Is Gene Chizik Right For Auburn?

After a very unsuccessful season at Iowa State, Gene Chizik has taken over the reigns as the Head Coach at Auburn University. Chizik led the Cyclones to a measly 2-10 record losing their last ten games after starting 2-0. His overall record at ISU is a whole 5-19. This then poses the question, is Chizik the right guy for Auburn?

Chizik knows the Auburn staff quite well as he was the defensive coordinator under Tommy Tuberville before leaving for Texas and then eventually Iowa State.

Chizik had just begun here at Iowa State before the sudden bolt to Auburn. Even though the Cyclones looked mediocre at best this season, they showed signs of promise for Cyclone fans. However they also showed signs of the Cyclones of old on many occasions.

Can he take the talent that Auburn already has and succeed in the SEC?

To answer both of those questions, yes. Chizik has now seen all the top teams from both the SEC and the Big XII in action, this can prove very useful in both preparation for the game and coaching the players.

Chizik has a very similar offensive system to that of Penn State, not quite the Spread HD but a lot of mixing around formations. On several occasions during games, the Cyclone offense would come out on one play in the Power I and the next be in the Shotgun. This system showed promise against teams with weak secondaries.

Chizik is also a very defensive minded coach, after all he was a defensive coordinator for both Texas and Auburn. This will prove very useful in the rugged SEC.

Now, Chizik will not have immediate success due to the fragile state the Auburn offense is in at the moment, however let the guy get a few recruiting classes under his belt and Auburn will be the team it should have been this year. All in all Auburn made a good decision choosing Gene Chizik as Tommy Tuberville's heir.