Charles Barkley has done it again. He is putting his fat nose where it doesn't belong. After the hiring of Gene Chizik as Auburn's football coach, Barkley made the following comments : "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." The other coach he was talking about is Turner Gill. Turner Gill is a great coach. He coaches at Buffalo in the MAC. He took them to their first MAC title ever. Good resume. However, Gene Chizik was the Defensive Coordinator for Auburn when they went 13-0 and for Texas when they won the National Championship. He became the head coach at Iowa State in 2007. Yes, he went 5-19 at Iowa State. Dan McCarney coaches there for 12 years and left Ames with a .397 winning percentage. He won 56 games and lost 85. But from 2000-2005 McCarney has a small amount of success at ISU including a 9-3 record in 2000. Iowa State isn't the job that Chizik should be judged on. The reason he got that job in the first place, was his success at other programs. Everyone had to make it about race. It's not, and if you say that... it makes you look racist.
Barkley added : "My biggest problem with the black coaches is they're not getting jobs and they're getting [expletive] jobs when they are hired," Barkley said. "They're not getting good jobs. They're not getting jobs where they can be successful. That's why I wanted Turner to get the Auburn job. He could win consistently at Auburn. You can't win consistently at New Mexico. You can't win consistently at Kansas State. He could have won at Auburn." He must not have paid attention to Kansas State's success in the 1990's. Bill Snyder took over one of the worst programs in NCAA history and then took them to a Big 12 title. I don't see any white people complaining because there is no white coaches in the SWAC or the MEAC. Don't get me wrong, I realize that those are historically black colleges and universities, but if you are going to complain - look at the big picture first.
Two years coaching at a Big 12 doormat is better than coaching at a MAC power. It's one of the top three conferences in the FBS. I look at a resume and I see this :
- Head Coach : Iowa State 2007-2008 5 wins 19 losses
- Defensive Coordinator : Texas 2005-2006
- Defensive Coordinator : Auburn 2002-2004
- Defensive Coordinator : UCF 1998-2001
OR
- Head Coach : Buffalo 2006-present 15 wins 22 losses
- WR Coach : Nebraska 2004
- QB Coach : Nebraska 1992-2003
I hire the guy who Coached Iowa State. In 2004 his defense at Auburn gave up an average of 11.3 points a game. That's pretty good in the SEC. His defense at Texas gave up 15.8 points a game, on it's way to the BCS title.
Charles Barkley is a racist. He needs to stick to basketball.
Some fans won't like this hire. Some people like me don't think Tuberville should not be gone. I think Auburn's handling of the Tuberville incident was bad. I hope Chizik does great. I hope he turns the program back around. Starting with a new quarterback.


Maria Kirilenko
Alison Preston

Comments (7) Add A Comment
The difference in your argument and Barkley is a well thought out logical argument versus making a quick comment to a camera.
Crimson02
Total Comments (392)
Well, Barkley gets PAID to give his view. What's YOUR excuse??
DC Sports Nut: Nats,…
Total Comments (2558)
So you do not think that a better argument other than he is black should be presented when speaking against AU to the media?
Crimson02
Total Comments (392)
1) You have to look at the complete resume's. Alot of coaches do not have extensive experience. How many have worked their way up the ladder by coaching high school, or small college, etc. This is what I would look at in addition to head coach experience at the college level.
2) After seeing what ND went thru, why hire a black coach. Better to be called a racist and have the coach you want, rather than being labeled a racist for firing the guy for performance issues.
3) Give it time. The race card and word racist has been used so often that it's meaning is being lost on the public.
MrMiyagiJr
Total Comments (2662)
I don't know of the specifics here, so I will only speak in general terms.
Race does play a factor in selecting head coaches in NCAAF. I don't know that anyone i claiming that race isn't a factor in selecting NCAAF head football coaches.
Athletic directors have their hands tied - they want to be proactive and/or decide based purely on merit, but the reality is that football is the main driving factor for donations from Alumni and boosters, of which the head coach is a major factor. They have more to consider than the merits of candidates for 1 position.
It will change as it did in NCAABB, there are already a lot of minorities at assistant coaching positions. For now it is what it is, and it ain't pretty.
Prove It
Frellin Cold In, AK
Total Comments (6474)
I think Chizik got the job because of the good ol' boy network. Of course the GOB network discriminates but not only on race. Chizik was clearly not the best coach interviewed or available.
You simply can't ignore the time he spent at Iowa State. Rebuilding is one thing but not beating a BCS conference opponent in the Big 12 north is not acceptable. Turner Gill might have been in over his head but he was a better candidate.
Perception may be Chizik's biggest problem. Auburn appears to be unstable. Tuberville won a ton of games and was fired after 1 bad season. Will they be more patient with Chizik? The fan base is upset and openly hostile. This will drag on Chizik until he beats Alabama. The media is hounding Auburn as "racist". This bad press will not help in recruiting young black men.
OregonTideFan
Total Comments (63)
There was not a highly qualified candidate so they chose the one easiest to fire in the short term future when better options arise.
Crimson02
Total Comments (392)
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