Auburn introduces Chizik as coach

Dec 15, 2008 - 8:36 PM AUBURN, Alabama (Ticker) -- The hiring of Gene Chizik as Auburn's next football coach has not been well received, with many of the school's fans and alumni blasting the move.

But during his introductory news conference Monday, the 46-year-old Chizik said there was no other place he would rather be.

"Through my travels in coaching over the last 23 years, there's one place that I've always wanted to return to and that is Auburn," Chizik said.

Chizik was Auburn's defensive coordinator in 2004, when the Tigers went 13-0 and led the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 11.3 points per game.

Chizik replaces Tommy Tuberville, who resigned earlier this month after winning 85 games and a Southeastern Conference championship in 10 seasons at Auburn. The Tigers finished 5-7 in 2008, their first losing season in nine years.

"The Auburn people, the Auburn way, I get it and I understand it," Chizik said. "I've been to a lot of great venues. No one has the passion, the enthusiasm, the excitement of Auburn University and their people."

In 2005, Chizik was the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for Texas' national championship team.

However, he returns to Auburn after posting just a 5-19 mark in two seasons at Iowa State, which has many Tigers' supporters worried that he will be overwhelmed in the competitive Southeastern Conference, which includes coaching giants such as Florida's Urban Meyer, Alabama's Nick Saban and Louisiana State's Les Miles.

Some Auburn fans already were angry about reports that Tuberville actually was fired and did not resign on his own, as the school has said.

Former Auburn basketball star Charles Barkley was especially critical of the move to hire Chizik, suggesting that racism was involved.

"I think race was the No. 1 factor," said Barkley, who thought the job should have gone to current Buffalo coach Turner Gill, one of four African-American head coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

"You can say it's not about race, but you can't compare the two resumes and say (Chizik) deserved the job. Out of all the coaches they interviewed, Chizik probably had the worst resume."

Gill guided Buffalo to the Mid-American Conference championship in just his third year at a school which had one of the worst programs in the country before his arrival.

"I'm just very disappointed," Barkley added. "I just thought Turner Gill would be the perfect choice for two reasons: He's a terrific coach and we needed to make a splash. I thought we had to do something spectacular to bring attention to the program. Clearly, if we'd hired a black coach, it would have created a buzz."

The move also left former Auburn running back Joe Cribbs shaking his head.

"I have a lot of respect for (Chizik)," Cribbs told the Birmingham News. "But you look at his record as a head coach and you have to scratch your head and wonder what Auburn was doing and why they think it's a good move."

One thing is certain - Chizik's grace period at Auburn will be a short one. Chizik, however, has at least one supporter.

"This was the best decision Auburn could have made," said Washington Redskins cornerback Carlos Rogers, the 2004 Thorpe Award winner at Auburn. "Coach Chizik was like a dad to me. From a player and student point of view, he's exactly what Auburn needs in a head coach."