With Gene Chizik, Mum's The Word

Since Gene Chizik's arrival on the Plains, Auburn fans have ultimately seen a face lift of a team that finished a woeful 5-7 last season.

Chizik hired a top-notch staff, who has gone after top-notch recruits, which has produced top-notch fan support. Expectations aren't as high for this season as they are for the future, but a lot of weight has been thrown onto Coach Chizik's shoulders to produce in the short term.

Having seen Chizik speak at SEC Media Days, he's not one that is going to keep a crowd entertained. In fact, some even labeled him as boring.

Anyone remember how cautious Nick Saban was leading up to last season at Alabama? Very much so. No one expected an unranked Alabama team to have the season they did.

No one expects an Auburn team that Sports Illustrated ranked the 65th best team overall to have that type of season either.

The one similarity that Saban and Chizik have for now though, is the ability to be guarded about the things everyone wants to hear the most.

In case you weren't aware, Auburn had a very intense quarterback race up until last week. Did Chizik give any inclination as to who the man would be? Of course not.

Not until the day it was decided did we learn who would be the signal caller for the Tigers. Do we have a second string QB? Maybe, but Chizik won't let you know that.

Under Tuberville, you were usually free to come and watch fall practice. Now, take a stroll past the fields and you'll be politely asked to move along. Media member access? 25 minutes, max.

When it comes to talking about depth, he usually says the same things over and over. He talks about the fine line they deal with having low numbers, but he's hesitant to elaborate more than that.

When tailback Eric Smith was arrested on assault charges Saturday night, Chizik was short and clear on that situation. "This a family matter between Eric, myself, and our football team."

In the ensuing questions, he was peppered with more about the situation. I wouldn't say that the media hit a nerve, but Chizik wasn't budging on his stance of not talking about the subject.

At one point, he even asked to move on and talk about football. He's hard-nosed, and straight to the point, even though that may not be the one you want to hear.

It's too early to put out a verdict on Coach Gene Chizik, especially with the situation he inherited. It makes it even harder given the information that Chizik gives us on a day to day basis, which is nearly nothing at all.

Is it because he doesn't even know how he wants to handle some situations? I wouldn't count on that. Saban was guarded in the same way. I'd say he knew what to expect, he just didn't want the rest of the world to know.

Chizik knows the method to the madness, and when an opponent knows as little as possible about your team, you have all the more of an advantage.

SEC Coaches usually know what they're doing. That means that saying nothing at all may just be a good thing for Auburn fans.

For Gene Chizik, we won't know until after the season whether his dry tactics will lead to success on the field.

We all know the old virtue that reads "It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt." Lane Kiffin learned that the hard way, and it's apparent that Gene Chizik won't be doing the same.