Is Chizik Hiring A Lost Cause?
by Jay Coulter on Dec 17, 2008 3:00 AM CST
in Football
42 comments
Barkley's comments have angered many Auburn people.
It's hard to believe its been nearly a year since that New Year's Eve night in Atlanta. Way back then things seemed so right with the world. Auburn fans were holding up six fingers to anyone who would look and they appeared to have just unleashed the most revolutionary offense since the wishbone of the 1970's. Who would have guessed a year later the Auburn program would be in near collapse?
This morning, Auburn is arguably the biggest story in the country and for all the wrong reasons. ESPN's Outside the Lines dedicated its second show of the week yesterday to the perceived snubbing of Buffalo coach Turner Gill by Auburn. Tony Kornheiser and Michale Wilbon kicked off their Pardon the Interruption program with the Auburn story. National radio show hosts Colin Cowherd and Dan Patrick devoted much of their morning on Tuesday to the question of whether Gill was passed over by Auburn because of racism.
Of course, all of this is being fueled by the comments made on Sunday by former Auburn basketball legend Charles Barkley who accused the University of racism in picking Gene Chizik over Gill. Barkley is an honorable man. He puts his money where his mouth is and he's entitled to his opinion. Look at Auburn's donor list and Barkley's at the very top, giving millions to his University. There are few who love Auburn more than the man from Leeds, Alabama.
Whether his comments are true is anyone's guess. I've always believed that when you scream racism you better have the facts to back it up. Maybe he does. A lot of Auburn people are upset by his comments. I'm not among them. I've written all week about a leader emerging to take on the Board of Trustees and free Auburn from this dictatorship.
I'm not suggesting Barkley's the answer and I happen to disagree with his opinion. But I do admire him for speaking out and putting his reputation on the line with the Auburn family. He's frustrated like everyone else. It's a shame that other prominent Auburn graduates cower to those calling the shots.
I believe that Gill was passed up not because of the color of his skin, but because of his determination to do things his way as coach on the Plains. There can only be one boss of Auburn football and it's not the football coach or the athletic director. If you can fall in line with that philosophy you are set. If not, you're fired after winning 85 games in 10 years.
As this story continues to mushroom, the odds of Chizik being able to succeed becomes less likely. The public outrage by Auburn fans has now shifted to public scorn by sports fans across the nation. Is this unwarranted? Without question. But it is what it is. There's talk now of minority groups contacting black athletes and asking them not to attend Auburn because of the perceived slight to Gill. It's hard enough to mix it up with Nick Saban and Mark Richt. This adds a whole new level of difficulty.
Meanwhile Auburn fans continue to struggle in their acceptance of Chizik. Details are already emerging about the relationship between him and Tommy Tuberville. It's being widely reported that the rift results from Chizik supposedly agreeing to remain as defensive coordinator when Bobby Petrino was offered the Auburn job back in 2003. For those who still love Tuberville, this makes it harder to accept the new coach.
As one columnist noted yesterday, had Tuberville really resigned and was in fact working for Auburn President Jay Gogue, shouldn't he have attended Monday's press conference? We all know the answer to that question.
Speaking of Gogue, has there ever been a more clueless and spineless school president in Auburn's history? How weak must one be to duck out of a press conference that was a lot of his making? Those close to him say he's stunned at the reaction by Auburn people. Judging by the look on his face at the airport over the weekend, he also overmatched for the job. He could heal a lot of wounds by stepping down now.
The big question is whether things will get better over time. Will this story fade away and will Auburn manage to sign a decent recruiting class? Will the majority of Auburn fans fall in line and support Chizik? What happens if Auburn falters again next year? Will Chizik have the equity to survive? Will Jacobs and Gogue be shown the door?
This is not a pretty picture. Auburn fans are in the unenviable position of trying to support a new football coach while working hard at the same time to run off the athletic director and university president who hired him. I'm not sure that's mentally possible.
Meanwhile, Chizik continues to barnstorm the South trying to hold on to recruits. As Auburn people, all we can do is continue to compartmentalize the two issues - standing up and supporting Chizik while working tirelessly to rid our university of its current administration. It's a test of everyone's character. It won't be easy. It's time for your voice to be heard.
Everyone's listening.
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Racial Hire? Or Stupidity?
