Post by Pirate Joe on Jan 12, 2011 19:06:33 GMT -5
This won't be Chizik's last rodeo
Published: Wednesday, January 12, 2011, 5:05 AM
Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News By Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.
On the morning after, Gene Chizik looked nothing like a national championship football coach. Instead of sporting a suit or a blazer, he went all Casual Friday three days early.
Blue jeans. Open-collar shirt. Leather jacket. He looked like a 49-year-old dad about to fly cross-country with his kids.
Come to think of it, that's exactly what he was about to do, but first, he had to stop by the JW Marriott Camelback Inn to collect a few souvenirs. Four different organizations presented him with four different trophies proving that clothes don't make the man.
Neither does a misguided first impression.
The last six men to stand where Chizik stood are among the giants of their profession. Nick Saban. Urban Meyer. Les Miles. Mack Brown. Pete Carroll. Jim Tressel.
Saban and Meyer have been on this podium/pedestal twice.
They're the kind of coaches ESPN calls when it needs another analyst for the BCS Championship Game or an actor for the next GameDay commercial.
Chizik is not that kind of coach, at least not yet, even though he beat both Saban and Miles this season. He just hasn't been a head coach long enough or appeared on the national stage often enough.
He worked that stage like a pro for the past nine days, but at times during his last BCS press conference, he didn't sound like a national championship football coach, either.
Witness a portion of his opening remarks Tuesday. After giving shout-outs to his players, his AD and his president, he said he felt "just very blessed to be a small part of something really big."
His modesty seems genuine. He didn't pull it out of mothballs for the occasion, but the distance between the amount of credit he's received for this season and the amount of credit he deserves can't be traveled without a layover.
Was he just a small part of the decision to slow the pace of the Auburn offense in the second half against Oregon with Cam Newton hurting and the defense dominating?
Was he just a small part of the 37 days of planning that allowed the Auburn defense to dominate in the 22-19 victory?
It may take a village to raise a child and a family - or an organization, whichever you prefer - to win a championship, but a football program starts and ends with the head coach. A head coach's legacy, however, doesn't start and end with a national championship, especially when it happens so early in his tenure, and Auburn in 2011 is looking at rebuilding, not reloading.
Look at Larry Coker. He was the last head coach who won a national title primarily by being in the right place at the right time, in an uncomplimentary way, at Miami in 2001.
Because of his age, pedigree and personality, Chizik has a better chance to be the next Mack Brown rather than another Coker, but it's still too soon to know for sure. There are some things about Chizik, though, that are not open for debate.
He was a part of the first Auburn team to go 13-0 in 2004 and the first Auburn team to go 14-0 in 2010. He was a part of the first Texas team to win a national championship in 35 years and the first Auburn team to win a national title in 53 years.
He's been a part of seven different bowl teams in the last nine years. Five of those seven teams played in January bowl games. Three of them played in BCS bowl games. Two of them played in the BCS Championship Game.
Each of those teams won its bowl game.
Sooner or later, it might be wise to acknowledge that Chizik's presence and those results are not happenstance or coincidence. How many other coaches can say they've contributed to three undefeated seasons and two national championships in the last seven years?
Clearly, this isn't the first time Chizik has been a part of something really big. Odds are, it won't be the last.
Published: Wednesday, January 12, 2011, 5:05 AM
Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News By Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.
On the morning after, Gene Chizik looked nothing like a national championship football coach. Instead of sporting a suit or a blazer, he went all Casual Friday three days early.
Blue jeans. Open-collar shirt. Leather jacket. He looked like a 49-year-old dad about to fly cross-country with his kids.
Come to think of it, that's exactly what he was about to do, but first, he had to stop by the JW Marriott Camelback Inn to collect a few souvenirs. Four different organizations presented him with four different trophies proving that clothes don't make the man.
Neither does a misguided first impression.
The last six men to stand where Chizik stood are among the giants of their profession. Nick Saban. Urban Meyer. Les Miles. Mack Brown. Pete Carroll. Jim Tressel.
Saban and Meyer have been on this podium/pedestal twice.
They're the kind of coaches ESPN calls when it needs another analyst for the BCS Championship Game or an actor for the next GameDay commercial.
Chizik is not that kind of coach, at least not yet, even though he beat both Saban and Miles this season. He just hasn't been a head coach long enough or appeared on the national stage often enough.
He worked that stage like a pro for the past nine days, but at times during his last BCS press conference, he didn't sound like a national championship football coach, either.
Witness a portion of his opening remarks Tuesday. After giving shout-outs to his players, his AD and his president, he said he felt "just very blessed to be a small part of something really big."
His modesty seems genuine. He didn't pull it out of mothballs for the occasion, but the distance between the amount of credit he's received for this season and the amount of credit he deserves can't be traveled without a layover.
Was he just a small part of the decision to slow the pace of the Auburn offense in the second half against Oregon with Cam Newton hurting and the defense dominating?
Was he just a small part of the 37 days of planning that allowed the Auburn defense to dominate in the 22-19 victory?
It may take a village to raise a child and a family - or an organization, whichever you prefer - to win a championship, but a football program starts and ends with the head coach. A head coach's legacy, however, doesn't start and end with a national championship, especially when it happens so early in his tenure, and Auburn in 2011 is looking at rebuilding, not reloading.
Look at Larry Coker. He was the last head coach who won a national title primarily by being in the right place at the right time, in an uncomplimentary way, at Miami in 2001.
Because of his age, pedigree and personality, Chizik has a better chance to be the next Mack Brown rather than another Coker, but it's still too soon to know for sure. There are some things about Chizik, though, that are not open for debate.
He was a part of the first Auburn team to go 13-0 in 2004 and the first Auburn team to go 14-0 in 2010. He was a part of the first Texas team to win a national championship in 35 years and the first Auburn team to win a national title in 53 years.
He's been a part of seven different bowl teams in the last nine years. Five of those seven teams played in January bowl games. Three of them played in BCS bowl games. Two of them played in the BCS Championship Game.
Each of those teams won its bowl game.
Sooner or later, it might be wise to acknowledge that Chizik's presence and those results are not happenstance or coincidence. How many other coaches can say they've contributed to three undefeated seasons and two national championships in the last seven years?
Clearly, this isn't the first time Chizik has been a part of something really big. Odds are, it won't be the last.