Auburn Football: Can Gene Chizik Build a Western Dynasty for the Tigers?

Gene Chizik arrived in Auburn with mixed expectations. There was a solid base of fans that thought the hire was a bad one, that Auburn had simply hired a place-filler for the position until a better and bigger name would come available.

The Tigers were coming off a 5-7 (2-6 SEC) season where the Tony Franklin experiment had just gone haywire. The Tigers hired the unconventional coach to implement a no-huddle spread. What happened to the Tigers offense was disastrous. Tommy Tuberville had sealed his fate and the new era of Auburn football was about to begin.

While there was some backlash to the hiring, Chizik has proved he can win championships. In his first season the Tigers went 8-5 (3-5 SEC) with a dramatic Outback Bowl win over the Northwestern Wildcats.

In the 2010 season, the Tigers marched to their second consensus national championship and none other than Gene Chizik was the head coach. Even more ironically, Turner Gil was just released from his contract with Kansas with a 5-19 overall record. Gil is the same coach many Auburn fans thought should have gotten the Tigers job.

What Chizik and his staff have accomplished so far is nothing short of amazing. Auburn entered the second year of Chizik’s tenure expecting to win some ball games and possibly the conference, but a national title was not on any logical radar.

In this past season, the Tigers finished with a 7-5 (4-4 SEC) record and are heading toward the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta to face off against the 8-4 (5-3 ACC) Virginia Cavaliers. The Auburn Tigers will look to close their season with an eighth win and move into the spring period with 18 returning starters.

The key statistic is not the wins column, but the returning starters. Auburn has an extreme amount of youth on both sides of the ball that has directly impacted the ability for Auburn to play consistent football.

There have been a couple of concerns with the Tigers performance that goes beyond the youth, however. On defense, there were players that would be out of position or making the wrong read, but there were also numerous times players would whiff tackles that were hat-on-hat form tackle opportunities.

Offensively, the Tigers had an extreme lack of control on the line, which led to increased pressure on the quarterback and an inability for the running backs to find open lanes.

Some of these mistakes by the offense and defense were mental errors, but some appear to be technique issues as well. Now keep in mind, Chizik and this staff have won a national title and every one of the coaches have been successful before Auburn. These coaches know how to coach, and they will correct those errors.

The bigger question is if these Tigers coaches can build a lasting dynasty at Auburn. When Nick Saban appeared in Tuscaloosa, it seemed as if the Alabama Crimson Tide were going to take over the state. For a year or two they did. At this point it is a virtual toss-up between the Saban staff and the Chizik staff landing a recruit or winning the next Iron Bowl.

What Chizik has accomplished in his three short years on the field and on the recruiting trail show promise for his legacy. Saban already has a statue, but Chizik is still holding the same amount of hardware.

The expectations have become championships on the Plains again. Auburn has reached new heights as a program and fan base. With the national title that came last season, Auburn has entered an elite group in the SEC, but it has not made it to dynasty status.

Chizik has an opportunity this coming offseason to bring in another extremely talented recruiting class, but also develop the younger more experienced players that cost the Tigers so many opportunities this past season. The Tigers should show a wealth of improvement across the board as numerous freshmen and sophomores gained significant snaps this season.

With a great season in 2012 and beyond, Chizik will look to do some things as consistently as possible. He will look to continue to grow the Auburn recruiting base both nationally and locally, he will keep continuity of his coaching staff, and he will continue to sell Auburn for is experience and family surrounding.

The Auburn community is something that is a huge draw for its comfort and focus to support Auburn in all things.

With that, it is a much more difficult landscape in college football than it ever has been before. There is a wealth of talent spread all across the country. What the SEC and its members have been able to do is hire the best coaches and live in the best weather in the country, providing recruits with a great place to spend their four years.

Auburn is a place that has proved it can build champions and enable award winners. It is a place that lives and breathes football, that has desperately looked for a legend to return to the Plains. Gene Chizik may be that man for Auburn. It is way too early to tell just yet, but all the signs are pointed in the right direction, and Chizik is driving the bus.