I was listening to the Dunaway and Brown show in Birmingham this week when a caller put the race question in perspective for me. He basically said, he might have believed that the hire was racially motivated if we had hired the best white coach available. But he believed that Jacobs was so stupid that he did not even get that right. So if Jacobs is as stupid or the puppet that we believe him to believe, why think race had anything to do with it.
I wanted Turner Gill as much as anyone, but can we move on. I would rather spend my time trying to support a loyal alumni (Don Logan????) who can help heal the university and move us away from the current nightmare. But then again, the nightmare cannot begin to be over until 2010 I believe. Or is there another loop hole to keep Lowder on the board again?
barkley for governor
with all of barkley’s political banter, his desire to make a difference, and his blunt attitude of taking on all comers, if he were to become governor, how would he approach auburn. he would be the one to appoint bot, would he not? if that were the case, would he force some sort of affirmative action on all alabama public universities at top level coaching positions?
as for chizik, despite him being the right man for the job or not, i’m afraid he’s doomed. the negative fan reaction will deepen our wounds with the program. what upsets me about that is, you can’t blame the man for taking a wonderful opportunity to leave aimes to coach at the loveliest village on the plains. i just hope he wins for his and fans sake, but a sadistic part of me wants him to lose for jacobs/gouges/bot sake. how long will it take to recover?
chizik is the coach, and he has my support (despite my sadistic side).
war eagle
another "plantation" thought
alabama is upset with gottfried’s lack of consistent production. i’ve heard some of their fans mention mike davis (an alabama grad). it will be interesting to see if they move towards a black coach, especially since all this recent publicity.
i don't know if it was racist, but it was pretty dumb
honestly i agree 100% with what Chuck has said, Alabama is a lot of things…progressive it is not. if Auburn had hired Gary Patterson or Todd Graham over Gill i don’t think you could have made as strong a case that race played a part, but Chizik just screams “we’re more comfortable with this guy and it’s not because of the wins” to a lot of people.
Auburn had a great oppurtunity to make a statement, but instead they just set themselves up to fail.
Exactly!
I have said it elsewhere, but if Chizik’s record was 19-5 instead of the paltry 5-19, the hiring of Chizik would have never sparked the accusation that his hire was racially motivated.
by Tiger on the mountain on Dec 17, 2008 9:28 AM CST up reply actions
Dead Man Walking
That’s how Chizik is being described by Sports Illustrated. He can’t win because the deck has been set against him. Thank Jacobs for putting that in place and those in the background who pull Jacob’s strings.
Race is an issue, but not the front line issue. Trustees (as pointed out before, a term used for compliant criminals within the prison system) who are uncomfortable with a Balck man in charge of the program should walk.
Auburn had a great chance to move into the premier levels of NCAA football. Don’t thikn Aubrn was there because they were in the second tier in the SEC and will hopefully remain there with Chizik, but they may fall hard.
Great coaches were available. Gill (my favorite), Hoke, Paterson, Grobe among a few. Auburn had a cahnce to get someone with the history of succeeding but no longer.
Puke.
Stealthy
Debacle
Good article, Jay. I am embarrassed by the university. Auburn today is the laughing stock of the American sports world. We can throw recruiting out the door for a long time. Even though I’m not an alum, I married one and EVERYONE in her family is an alum. My kids want to go there (my son wore an AU jersey to bed last night) and I have become a big, big fan. But this has made me want to distance me from the school – telling my kids that their daddy’s alma mater (school out west) is a much better choice! Even friends who have rival allegiances are showing sympathy toward us. It’s rare to see something mishandled as much as the debacle. This has escalated to the point where the governor needs to step in and do something. The buffoons on the plains from the AD to the President to the Trustees have shown that they are in capable of managing this themselves. When one of the two major universities in Alabama is accused of racism in all the major news outlets in the country then it warrants the governors attention. This has cast a HORRIBLE perception on the entire state that must be diffused from the top. Start by putting new visible DIVERSE leadership on the trustees and remove the cancer that exists there now.
by TigerTransplant on Dec 17, 2008 9:51 AM CST reply actions
Don't let
a small group of idiots sour you on Auburn. It’s a wonderful place, and your kids will be very well educated if they choose to attend Auburn down the road. My dad is alum, and I grew up loving the University, even though we ended up all the way across the country.
