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Message
"I was picking the best fit for Auburn" - Jay Jacobs
Posted on 12/15/08 at 8:09 pm
Posted on 12/15/08 at 8:09 pm
December 15, 2008
Dear Auburn family,
We began our search for a new head coach with a few fundamentally important criteria. We wanted to find a man who would be the right fit for Auburn University. We wanted to find a man who would be committed to Auburn for years to come.
We wanted someone with head coaching experience that would give our current student-athletes the best chance to compete next year.
We wanted someone who would represent Auburn with character, class and integrity, who would
coach our student-athletes to be successful on the field, in the classroom and in the game of
life.
We found our man in Gene Chizik.
I thought it would be important for me to share what I saw in Coach Chizik in his time at Auburn and again during the interview process, and why I believe without a doubt that he is the right man for Auburn. Most importantly, Coach Chizik is a man of exceptional character and integrity who epitomizes what we should all want in a head coach. During his three years at Auburn, I saw first-hand how his words always matched his deeds. I saw his passion, his relentless work ethic and his burning desire to teach the game of football and build young men of character who will be successful students and good citizens.
Throughout the search process, we interviewed a strong group of candidates, but Coach Chizik
clearly rose to the top. Everyone we talked with about Coach Chizik spoke about his impeccable character, relentless work ethic, his relationships with his players and his ability to motivate them.
During his time at Auburn as defensive coordinator, Coach Chizik was named the nation's top assistant coach. He was a part of back-to-back undefeated seasons at Auburn and then Texas, where his defense helped lead the Longhorns to a national championship.
While Coach Chizik was clearly still in the process of building the program at Iowa State, he had a blueprint that he never deviated from and was continuing to build upon. Of all the coaches we interviewed, Coach Chizik best understood where Auburn is and where we
can be. He outlined a clear plan for the future that will put us into position to consistently compete for championships.
Other important factors that weighed heavily in my decision were Coach Chizik's experience
competing in the Southeastern Conference and his reputation as a relentless recruiter.
Coach Chizik is well known and highly respected among high school coaches throughout the
Southeast and beyond. Those relationships will be invaluable during the recruiting process.
I also wanted to share a few final thoughts about the search process we just concluded. We
began with a list of six top candidates and worked diligently to find out which man was the
best fit for Auburn.
We did not talk to any coaches without first going through the proper channels and following
the proper protocol. That is the way we are going to conduct business now and in the future,
regardless of what is said or written.
The search to find the right man for Auburn reminded me how fortunate we are to be a part of
something bigger than any one of us. We have an opportunity to impact the lives of countless
student-athletes and to bring credit to Auburn University on the football field and far
beyond.
In closing, please know that whatever differences we may have about the best way to get where we all want to go, I personally appreciate the passion, devotion and love you have for Auburn University. As a former football player and as your Athletics Director, I share that passion for, and belief in, Auburn.
Just imagine how strong we will be if we can all pull in the same direction, united in our
belief that Auburn is a special place that we are all blessed to be a small part of now and
forever.
Bright days are ahead for Auburn football, and it will be exciting to experience it together.
Thank you for your support of our new coach, our student-athletes and your University.
God bless, and War Eagle!
Jay Jacobs
Director of Athletics
AUBURN ATHLETICS ABSOLUTE VALUES:
Always tell the truth.
Treat others as you would like to be treated.
...And now for some Chizik quotes.
Firmly entriched...
“As for me, I want to make one thing very, very clear,” Chizik said. “If you guys have been reporting on me for a year and a half and anyone that knows myself, my wife, my family, they know that we are firmly entrenched here in Ames and we love this university. We love who we work for. We love this football team. We love this community.
“If two years ago I had this same choice I would do it again without any hesitation whether we had won 10 games or two games. We are on a journey here that we will get done. I am as happy as I’ve ever been in the coaching profession and I want to make that very clear.”
--Chizik's response in November over concerns he wants to leave ISU.
30 days later...
Overwhelmed...
