****
Before coming to Iowa State to replace Dan McCarney, Chizik was one of the hottest defensive coordinators in the country. He led teams at Auburn and Texas to a 29-game winning streak over two-plus seasons before losing in 2006 to Ohio State while at Texas. He was Frank Broyles national award winner in 2004 and served as the coordinator on Texas’ 2005 national championship team.
But he’s gone just 5-19 in two seasons at Iowa State — including a 2-10 mark in 2008. The Cyclones went winless in Big 12 play this season, and their win total has dipped in each of the past three seasons.
Chizik is a familiar face to Auburn. Auburn, winner of 6 SEC Championships the latest of which was in 2004, has only had 7 head coaches since 1951.
- Iowa State hires Auburn’s Paul Rhoads
- Auburn Fires Tuberville
- Auburn’s Tuberville Calls for Playoff
- Former Olympic swin coach Richard Quick dead at 66
- Former Missississippi State Coach Paul Davis dead at 87
- San Diego State fires football Coach Chuck Long
- Mike Sherman New Aggies Coach
- Randy Shannon New Miami Head Coach
- Jimbo Fisher to Join Saban at Alabama?
- Erk Russell, Junkyard Dawg, Killed in Car Crash
- Arizona State Baseball Coach Pat Murphy resigns
- Clipping their wings- Florida Panthers beat Detroit 2-1
- LA Clipper announcers suspended for one game
- Backup power- Miami Dolphins beat Carolina Panthers 24-17
- Steve Elling of CBS Sports is jealous
- Detroit Lions put two defensive backs on Injured Reserve
- The Dirty Dozen- Milwaukee Bucks beat New Jersey 99-85
- Outdueled- Florida Panthers beat Buffalo 6-2
- Collision Course: LPGA and Champions Tour in Oregon on Same Week
- Cleveland Brown QB Brady Quinn fined by NFL
Comments are Closed