My father was also sickened (as was the rest of our family!!) by the ongoing debaucle. He told me a couple of days ago he was going to start wearing his Florida hat again (where he got his Masters degree) instead of his Auburn hat. He was just too embarrassed by all the ribbing at work. Then we sat down and talked about it last night. We decided that, no matter what, we LOVE Auburn, and we refuse to have that ruined by the antics of a few idiots. They are not representative of the fans, alum, or current students. Hell, I don’t know anyone they ARE representative of!
My point is, don’t let this ruin it for you and your kids. Auburn’s a great place, and we’ll get through this. The University will survive this and the football team will, too. They could just both us all of our support right now.
Excellent post Jay....
It will indeed difficult not only for Chizik to succeed given the circumstances…..but then again It would have been difficult for him to win if this was still just percieved as a stupid hire…which it most certainly is that. I am not saying that Chizik is incapable of succeeding or anything of the sort. He could come out and be the best coach we have ever had…….but it was still a stupid hire. If he does actually succeed, and I have stated this before, it will be the equivalent of Jay Jacobs and the “Powers that be” winning at craps….or the lottery. Jay Jacobs put on a dog and pony show and it continues…….what they were counting on and I don’t think anyone will dispute this was that one of the backdoor deals with Spurrier, Petrino, Nutt (that one still baffles me), Muschamp, or Fisher would come through. Jay Jacobs has continually made the statement that the search was done through the “front door” and that was the way it would be conducted at AU. Well, if that is the case what door did they make contact with the above mentioned names? It sure as hell wasn’t the front door. Jacobs/Lowder were rebuffed by every top wish and had no choice but to look at the “front door” candidates and I’ll be damned if they didn’t make a huge mess out of that. People can say that Barkley, or the people screaming in disgust at the hire have made a mess of it but I say Lowder and Jacobs have made the mess. What person in their right mind would have said “hey Gene Chizik, 5-19, thats freaking just what we want and need……WAY TO GO JACOBS!”? You are absolutely correct that we, the AU family should do our best to keep our disdain seperate from support for our football program. The faster we rid ourselves of the BOT and Jacobs and it appears Gogue, as he is either guilty of collusion or apathy, the faster we can recover from this. The AU family should not try to defend the charge of racism….the AU family should make sure that the rest of the world knows that if there was racism or just plain stupidity that it only applies to the few in charge and not the people who are really Auburn University and that my friend is you and I and every other fan, student, and alumus. Unite Auburn behind this issue and we can rid ourselves of the cancers at the top.
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
Racist Claims
I lose a lot of respect for the Dan Patrick, Colin Cowherd and other espn guys who are intent upon making this a racial issue.
Barkley started this asinine line of thinking, but these other media members are just as culpable by spreading such inaccuracies. Why is there no scrutiny on the Syracuse HC job?
Barkley said this:
“I think race was the No. 1 factor,” said Barkley, who played basketball for three seasons at Auburn during the early 1980s. “You can say it’s not about race, but you can’t compare the two resumes and say [Chizik] deserved the job. Out of all the coaches they interviewed, Chizik probably had the worst resume.”
He is right about Chizik’s resume being weak, but to immediately jump to race as the reason for the hire tells more about Barkley’s sensitivities than it does reflect reality.
It was said very well above. Auburn didn’t even hire the best white guy available, so to site that Turner Gill was more qualified is a moot point.
I think anyone would concede that there very well may have been shady aspects to this deal, but there simply isn’t enough evidence to outright cry racism.
One last time people....
Syracuse has a BLACK AD. How are you going to accuse a BLACK AD of racism for not hiring a black coach? Whether true or not the perception is there and I refuse to defend Jay Jacobs or the BOT.
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
First, Auburn fans should know the AD isn't the only one involved in the hire.
So the fact that the Syracuse AD is black to me is not important.
Next, you can delete Syracuse and replace it with San Diego St or Washington or Tennessee or Clemson or whoever you want.
The facts are NO SCHOOL hired a black coach this year. Originally, I picked Syracuse out of the air because they made an equally stupid hire as Auburn in my opinion.
