You kind of side stepped the question. Your last two sentences touch on what I was looking for. Is Chizik good enough to roll with the punches? Can he handle making splash hires like Malzahn every time a coordinator and/or assistant coach leaves?
I'm really curious what this board thinks.
I think Chizik has done a great job getting these assistants, and they're doing a hell of a job in recruiting. With that said, I don't know if Chizik can survive without Malzahn. I'm not sure we would have won more than 4 games without him.
If Malzahn leaves this season, and it is a possibility, then we may be in trouble. I'm not so sure Chizik will have another splash hire left to keep the train rolling.
Didn't intend to sidestep, thought there were several questions I addressed.
The question you asked here, again? Well, we can only hope...fact is this, if Chiz has to hire great OCs every year or 2 because the one he last hired set the world on fire for a year or two and got a sweet gig...two things are certain...Auburn will win a buttload of games, until one of these "hotshot hires" finally crashes and burns
a la Franklin. At which point, no matter what happens in the interim, Chiz will only be evaluated on his last handful of games. At this point in the world we live in, coaches don't even seem to get a season to prove themselves, or a hiccup season among a bunch of good ones. Lose 3 in a row, and you're on the hotseat. Miss a bowl, and you're likely fired...if not this year, surely next. Tubs made some good hires, a bad decison or two, and finally a monumental blunder. Many, if not a great deal of Auburn folks seem to only recall 1999, 2008, and a couple of losses to Ark when they think of Tubs. Think Chizik will be treated as fairly? Doubt it...he's not earned it, and likely, IMO, won't be here long enough to get the chance.