Just finished filing my story about Auburn's hiring of Gene Chizik.

To sum this hire up in a word: perplexing.

Judging from the responses on message boards and the few loyal posters on this blog (major props, Acid Reign and Scott H.!), it is not going to go over very well with the fans.

And I can see why. Whether or not Chizik was a great defensive coordinator in the past, he hasn't had any success as a head coach, even if the situation was as dire as it was at Iowa State (quick aside: Turner Gill won despite some pretty dire circumstances at Buffalo)

Des Moines Register columnist Sean Keeler doesn't sound too bummed to see Chizik leave.

Now, Tigers fans obviously hope that going to a school like Auburn, with all its resources, will bring out the best in Chizik. And let's face it, Auburn would probably be hailed as making a great hire of an up-and-coming coach if Chizik was still at Texas as a defensive coordiantor, even if it meant he didn't have any head coaching experience.

But that doesn't change the fact that he took the reclamation project at Iowa State. And these are the undisputable facts of his two years in Ames:

• He has a 5-19 record.
  

• He has as many career wins as head coach Tommy Tuberville did in his worst season as a head coach.

• His Cyclones failed to win a Big 12 game this year, despite not playing any of the conference's heavyweights -- Oklahoma, Texas or Texas Tech.

• Iowa State lost 10 straight games to end the season and was tied for the second-longest losing streak in the nation with SMU. Only Washington, which hast lost 14 straight and fired its coach, has a longer streak.

• His defense allowed 35.8 points per game, ranking 11oth nationally.

• He fired two assistants and demoted both his offensive and defensive coordinators less than two weeks ago.

Reading that, I can understand why some Auburn fans are upset with this hire.

Feel free to post your thoughts below.