I don't disagree with you that Syracuse made a stupid hire....
but Syracuse is known for making stupid hires. But on the surface at least their hire makes more sense than ours. New Mexico has in fact hired a black coach this seasn but that has no bearing on the situation at hand just like calling for other schools to be scrutinized has no bearing on AU’s situation. And the fact that Syracuse has a Black AD would insinuate that they have no problem with a black man in a position of upper management or do you not subscribe to the coach being an underling to the AD? My point is regardless of whether the Trustees and or Jacobs made a decision based on race it is foolish for those of us who don’t know either way to defend them. It makes even less sense when the national media is differentiating between the powerful few and the Auburn Nation. Whether the hire was just plain stupid or stupid and racially influenced is irrelevant what is relevant is that the whole process from Tubervilles negotiations to the search and ultimately the hire was mishandled and completely embarrassing. I am not a racist, I abhor racism, but then again nobody is calling me a racist.
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
you know....
the more I hear from you the more I like you…..oh, and by the way, that post you teased me about wasn’t totally wrong. We just screwed the ppoch too!
Are you kidding?
You must not know many African Americans if you don’t know about the intra-race bigotry that they accuse one another of routinely. A decent example is how Jesse Jackson viewed Obama (until he got elected).
That would depend on why Jesse Jackson didn't like Obama...
not on the fact that he didn’t like Obama. You are really stretching to validate your stance.
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
This is gay
I’m not going to give anymore examples of this, you’ve either noticed it or you haven’t.
If you think hiring a white guy was racist, then so be it. Neither you nor any of the Espn teleprompt readers have any proof to support that claim. Your opinion is based on limited information due to the fact that none of you know what went on in the interviews. You guys are basing your opinions on nothing more than the win/loss column of the coaches. If a coach’s current record was the only thing that mattered, then there would be absolutely no point in doing an actual interview.
Regarding Jacobs not disclosing the details of the interview; IT’S NONE OF OUR BUSINESS! He’s the AD, and it’s his job to pick a coach, and he does not owe us an explanation. If it turns out to be a bad hire, then we should fire both coach and the AD. You act like this is a democratic process, but it’s not. College football is a business, and they are run like a business. Businesses do not disclose the details of an interview process, so I’m not certain why so many of you think that you are entitled to that information. I would not be surprised if it is illegal to publicly disclose the details of an interview, if there are any lawyers on this board I would love to know your opinion of this.
You either can't read anyones post but your own or you have a serious problem with comprehension.
I said I have proof either way and I refuse to condemn or defend those accused because I can’t. I have simply stated and correctly so…..how assenine it is to try and defend it…..that it is as assenine as making the charges of racism with no proof. I do fear there is some truth to it but that is a feeling and not sufficient to argue either way.
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
"have no proof either way"
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
kiffin
did tennessee hire a better qualified coach that gill?
where is their pressure from finebaum and the other ignorant elite?
Tennessee didn't hire.....
Kiffen over Gill……they didn’t even interview Gill. Kiffen was a populist hire for UT just as Gill would have been a populist hire at AU. And the fact that Kiffens failures as Head Coach happened in the NFL as opposed to the NCAA make a huge difference in perception of his qualifications. As Zandor said above there isn’t enough evidence to cry racism….but there also isn’t enough to defend it either and I damn sure won’t defend the BOT or Jacobs without concrete evidence.
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
His show don't air in tennessee
Finebaum is about the ratings. His show is in alabama. 2+2=4
"Jay Jacobs can't go to the bathroom without Bobby Lowder's permission" - Paul Finebaum
by GumptownTiger on Dec 18, 2008 3:13 PM CST up reply actions
JUST MOVE ON!
I’m so tired of the same thing being talked about everyday. If we need something to change do something about it. It’s ridiculous we’re being labeled as a racist school. So we didn’t pick the black candidates we interviewed, hell we interviewed 1,050 people! Nevertheless, we did not hire him and it’s over. Write a letter to the BOT, but otherwise nothing will change. We have a new coach like it or not we have to get used to it!
Point Taken
Which, is why I’m moving on to apply for the Auburn Athletic Directorship. I know I won’t get the job, but I’m not going to just keep whinning and complaining. We have to move on, and I’m doing what I can. I am also going to write a letter to the BOT. What else can I do? I’m just going to sit and complain though. I’m taking action.