“My beautiful wife and my family always have the conversation, ‘Where are we going to end up? Where do we want to be?’” Chizik said. “As the years traveled by, especially since we left Auburn, it kept coming back to ‘Boy, wouldn’t we love to be back at Auburn.’ This is a blessing for me. This is a very, very special day.”
"First of all, I am very, very overwhelmed and I('m) back home,” Chizik said. “What can I say? I am back home. I feel very blessed, my family, myself, this is a dream come true for us.
“This is going to be brief, but I want to tell you this,” he added. “These people of Auburn University, the Auburn family, is what I got into coaching for and I left it with a dream to one day come back to it. Today, I am living that dream and I want to thank you guys and War Eagle.”
--Chizik's response on sunday about being back in Auburn.
Dear Auburn family,
We began our search for a new head coach with a few fundamentally important criteria. We wanted to find a man who would be the right fit for Auburn University. We wanted to find a man who would be committed to Auburn for years to come.
We wanted someone with head coaching experience that would give our current student-athletes the best chance to compete next year.
We wanted someone who would represent Auburn with character, class and integrity, who would
coach our student-athletes to be successful on the field, in the classroom and in the game of
life.
We found our man in Gene Chizik.
I thought it would be important for me to share what I saw in Coach Chizik in his time at Auburn and again during the interview process, and why I believe without a doubt that he is the right man for Auburn. Most importantly, Coach Chizik is a man of exceptional character and integrity who epitomizes what we should all want in a head coach. During his three years at Auburn, I saw first-hand how his words always matched his deeds. I saw his passion, his relentless work ethic and his burning desire to teach the game of football and build young men of character who will be successful students and good citizens.
Throughout the search process, we interviewed a strong group of candidates, but Coach Chizik
clearly rose to the top. Everyone we talked with about Coach Chizik spoke about his impeccable character, relentless work ethic, his relationships with his players and his ability to motivate them.
During his time at Auburn as defensive coordinator, Coach Chizik was named the nation's top assistant coach. He was a part of back-to-back undefeated seasons at Auburn and then Texas, where his defense helped lead the Longhorns to a national championship.
While Coach Chizik was clearly still in the process of building the program at Iowa State, he had a blueprint that he never deviated from and was continuing to build upon. Of all the coaches we interviewed, Coach Chizik best understood where Auburn is and where we
can be. He outlined a clear plan for the future that will put us into position to consistently compete for championships.
Other important factors that weighed heavily in my decision were Coach Chizik's experience
competing in the Southeastern Conference and his reputation as a relentless recruiter.
Coach Chizik is well known and highly respected among high school coaches throughout the
Southeast and beyond. Those relationships will be invaluable during the recruiting process.
I also wanted to share a few final thoughts about the search process we just concluded. We
began with a list of six top candidates and worked diligently to find out which man was the
best fit for Auburn.
We did not talk to any coaches without first going through the proper channels and following
the proper protocol. That is the way we are going to conduct business now and in the future,
regardless of what is said or written.
The search to find the right man for Auburn reminded me how fortunate we are to be a part of
something bigger than any one of us. We have an opportunity to impact the lives of countless
student-athletes and to bring credit to Auburn University on the football field and far
beyond.
In closing, please know that whatever differences we may have about the best way to get where we all want to go, I personally appreciate the passion, devotion and love you have for Auburn University. As a former football player and as your Athletics Director, I share that passion for, and belief in, Auburn.
Just imagine how strong we will be if we can all pull in the same direction, united in our
belief that Auburn is a special place that we are all blessed to be a small part of now and
forever.
Bright days are ahead for Auburn football, and it will be exciting to experience it together.
Thank you for your support of our new coach, our student-athletes and your University.
God bless, and War Eagle!
Jay Jacobs
Director of Athletics
AUBURN ATHLETICS ABSOLUTE VALUES:
Always tell the truth.
Treat others as you would like to be treated.
...And now for some Chizik quotes.
Firmly entriched...
