It wasn't long ago that Tommy Tuberville's Auburn Tigers were preseason top 10, favorites in the toughest conference in college football, and reeling off nine of 13 against AP top 10 teams. How things have changed...
The foundation on the plains has been shaken and the landscape of Auburn football has been transformed over the last eight months. The man that commanded Auburn for 10 years and arguably considered the most successful coach in the school's history was run out of office at the end of a tumultuous 2008 campaign.
The season ended with a massacre at No. 1 Alabama resulting in Auburn's first loss in seven years against its biggest rival.
Auburn has been a force in the SEC conference for years and now the Tigers are an afterthought.
In what most consider the busiest offseason in recent years, the Auburn Tigers have rebuilt their program from the ground up starting with the hiring of former defensive coordinator that led the Tigers to an undefeated 2004 season and carried his success to the University of Texas where he led the Longhorn defense to a national title in 2005.
Following his success as coordinator, Gene Chizik took on an impossible challenge to rebuild and revive the Iowa State program as head coach. In two seasons, Chizik left his team with a dismal 5-19 record.
The hiring of Gene Chizik as the successor to Tommy Tuberville left the college football world in shock and dumbfounded by athletic director Jay Jacob's decision.
Almost every Auburn fan questioned the hire, doubted the administration, and feared the end of Auburn football for years to come. How could they not? Auburn has a chance to make a statement hiring a successful and proven coach Turner Gill and instead, on a whim, gives the reigns to a two-year coach, albeit former standout at Auburn, with a 5-19 record...
Chizik has stepped in and not only rebuilt the program and replaced nearly every staff position, but he has assembled one of the most proven coaching staffs in all of college football. One of the greatest strengths of the new administration is recruiting and Chizik has targeted some of the nation’s top young prospects.
In three months, the staff recruited the 19th ranked class in 2009. The upcoming year has the potential to be a top ten recruiting class with Chizik focusing on three of the top ten running backs in the country.
Under Tuberville, the Auburn Tigers had an offense that consisted of pounding the ball on the run and maybe three or four passing plays. The offense was predictable in his last season even after hiring a proven offensive genius in Tony Franklin. Franklin was axed mid-season and the offense at Auburn performed even worse without him.
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