Turner Gill's own words on YouTube as to whether he thought he...
was a victim of a racial basis at Auburn. He also comments on Charles Barkley’s comments. Can someone please send this to Barkley,…:-)
In particular, his comments regarding racial issues are at 1:20, 2:45, and 4:15.
We missed a great coach, folks.
Here’s the video:
Sorry,...for some reason the link didn't resolve right above...
Just copy and paste it into your browser to view video.
Need to send this video to ESPN, also.
WTF?
Are you suggesting that a man’s “love for auburn” is measured by how much money he donates to the school? If not, then what standard do you use when determining that few people love auburn as much as the man from Leeds?
If you are correlating love with money, then wouldn’t Lowder have the honor if being the man that loves Auburn more than all others? In which case, the argument could be made that he is entitled to interfere with university athletics.
Barkley’s case for Gill is that he is more qualified than chizik, but that is simply his opinion on the subject, and he did a poor job of quantifying how he came to that conclusion. Yet he goes on to call our university “racist”, despite the fact that there us no proof that Gill is more qualified than Chizik. To say that the proof is in the win/loss column or in the success of the program is a flawed argument. Comparing the Mac to the Big Ten is like comparing the SEC to the NFL.
I’m not saying that Gill would not have been a great Auburn coach, but I am saying that the man that chose Chizik over Gill had more information about the coaches than we (public and Barkley) do and therefore we should all respect the decision and the coach.
As far as Barkley’s run for Governor is concerned, how can that fool make statements about a damn football coach’s qualifications and then he (an ex-pro athlete turned teleprompt reader/commentator) dare to suggest that he himself is qualified to be Governor. What on earth makes him think that he is qualified? That would be turrible!
Okay???
I think you mean the Big XII. And, Chizik couldn’t compete in the Big XII. He was on a 10 game losing streak and he didn’t even play the top three schools in the Big XII this year. On top of that, he went 5-19 during his head coaching stint and only got one four star recruit. Yes, that does logically imply that Gill was more qualified that Chizik.
So, the MAC isn’t all that great. Are you going to tell me that for the last three years the Big XII has been head and shoulders above the SEC? I know plenty of people who would give great arguments against that notion with me being one of them. What Barkley was saying was that Gill stood head and shoulders above Chizik as far as head coaching records went. Now, you can make the argument that the MAC isn’t the SEC. I will grant you that, but neither is the Big XII North. I’d rather take a guy who made a program that was the laughing stock of their conference turn into the MAC champion than a guy who blundered completely in the Big XII. How many Buffalo fans would have thanked us if we took Turner Gill away and got him as our head coach? You would probably be able to count them on one finger. There’s been plenty of people getting on blogs saying thank you to Auburn for getting rid of Chizik from Iowa State. For that matter, people were stating that coordinators don’t always work out as head coaches and their prime example was Gene Chizik.Again, this doesn’t speak well of Chizik’s qualifications.
If race wasn’t the deciding factor, which I do think it played a role but not the determining factor, it had to be the BOT and Jay Jacobs. Like it or not ,there’s no way to get around that notion logically. And, the information we don’t know…we can’t go by that because they’ve been so closed mouth about the whole thing. We only can form our opinion from the facts we are given. If we don’t have enough facts to make an informend opinion, well my friend, you can blame Jay Jacobs on that as well.
Continuing, no you can’t measure a man’s love for a school on how much he donates. Plus, I wouldn’t vote for Barkley as governor either. I don’t trust a man with a gambling problem as the leader of my state. I demand only the best from the individual who’s calling the shots in Montgomery.
As far as the hiring of Chizik goes, I cannot respect the decision for the life of me when I think about how the process was done so poorly. Why didn’t we talk to Leach? Or, why didn’t we talk to Petersen for that matter? Let me guess, we might have right? Then damnit say you did!! I thought it was a joke that Chizik was our new coach. Surely I thought they wouldn’t get someone with a 5-19 record. Auburn deserves someone more proven than that. Boy, my faith in the BOT and Jay Jacobs is shot for the time being. I hope Chizik can change my mind. A great start would be an awesome pick for an OC. I am encouraged by him being so “Hot on the Recruiting Trail.” He better not even think about getting off until signing day. Even then, he needs to start working on next year’s.
By the way, what the hell are we paying that firm for? They’re awful. I could’ve gone out and gotten better candidates than they found with Auburn ties as well. I wonder how much money we wasted on them.
