Auburn's Gene Chizik is the right coach in a crisis Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 5:09 AM Updated: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 5:10 AM By Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News al.com BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Gene Chizik may not be the most dynamic college football coach in the country.He may not be the most enterÂtaining speaker in his profession.He may not be the media's go-to guy for opinions on everything from conference expansion to a fourÂ-team playoff.But if the Auburn coach has proved anything in his three full seasons on the job, beyond his abilÂity to win a national title at a proÂgram that hadn't done it in 53 years, it's this: He has few peers when it comes to keeping his head when it seems everyone around him is losing theirs.That quality has never been more important to him than it is now as he tries to help his football team grieve for two fallen former teamÂmates and, at some point, recover from that grief.Ed Christian and Ladarious Phillips may have left the team for different reasons, but they didn't leave behind the friends they'd made on the team. Not until SaturÂday night, when they were tragically gunned down at a pool party at an Auburn apartment complex.As police narrow the search for the suspect that killed Christian, Phillips and Demario Pitts and wounded John Robertson, Xavier Moss and current Auburn player Eric Mack -- Moss and Mack have been treated and released -- the football program searches for anÂswers. Chizik may not have those answers, but he has a faith and a belief system that's evident in good times and necessary when things go terribly wrong. His statement Sunday began by remembering the victims and reaching out to their families. Only then did he address the impact this tragedy could have on his team. "We have a lot of people on our football team that are hurting right now, and we're going to do everything we can to help them get through this," Chizik said in that statement. "We are relieved that Eric Mack, who was also a victim in this incident, is expected to make a full recovery. This is a very trying time for everyone involved, and I would just ask that you lift up the victims and their families in your prayers." It was simple and straightforward. It was Chizik in a time of crisis. He's had more than a little practice. He's never faced anything quite like this during his time at Auburn, but his tenure as head coach on the Plain has hardly been a smooth walk on a soft path. He was criticized for taking the job in the first place, for thinking he could win big at Auburn when he hadn't at Iowa State. He ignored the critics. His integrity was questioned as his best recruit, Cam Newton, led the Tigers toward a national championship despite suspicion about why the Heisman winner chose this school at that time, suspicion provided by the actions of the player's own father. Chizik didn't dignify the questions during an investigation, publicly and privately supporting Newton. When that probe failed to produce a single major indictment, the coach didn't throw the results back in anyone's face. Along the way to that title, he guided his team back from a seemingly insurmountable deficit in the most hostile atmosphere in Iron Bowl history. Last year, he quickly removed from the team four players accused of armed robbery. He was slower to take that drastic step with Mike Dyer, who needed discipline for different reasons, for an attitude and actions unbecoming the best player on the team, but eventually Chizik sidelined him, too. There are still questions about the head coach heading into his fourth season, about his ability to adapt and survive in the face of a rival at the height of its powers. Can he rebuild the roster to the point that it'll withstand the type of wild swing from 14-0 to 8-5? Those questions can't be answered in June. Other questions can. Who can be a steadying influence when six people are shot and three of them die and two of them were a part of the team not long ago? Who can be a leader when leadership isn't measured on a scoreboard? They don't pay bonuses for that kind of football coach, but that's not really necessary. At a time like this, a time no coach wants to face and far too many are forced to endure, it's a bonus to have a coach like Chizik. Drop a civil comment below. Write Kevin at kscarbinsky@bhamnews.com. Follow him at www.Twitter.com/KevinScarbinsky. Listen to him weekdays from 6-10 a.m. on the Smashmouth Radio Network on 97.3 The Zone.
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