Auburn & Alabama Headcoaches First Years

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http://auburnundercover.com/news/articles/2009/11/18/looking-at-first-year-head-coaches-at-auburn-alabama

Looking at first-year head coaches at Auburn, Alabama

By Phillip Marshall, Senior Writer
Posted Nov 18, 2009
Copyright © 2009 AuburnUndercover.com

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How does Auburn’s Gene Chizik stack up with other head coaches in their first seasons at Auburn and Alabama? Quite well.

Going back half a century, here is how head coaches at the two schools fared in their first and second seasons.

1958-59: Bear Bryant, Alabama, 5-4-1/7-2-2

1976-77: Doug Barfield, Auburn, 3-8/6-5

1980-81: Pat Dye, Auburn, 5-6/9-3

1983-84: Ray Perkins, Alabama, 8-4/4-7

1987-88: Bill Curry, Alabama, 7-5/9-3

1990-91: Gene Stallings, Alabama, 7-5/11-1

1993-94: Terry Bowden, Auburn, 11-0/9-1-1

1997-98: Mike DuBose, Alabama, 4-7/7-5

1999-2000: Tommy Tuberville, Auburn, 5-6/9-4

2001-02: Dennis Franchione, Alabama, 7-5/10-3

2003-04: Mike Shula, Alabama, 4-9/6-6

2007-08: Nick Saban, Alabama, 7-6/12-2

2009-2010: Gene Chizik, Auburn, 7-4 (with two games to go)/NA

Only two coaches – Perkins and Bowden – won more games in their first seasons than Chizik has. Bowden followed with another good season, winning 20 straight before finally tying Georgia and losing a heartbreaker to Alabama. Perkins had a woeful record in his second season.

Every coach but Bowden and Perkins had better records in their second seasons than in their first.

It took Dye, Stallings, Curry and DuBose the least time to win a championship. All did it in Year 3. Bryant did it in Year 4 and Tuberville in Year 6.

He’s not on the list above, but Shug Jordan was 5-5 in 1951, his first Auburn season, and sagged to 2-8 in 1952. From there, he began his drive toward the 1957 national championship.

What does it all mean? Well, it means Chizik has done as well or better than most in his first season. Beyond that, only time will tell.