Larry Brown Sports

Gene Chizik’s wife, Jonna Chizik, seems a bit bizarre. She has some pretty strong opinions about social media, and on Wednesday she took to her Facebook page to share some of those thoughts. The end result was an extremely confusing rant about how powerful of a tool social media can be. She wrote about her husband’s team and how the fans need to support Auburn the way they did in 2010. She also managed to mix a Satan reference in there.

“…Therefore, my humble suggestion is to create a VERY POWERFUL ‘ALL IN’ movement of your own,” Jonna wrote. “We have fans all over the US and I think it is time that they RISE UP and snatch back what satan, himself, has stolen. We serve a God who recovers ALL that “has been stolen” from us and there are times that He requires the efforts of His people to accomplish this truth.

“Just think about the effect it will have first for the players and their families who sacrifice daily but how it will impact the fan base as a whole. During the season of 2010 the fans came together each Friday afternoon to send our boys off with a reverse tiger walk and the effect of just that alone was palpable enough that it carried over onto the field each and every Saturday.

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ESPN Films aired its special on the Auburn-Alabama college football rivalry Tuesday. The film, titled Roll Tide War Eagle, discussed the hate between the two schools and its fan bases. It specifically covered the past two college football seasons, one won by each of the schools.

During the documentary, Auburn coach Gene Chizik explains how he was able to land eventual Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton.

“In our recruitment of Cam Newton, we sold our offense. We sold Auburn,” Chizik said. “And we told him that ‘If you’ll just follow this plan, we feel like we can make all your dreams come true.’ And he went with it.”

Chizik’s explanation is comical for two reasons, both of which should be apparent.

First off, Chizik’s word choice was curious. If anyone was being sold between Cam Newton and Auburn, it was Cam, by his father, for the alleged price of $180,000. Secondly, do we really believe that Cam chose Auburn because he believed in their offensive system? Or is it because he went to the highest bidder, as was alleged?

Interesting and ironic choice of words for Chizik. Why bring up bad memories and old controversies if you don’t have to?

The first question I always ask when a team fires a coach is, “Who are they going to hire that’s better than what they have?” It’s the same reason I criticized Mississippi State’s firing of Sylvester Croom — what good is it to hire Florida’s offensive coordinator if he can’t bring Tebow along with him to Starkville? And that’s the same reason I thought it was a bad idea for Auburn to fire Tommy Tuberville. If you’re Auburn, how can you possibly convince yourself and your fans that bringing in Gene Chizik — he of the 5-19 record with Iowa State the last two years — is better for your program than having Tuberville as the coach?

OK, so Chizik did some really good things when he was Tuberville’s defensive coordinator at Auburn from ’02-’04 (including the 13-0 season), but what was so special about the Texas defense he led the two years after that? If I remember correctly, it was the Vince Young-led offense that was so impressive, not the Longhorns defense. And then at Iowa State, going 3-9 and 2-10? How is that a sign of doing a good job? I’m just left here scratching my head, as apparently were many Auburn fans. Check out the greeting they gave athletic director Jay Jacobs when he returned from signing Chizik.

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