Auburn Tigers head coach Gene Chizik’s season has not gone as planned but he remains dedicated to his job and calls finding a turnaround his responsibility.
It has been a rough season for Auburn Tigers head coach Gene Chizik as he has had to deal with huge losses both on and off the field this season.
Earlier in the week, Chizik learned of the passing of his mother. Rita Chizik, age 86, died Monday morning and the coach has been working hard to cope with the loss while keeping his focus on his job.
“It’s been a tough 24 hours for me and my family,” Chizik said. “On an encouraging note, it was really great to hear from the Auburn people who were supportive. It’s tough. We’re going to have a private ceremony somewhere down the road, not necessarily this week.”
This weekend, Chizik will be faced with another tough task — this time on the football field. Auburn will host the Texas A&M Aggies, who are the 22nd-ranked team in the nation.
Chizik’s team is 1-6 on the season and 0-5 in conference play. The poor season has put him on the hot seat and he knows that the team will need to turn things around if he hopes to keep his job. Chizik publicly acknowledged the team needed a serious turnaround at his weekly Tuesday press conference and he took full responsibility in making sure the turnaround happens.
“I’m the leader of the program. I’m the leader of Auburn football. That’s my job,” Chizik said. “Your job is not easy sometimes in what you do. My job is not easy sometimes in what I do. But I live my job.
“Have there been difficult times? Of course there have.
“I have a lot of appreciation in these young guys, for Auburn, for our coaches. We’ve got to keep working every day, and that’s my responsibility to make it happen.”
It would be great to see the Tigers rally behind Chizik and get an emotional win for the head coach. It will be no easy job but it’s something the team needs to dig deep down to try to achieve.