“As for me, I want to make one thing very, very clear,” Chizik said. “If you guys have been reporting on me for a year and a half and anyone that knows myself, my wife, my family, they know that we are firmly entrenched here in Ames and we love this university. We love who we work for. We love this football team. We love this community.
“If two years ago I had this same choice I would do it again without any hesitation whether we had won 10 games or two games. We are on a journey here that we will get done. I am as happy as I’ve ever been in the coaching profession and I want to make that very clear.”
--Chizik's response in November over concerns he wants to leave ISU.
30 days later...
Overwhelmed...
“My beautiful wife and my family always have the conversation, ‘Where are we going to end up? Where do we want to be?’” Chizik said. “As the years traveled by, especially since we left Auburn, it kept coming back to ‘Boy, wouldn’t we love to be back at Auburn.’ This is a blessing for me. This is a very, very special day.”
"First of all, I am very, very overwhelmed and I('m) back home,” Chizik said. “What can I say? I am back home. I feel very blessed, my family, myself, this is a dream come true for us.
“This is going to be brief, but I want to tell you this,” he added. “These people of Auburn University, the Auburn family, is what I got into coaching for and I left it with a dream to one day come back to it. Today, I am living that dream and I want to thank you guys and War Eagle.”
--Chizik's response on sunday about being back in Auburn.
6
Posted on 12/15/08 at 8:34 pm to AUFanInSoCal
Sweet.
Still don't think he made the right hire.
Only time will tell though.
Still don't think he made the right hire.
Only time will tell though.
Posted on 12/15/08 at 9:02 pm to dickieVtheTiger
is Gene "rose to the top," Auburn must have been interviewing some really shitty candidates.
Posted on 12/15/08 at 9:05 pm to AUFanInSoCal
so basically the right fit is a white guy that will be a yes man. awesome
Posted on 12/15/08 at 9:14 pm to AUFanInSoCal
quote:
"I was picking the best fit for Auburn"
translation: no interracial marriages
Posted on 12/15/08 at 9:14 pm to AUFanInSoCal
Not a good sign when your athletic directer has to write a statement to the schools fans to justify his choice. All that says to me is he made the wrong choice.
Posted on 12/15/08 at 9:19 pm to SeattleTiger19
This e-mail from Pat Dye was also sent out this evening:
Auburn Family,
I woke up this morning with Auburn on my mind, which is not surprising since I went to sleep with Auburn on my mind.
This is a very emotional time for the Auburn family. We all have our own opinions about what is best for Auburn and about the impact that Auburn decisions will have on our lives.
I don't expect everyone who reads this to agree with everything I say, but I just want you to know what I feel in my heart. This time of transition we are going through now reminds me of the time in 1981 when I walked into a room full of football players who had many questions and doubts about me coming in as the new head football coach.
Their frustration showed in their faces, and anxiety was in their eyes because of the unknown. I had a simple message: Whether they had come to Auburn for the right reasons or the wrong reasons, they had chosen to get their education and to play football at Auburn University, which would lay the foundation for the rest of their lives.
I told them that Auburn had chosen me and that I had chosen Auburn. I asked them as a team to be loyal to Auburn and to love Auburn. I said that I would also be loyal to Auburn and would love Auburn, and this loyalty and love would be our common ground which would lay the foundation that would serve Auburn for many years to come.
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.
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.
Because of the years I was involved in football – as a player, an assistant coach, a head coach, and as a part of teams that won championships at every level – I learned something about winning. One thing I am sure of is that I know what it takes to win. Teams where everyone played with the same heartbeat had a chance to win championships; teams that were not able to play like that never reached their full potential.
We don't need to worry about what is going on around us. We only need to be concerned about what is going on at Auburn. And being the best we can be at Auburn will take care of what is going on around us. We are an Auburn family. Let's see if we can play with the same heartbeat.
I know winning is important to the Auburn people. But so is character. Jay Jacobs has it and so does Gene Chizik. Now we'll see if they can win. They are our team. I like it. War Eagle.
Coach Pat Dye
Auburn Family,
I woke up this morning with Auburn on my mind, which is not surprising since I went to sleep with Auburn on my mind.
