(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Back in December of 2008, Auburn officials were met at the Auburn Airport with a lone heckler shouting , "We want a leader, not a loser!" at Auburn officials and Athletic Director Jay Jacobs.
It's beginning to look like that crazy Auburn fan at the airport was not that crazy.
Auburn is heading for a .500 season and even though that is an improvement on Gene Chizik's 5-15 record at Iowa State it is not what Auburn fans are used to and will not be accepted.
Auburn did start out 5-0, but that was a product of a favorable schedule and having a little excitement pumped in by having a fresh start under a new staff.
All of that is behind Auburn now and they must face the reality of ranked SEC caliber competition and the reality of a Head Coach with little success on his resume and a team that is losing faith.
Many observers, including myself, warned Auburn fans that all they were seeing was just smoke and mirrors and once Auburn lost a game Chizik would then have to show if he was really a SEC caliber coach or not.
What we saw in Baton Rouge Saturday was a team of the verge of quitting. The body language and demeanor on the sideline Saturday night was much the same as when Auburn was in the final throes of the Tuberville regime.
Even Chizik's own coaching staff had a look of resignation on their faces as LSU sent in the reserves to finish off the Auburn Tigers in the fourth quarter.
Gene Chizik is a fine Defensive Coordinator, but he doesn't seem to have what it takes to be a Head Coach anywhere much less in an upper-echelon SEC football program like Auburn's.
The question is why did this happen in the first place?
Why would Auburn go after a 5-15 coach of a lower tier school like Iowa State and why would they not just hire a proven coach?
The answer is simple, they liked him.
Gene Chizik has been one of the Auburn family at one time and that is one of the litmus tests for becoming a Head Coach at Auburn these days.
The same thing was true of other candidates for the Auburn job this time with Will Muschamp and Bobby Petrino.
There is no doubt in my mind that Auburn wanted Muschamp, or Bobby Petrino, but they were already taken, so through the process of elimination Gene Chizik landed the job.
The powers that be at Auburn like Pat Dye, Bobby Lowder and Jimmy Rane got their way in this case and here we are today 5-3 headed for a possible 6-6 season and little hope of better days ahead.
The painful truth is it doesn't get any easier in the weeks to come.
Auburn still must face Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama and if they do not upset at least one of those teams they will be faced with being left out of the Bowl picture for a second year in a row.
Chizik has yet to beat a ranked team and has no signature wins at Auburn or his former school Iowa State to encourage his team or fans into believing he can beat anyone other than teams like Ball State or Miss State.
Some may want to blame the lack of talent, but that just doesn't fly.
Auburn is loaded with SEC caliber talent. Auburn's recruiting classes ranked No.13, 10, 7, 20, 19 in the last five years. That gives them a very solid 13 ranking in recruiting.
That should be at least sufficient to beat teams like Kentucky at home.
The there is the question of what has happened to Auburn offense?
The answer is simple: It is no longer an unknown and it is no longer a mystery.
Earlier in the season I put forth the theory that Malzahn's offense would become ineffective as soon as SEC defensive coaches had time to figure it out.
I compared it to a batter facing a new pitcher, the results would improve the more the batter faces that pitcher. It would appear the SEC has this offense figured out.
The question has to be asked: Can Chizik turn things around, or could he lose control of his team completely?
That is very possible judging by the way they are playing and the way this team is acting. It would seem that it is just a matter of time before this team completely implodes.
Auburn fans are banking on recruiting to save the day and lead them back among the Alabama's and LSU's of the SEC West, but if Chizik keeps losing games, recruits will start baling out like rats off of a sinking ship.
The next four games will decide whether or not Gene Chizik is a failed experiment or not.
If it is a failure then how long will it take Auburn power brokers to undo the mess they have made down on the Plains?
The problem is when Chizik goes, Jacob knows he will most likely go with him.
Someone must take the fall for Pat Dye and friend's mistake and that scapegoat will be Athletic Director Jay Jacobs. Jacobs will drag his feet because he knows that when he fires Chizik he will likely be firing homself.
I am sure the guy at the airport must have thought he was wrong after a 5-0 start, but I am sure he and most Auburn fans woke up this morning thinking;
"You know, that guy at the Auburn airport was absolutely right!"
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