Dec. 13, 2008 — In a surprise move and despite an immediate negative reaction from fans, Gene Chizik emerges as Auburn’s choice to replace Tommy Tuberville as head coach.
“Through my travels in coaching over the last 23 years, there’s one place that I’ve always wanted to return to, and that is Auburn. The tradition of the Auburn football program combined with the passionate fans and their love for Auburn are second to none.”
Dec. 14, 2008 — In the dark of night, Chizik arrives via plane to a much cheerier crowd at the Auburn airport.
“First of all, I am very, very overwhelmed. I’m back home. What can I say? I’m back home. I feel very blessed. My family, myself, this is a dream come true for us. And this is going to brief, but I’ll tell you this — these people of Auburn University and the Auburn family is what I got into coaching for. And I left it with a dream to one day come back to it, and today I’m living that dream and I want to thank you guys. And War Eagle.”
Dec. 26, 2008 — Chizik tabs Tulsa’s Gus Malzahn to be his offensive coordinator, committing to give the guru free reign to run his hurry-up, spread offense.
“The bottom line is, when you hire great people, you’ve got to give them the opportunity to run their show. I know with Gus what I’m getting. I’ve seen it. I’ve done my homework on this one. I feel very comfortable with Gus running the offense. Period. Working knowledge, absolutely. Micromanaging, absolutely not.”
Jan. 3, 2009 — Defensive end Antonio Coleman announces he will return to Auburn for his senior season, a major boost in Chizik’s effort toward rebuilding the program.
“Just the statement that he made when he said, ‘I’m coming back to Auburn because I want to come back and I don’t have to,’ I think it’s a huge statement for Auburn.”
Feb. 4, 2009 — Chizik completes his first recruiting class, getting last-minute commitments from highly-regarded wide receivers DeAngelo Benton and Emory Blake in what was thought of as a signing day coup.
“It was neat because it was a culmination. It’s your test. It’s your exam. All the work you put in — how did you do on your exam?”
April 18, 2009 — Auburn wraps up spring practice with its annual A-Day game, which features an array of big offensive plays.
“It’s been a real interesting four months, but I think what we have done is we have really been able to set out a blueprint and piece by piece put together where we need to be.”
April 27, 2009 — Auburn grabs national attention when it sends all of its coaches on a statewide tour of Alabama in stretch Hummer limousines during the spring recruiting season, dubbing it the “Tiger Prowl.”
“It’s Marketing 101. You just try to get out there and do the things that appeal to younger guys.”
May 30, 2009 — A different recruiting stunt goes awry, when recruits roll Toomer’s Corner during the “Big Cat” Weekend. Auburn is eventually punished by the SEC for multiple secondary recruiting violations.
“We unintentionally committed a secondary violation and have cooperated fully with the Southeastern Conference and NCAA and are moving forward.”
July 24, 2009 — Chizik calmly takes the dais for questions during the second portion of SEC Media Days in Birmingham.
“I don’t think it’s a big day for me at all. I have nothing to do with it. I’m just answering questions.”
Aug. 13, 2009 — A week and a half into August practice, Chizik and Malzahn name Chris Todd the starting quarterback, avoiding a controversy that proved detrimental last season.
“We felt it was important right now that whoever we felt like our starter would be, we had to make that decision as tough as it might be. We just had to do it.”
Aug. 21, 2009 — Running back Eric Smith is arrested after allegedly knocking a fellow Auburn student unconscious with a punch in the parking lot of an area motel. Chizik suspends him for what would be 2 1/2 weeks.
“We have certain expectations of an Auburn man and quite frankly he didn’t live up to that. So we’ve addressed it and if you see him in an Auburn uniform again I can guarantee you that he’s paid a price to be an Auburn man and he’ll be a lot better one at that point than he is now.”
Sept. 5, 2009 — Auburn opens the season with a rousing 37-13 win against Louisiana Tech, gaining 556 yards of offense.
“It’s great to win your opening game. The weight off my shoulder? I have weight on my shoulder on every game. I just felt prepared.”
Oct. 3, 2009 — The Tigers improve to 5-0 after a 26-22 victory at Tennessee, their best start since 2006.
“There are not going to be any easy ones in the SEC. All of our SEC games are going to be tough. We have to be well-prepared and be prepared to win them in different ways. Tonight we found a different way to win the game.”
Oct. 24, 2009 — LSU hammers Auburn 31-10 in Baton Rouge. It’s the Tigers’ third straight loss and reminds many of last year’s second-half slide.
“After losing three we’re very sensitive about where we are as a team, but I’m really proud of them because there is no finger-pointing. There is no, ‘It’s this guy’s fault.’ There’s no one that can do that because it’s a total team deal. ... We win together, we lose together.”
Oct. 31, 2009 — The Tigers end the skid and become bowl eligible with a 33-20 home victory against No. 25 Ole Miss.
“They willed that win. It doesn’t surprise anybody in our locker room that that’s who they are. I thought tonight proved to a lot of people that we were going to contend and fight.”
Nov. 27, 2009 — Auburn gives up a last-minute touchdown pass against No. 1 Alabama, losing 26-21 despite leading for most of the game.
“We’ve come a long way. Again, we said at the beginning of this that we were going to build a foundation for what we know is right. We are going to do it right, and I don’t think there is any question (we have).”
Dec. 6, 2009 — The Tigers, despite a 7-5 record, are a surprise pick for the Outback Bowl, getting matched up against Northwestern of the Big Ten.
“This is a tremendous reward for our football players as well as our fans that have been so supportive of our program this season.”
— Andy Bitter
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