This is a very emotional time for the Auburn family. We all have our own opinions about what is best for Auburn and about the impact that Auburn decisions will have on our lives.
I don't expect everyone who reads this to agree with everything I say, but I just want you to know what I feel in my heart. This time of transition we are going through now reminds me of the time in 1981 when I walked into a room full of football players who had many questions and doubts about me coming in as the new head football coach.
Their frustration showed in their faces, and anxiety was in their eyes because of the unknown. I had a simple message: Whether they had come to Auburn for the right reasons or the wrong reasons, they had chosen to get their education and to play football at Auburn University, which would lay the foundation for the rest of their lives.
I told them that Auburn had chosen me and that I had chosen Auburn. I asked them as a team to be loyal to Auburn and to love Auburn. I said that I would also be loyal to Auburn and would love Auburn, and this loyalty and love would be our common ground which would lay the foundation that would serve Auburn for many years to come.
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.
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.
Because of the years I was involved in football – as a player, an assistant coach, a head coach, and as a part of teams that won championships at every level – I learned something about winning. One thing I am sure of is that I know what it takes to win. Teams where everyone played with the same heartbeat had a chance to win championships; teams that were not able to play like that never reached their full potential.
We don't need to worry about what is going on around us. We only need to be concerned about what is going on at Auburn. And being the best we can be at Auburn will take care of what is going on around us. We are an Auburn family. Let's see if we can play with the same heartbeat.
I know winning is important to the Auburn people. But so is character. Jay Jacobs has it and so does Gene Chizik. Now we'll see if they can win. They are our team. I like it. War Eagle.
Coach Pat Dye
Posted on 12/15/08 at 9:21 pm to LSU
Jesus, talk about blowing smoke up the collective asses of your fan base.
Posted on 12/15/08 at 9:23 pm to Draconian Sanctions
quote:
Jesus, talk about blowing smoke up the collective asses of your fan base.
Probably the best post you've ever submitted.
Posted on 12/15/08 at 10:00 pm to AUFanInSoCal
quote:
While Coach Chizik was clearly still in the process of building the program at Iowa State, he had a blueprint that he never deviated from and was continuing to build upon.
Good to know he won't deviate away from things that obviously aren't working!
Posted on 12/15/08 at 10:01 pm to AUFanInSoCal
so is jay jacobs saying auburn is fit for losers?
Posted on 12/15/08 at 10:03 pm to Bama Doug
he was reverse rebuilding. won 3 games and then won 2 games. won 2 conf games and then 0 
Posted on 12/15/08 at 10:11 pm to heartbreakTiger
Don't forget, they won 4 the year before he got there.
Posted on 12/15/08 at 10:13 pm to heartbreakTiger
sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you begin the climb to the top. It's the Chizek process.
Posted on 12/15/08 at 10:16 pm to heartbreakTiger
quote:
he was reverse rebuilding. won 3 games and then won 2 games. won 2 conf games and then 0
Posted on 12/15/08 at 10:16 pm to LSU
quote:
They are our team. I like it.
quote:
Coach Pat Dye
That is all I needed to hear. I am on board.
Posted on 12/15/08 at 10:18 pm to Tiger n Miami AU83
yea nevermind the 5-19 record
fwiw jay jacobs just wants to make sure football is the same as the other sports at auburn
fwiw jay jacobs just wants to make sure football is the same as the other sports at auburn
Posted on 12/15/08 at 10:22 pm to heartbreakTiger
quote:
yea nevermind the 5-19 record
frick it. Dye speaks, I listen.
Posted on 12/15/08 at 10:23 pm to Tiger n Miami AU83
jay jacobs prob paid dye to say that
Posted on 12/15/08 at 10:24 pm to Tiger n Miami AU83
quote:
sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you begin the climb to the top. It's the Chizek process
Hey it worked for us.. went 1-21 followed by 2 Outback Bowl victories over Ohio State?... then we kind of dwindled down back into mediocrity
This post was edited on 12/15/08 at 10:25 pm
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