OnthePlains

Can i assume since no one is on here as he is about to announce that we know he is going with UT?

I admire your loyalty and do not for one minute think that you want anything but the best for Auburn. As Auburn people we can agree to disagree. I have read many posts just like these over the last several weeks and we are not gonna solve all Auburn's problems on here. I agree with you about hiring a messiah as well. Auburn has never gone for the home-run hire before and doubt they would this time either. But, without taking a chance where will we be in two more years?? Four of the last five seasons we have not beaten Arky, LSU, UGA or uat. One of those is on TT. The other three are on Chizik. If Auburn was just losing games I could live with that, but we are losing while looking lost half the time. Watch bammer play, watch UF play, watch Notre Dame for heavens sake, they all play with DISCIPLINE. I havn't seen that from Auburn during Chizik's whole time and that bothers me the most. The original questions on this post had to with youth and attrition and things like that, and the answer is always on the head coach. We can't blame TT anymore. Again, I admire your loyalty and if Chizik stays I will cheer and hope for him to succeed more than anyone, but I don't want 6-6, or 7-5, that is not acceptable. Chizik raised his own bar by winning that NC, its on him to keep the team competitive.

I completely understand your point. Like I stated earlier I have been on the fence about firing him mostly because of that NC and the loss of a top ten recruiting class if he leaves. What bothers me is the seeming lack of discipline and lack of development of players over the whole four year period. It seems to be a pattern with costly penalties and stupid mistakes. I like Chizik, I respect the man, I will love him forever for 2010, but my question is what will be acceptable next season? The schedule turns over to the tough road games, still have QB questions, will the D be any better in year 5? So, if we scratch out 7 wins next year does that give Chizik ANOTHER year to turn it around? If you give this exact same team to Saban and his staff are they 1-6 right now??? My guess is no, they are not. They wouldnt be 6-1 either granted, but they wouldnt look like a train wreck every week either. Look at what Bill Snyder has done at Kansas State.....AGAIN! No way KSTATE has better talent than AU right now, they do have a QB thats for sure. I guess my question is this... how many games do we lose, bad records do we set, far behind our rivals we get before you are ready to change coaches and that NC credit runs out? Outside of 2010 he is 0-10 about to be 0-12 against our biggest rivals.

I will forever remember that night in Glendale personally, but it really just illustrates the point further as to how far we have fallen in such a short time. I don't think the point of the question was that we didn't hire one of those guys specifically, but if we had hired a proven winner with a track record like those guys we would not find ourselves 1-6 with consecutive losses to Arky, Ole Missy, and Vandy. I think we have all seen coaches in our years watching college football that took less talent than AU has now, and organize and coach them up to play better than their talent. Chizik seems to have done the opposite for most of his tenure. I credit his patience and steady hand guiding that 2010 team through rough times, but remember we tried our best to give away a few games that year too. (MSU, Clemson, UK, Bama)

"Had we hired Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, Les Miles, or Urban Meyer instead of Gene Chizik, do you think we would be 1-6 in the fourth year of his tenure here, regardless of circumstances?" That might be the best point I have seen yet for not keeping Chizik. I have been on the fence most of the year but after the last two weeks I just can't see him staying. If one of the above mentioned coaches or someone of their ilk was coach their is NO way they let things get this bad. IMO Chizik should have seen this train wreck coming if he went to this new offense under an unproven OC. If he had hired a spread guy to work with Frazier's running ability we would probably be at least 4-3 right now. That decision is on Chizik, the attrition numbers are on Chizik, the FOUR YEAR defensive problems are on Chizik...and now perhaps the worst AU record in mine and a lot of others lifetime will be on Chizik as well. Sorry, but the answer to all the questions circle back to one person....Chizik.