Please refer to my post way up above...
The details of the interviews are none of our business.
Secondly, Of course the deciding factor involved Jacobs, because it’s his job to pick the coach. How did y’all think the decision would be made, an Internet vote?
Coulter, you're part of the problem
And you don’t sound very bright. Gogue should step down…? Not very bright. He is not President of an NFL team.
There’s a lot of conjecture here in your article. As there is in just about every article I’ve read on the situation. And from Barkley. And from Finebaum. And from Cowherd and Patrick…are you kidding me? Who the f*ck cares what Cowherd and Patrick have to say about Auburn. Or ESPN for that matter since Tuberville took them to task a couple years ago.
Wise up you idiots who are buying in to this M E D I A E V E N T.
we should probably just stop now
it’s probably a bad idea for a bunch of white dudes (self included) to be spending so much time talking about the race issue when it comes to football and coaching etc… beefore someone says something really stupid.
Well, I meant to say: "Too late"
There have already been many stupid things being said
by Tiger on the mountain on Dec 19, 2008 9:31 AM CST up reply actions
Theory on Jimmy Sexton
So the story goes something like this:
Auburn doesn’t deal with agents, so Coach Tubbs has an advisor, Jimmy Sexton. After jetgate, CTT put a clause in his contract stating that if the University decides to speak with any coaches, he will be informed and has the option to get his buyout. Bobby Lowder, unhappy with the ‘08 season and friend of Houston Nutt gives his buddy a call to test the waters and see if he is interested in being the head coach of Auburn. Jimmy Sexton is Houston Nutts agent and was informed of the contact. He then let Tommy know that Lowder contacted Nutt, so Tommy goes into Jay Jacobs office and reminds him of the clause in his contract that says something like if another coach is contacted without Tommy’s knowledge, the University owes Tommy his buyout. So Tommy asks for his buyout and then quits. Also, Coach Chizik’s agent is Jimmy Sexton. So Jimmy Sexton gets a commission from CTT’s buyout, a commission from renegotiating CHN contract with Old Miss, and a commission to get Gene Chizik out of Iowa State and back to Auburn with a nice pay raise. This is the only sceniaro that makes sense to me with all of the crap that has happened in Auburn the past few weeks. Does anyone know the Bobby Lowder/Jimmy Sexton connection?
War Damn Eagle!
As an interested outside observer (lived in Alabama, dad attended grad school at Auburn while I was a bit younger), I will add my two cents – and they ain’t worth much more than that.
But what is maybe being missed is the fact that Auburn DID interview a black candidate for this position. For that reason, I have a hard time believing Gill wasn’t hired due to race. He clearly impressed people enough in an initial conversation to fly down to Alabama and meet with the powers that be. So he didn’t get the job. That’s unfortunate in the short term, but for Gill, it’s probably better in the long-term. (I’ll get to that in a minute…)
Barkley’s beef centers around the fact of who they hired in his stead. Had Mike Leach or Chris Peterson or Gary Patterson been hired, I think the Charles Barkley’s of the world would not have said a word.
Frankly, I’m impressed that Auburn even took the step to interview Gill. Alabama is not exactly known for being a bastion of progressive thinking, but that was a progressive move.
I have spoken with my dad and others about all this and the overwhelming majority seem to think Chizik is a joke of a hire, but that it probably wasn’t racially motivated. My opinion is that the Jay’s wanted to hire someone with ties to a very strong period of Auburn football – Chizik certainly fits that bill. I also think they were under the impression that he would be welcomed with open arms because of his history with Auburn. He was obviously wrong.
I personally don’t think Gill was a ton more qualified to lead such a program as Auburn. This is a top-shelf job and requires a top-shelf coach: Someone with experience dealing with the fan intensity, expectations and success on the field. Gill had one good year at Buffalo. A move of such dramatic consequence could have ruined a very promising career – or at least set it back if he didn’t find success.
That being said, folks out my way certainly don’t think less of Auburn in general. I don’t at all associate your AD and BOTs with the institution or football program. I honestly don’t think others do either. College football is a much better sport when Auburn is good and most people realize that. The hiring of Chizik, while odd and a bit difficult to process, wasn’t because he’s white. If that’s all they wanted, they could have gotten a MUCH better coach.
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