Here are two more opinions, one wholeheartedly in favor of Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs' decision and one completely against it.
First, a letter from Auburn coaching legend Pat Dye to Tigers Unlimited members, calling for unity now that the Tigers have their coach. Here's an excerpt:
There is a lot of misinformation out there right now. The media people have their jobs to do and should have our respect for doing those jobs. But unless an individual has served as president of a major university, has been on the board of trustees of a major university, or has been athletic director or head football coach at a major university, it is hard to grasp how the people in these positions make the decisions that affect so many.This Web site -- FireJayJacobs.com -- is not so favorable. It has a Top 10 list and an online petition aimed at getting Jacobs removed.
Unless you have walked in their shoes, you cannot begin to understand all that is involved in the process of making these decisions.
In addressing the current situation pertaining to our Athletic Director, Jay Jacobs, and his decision to hire Gene Chizik as our new Head Coach, I applaud all parties involved in the process for allowing Jay Jacobs to do his job.
Nobody is more qualified to make this decision than Jay. He is a true Auburn man to the bone and understands better than anybody the kind of man we need to lead our football program into the future. Gene Chizik is that man.
Something tells me this is going to be a point of debate at Auburn for quite some time.
1 comment:
.....I hate this situation. It seems like we hired a guy that's really in over his head. As a head coach, Gene Chizik is going to have to make a lot of judgement calls, and he's going to have to do it wisely, if he's to succeed.
.....From an Auburn point of view, how Chizik left the plains showed some bad judgment. I understand his reasons. But the way he put down the program was foolish. I would have thought it would prevent him from being considered, but evidently Jacobs and Co. were able to overlook that. That's one mistake.
.....So Chizik took the Texas DC job, and did well there. Then, he jumped at the first D-I opportunity out there. It's a fine line between confidence, and arrogance. I'm sure Chizik figured he could win anywhere, and that he could turn around a declining Iowa State talent base. So far, the numbers say Chizik was a failure. The final judgement on Chizik's tour of duty in Iowa won't be written till a few years down the road, when Chizik's recruits are veterans. Then we'll see, I suppose.
.....What alarms me most is that I see Chizik making the same kind of decision, taking the Auburn job. This is a program in disarray, make no mistake. There is a talent deficit, particularly at receiver/skill blocker areas. Chizik took this job KNOWING that he'd be an unpopular choice, that the talent was down, and that he's facing a half dozen or so veteran coaches who've won championships in the toughest conference in America.
.....Since the hire, Chizik has done a good job of motivational speaking. I have yet to see wisdom in his executive decisions, though. He unceremoniously dumped all of the current assistants, which immediately scuttled about a third of our recruits. Then, there was the "200 year old offense" statement. That's CERTAINLY not going to help the situation.
.....If the press conference and Chizik's arrival mean anything, I'd say he'll have a good chance to sell the program to prospects. But, I'm waiting for SOMEONE in the athletic department to make an intelligent decision. Somebody, anybody? Honestly, I'm SERIOUSLY dreading the coming announcements on assistant hiring. I have little confidence, at this point.
.....Lately, I hold my breath every day, when I check my feeds. What's the next bad news out of Auburn going to be, today?
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