A brief review of the “greatest rivalry” in college football reveals how intense competition brings out the best in people. At the same time it can present major hurdles on the way to attaining our best.
The Ravens-49ers 2013 Super Bowl was replete with lessons on the difficulties of managing success. We never mention the underlying powerful emotion of guilt when it comes to getting to the top, but coach John Harbaugh of the champion Ravens provided a vivid example.
With all his bravado and fearlessness, his cool under pressure, when all was said and done quarterback Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens caught a huge wave of success phobia by their first game playoff opponent the Denver Broncos — and rode it all the way to a win in Super Bowl XLVII. I believe it was the golfer Jack Nicklaus who used to say “more tournaments are lost than are won” meaning too often a player will give the victory away in one form or another. Before the Ravens won it the Broncos — and number one seed in their conference — lost it. Heavy lies the potential victor’s crown.
In a vivid story Coach Gene Chizik reveals his secret intention to make a mess of things. He points to the powerful emotions behind his success sabotage: fear, guilt, and self-idealization.
We pause for a brief review of the way we listen for the secret story.
Before continuing with Chizik’s story we look at the recent achievement of his former chief rival. On the heels of winning three national titles in four years, Nick Saban faces the incredible challenge of going where no college coach has gone — winning three championships in a row. Going to the NFL would have been a retreat, but instead he has chosen to face a bigger challenge.
At the crucial point in the season Chizik pulls a “no quarterback” read “no leader” déjà vu as he jerks his starting quarterback at halftime after only four and a half games. He repeats his identical error from the preceding season and makes certain he doesn’t really have a quarterback. Young wide receiver Sammie Coates identifies unknowingly the real problem, “they [the coaches–Chizik] really didn’t want to win deep down.” The coach’s chaotic decisions reveal how he unconsciously undermined his team to the point of near mutiny and in the end micromanaged himself out of a job. Others including his defensive coordinator and a freshman quarterback speak volumes about Chizik’s unrecognized retreat. Yet the head coach has much to teach about the secret pressure of success.
Chizik reveals additional pressures leading to his retreat from success. These included replacing his former boss as head coach, more guilt over firing his friends on the Auburn staff upon arrival, the burden of early success, the murder of two Auburn players prior to the 2012 season. All of these contributed to his becoming more self-sabotaging with discipline problems continuing. Chizik had difficulty setting boundaries in relationships.
Crucial stories in his book “All In” continue to reveal the real story.
Two games into the 2012 season Gene Chizik saw the total collapse of his Auburn team coming. He described between the lines how the season would unfold with eerie precision. Unconsciously he recognizes his blind spots which will soon become more apparent to everyone.
He knew he had violated the laws of success last season but now he had really picked up the pace. His team had opened 0-2.
Infamous bank-robber Willie Sutton was once asked why he targeted banks. “Because that’s where the money is,” he answered.
So why do we look deeper into the mind of Gene Chizik in light of his team’s unmatched calamitous decline? Because that’s where the real answers are. There lays the power of hidden motivation — why success itself totally blind-sided him.
Chizik’s decisions reflecting one retreat after another reveal his blind spots.
@2022 Andrew G. Hodges
