Everybody Hates Gene Chizik

At right, Track 'Em Tigers reacts to the Chizik hire. It's been clear that the people running Auburn's athletic department were kind of petulant little babies for a while now -- ever since the Petrino planegate fiasco -- but the extent was unknown until Tommy Tubberville was fired or forced out or resigned or whatever and Auburn didn't immediately hire Brian Kelly or Paul Johnson.

Submitted as a rule: if you're Auburn and you're going to can a guy who's won six of seven versus Alabama and has the kind of record Tubby has, you had better reel in an exciting head coaching candidate. A 5-19 record is not exciting, and Auburn blogs know it. A sampling of the reaction out there follows.

The War Eagle Reader:

I wanted my life back.
I got kicked in the balls.

... the balls of my Auburn heart.

Some random guy pissed off enough to stalk Auburn AD Jay Jacobs to the airport and heckle him:

Freshman Iowa State receiver Darius Darks:

"I understand business is business, but this man lied. At a team meeting, he was sitting there saying 'I told your mother, Jerrod Black, and I sat on your auntie's couch, Darius Darks, and I told her I would take care of you while you was up here at Iowa State.' Where's that n---- at now? Auburn University."

And, finally, the Joe Cribbs Car Wash:

It doesn't seem real. It doesn't seem like they could possibly be so shortsighted. I'm going to spend tonight trying to figure out how to react. That, and drinking.

Right now, my reaction is to really hate the Bill Stewart hire last year because this prevents me from claiming this to be the worst hire in at least eight years. (Bobby Williams, if you were trying to connect the dots.) The Stewart analogy is apt: both WVU and Auburn had successful long-term coaches that seemed happy where they were. The coach's unexpected departure was a symptom of a diseased organization, and the hire made in the aftermath is a definitive diagnosis.

(Heckler via the Georgia Sports Blog.)