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.
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.
Riding a phenomenal wave of success after leading Auburn to a 2010 national championship, Coach Gene Chizik started to show chinks in his armor. A shocking armed robbery by four players, writing a self-centered book, and loosening the reins of discipline all reflected Chizik’s difficulty handling sudden unexpected success beyond his wildest dreams. A key story in a Chizik speech at the beginning of the 2011 season revealed the huge burden of success which would prove too heavy for him to carry. Former Auburn Coach Pat Dye and the great Bear Bryant revealed the powerful danger associated with success in the back of our minds.
From ‘All In to All Out’
As college football prepares to begin its bowl season, a major player on the scholastic gridiron stunned its faithful fans by sabotaging its long-held tradition of success. The performance of the 2012 Auburn University football team represented an unprecedented collapse of historic proportions. No other former national champion has fallen so far so fast. Two short years after winning it all, Auburn posted the worst record ever for a former champion. The team lost nine of its 12 games.
@2023 Andrew G. Hodges
