Did Coach Saban Intimidate Chizik Into Changing His Offense?

Alasippi

Suspended
Aug 31, 2007
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Ocean Springs, MS
Let's face it, Chizik won a National Title with the spread offense and although he didn't conquer the world his other couple of years he did win a couple of bowl games.

He also recruited offensive players who specialized in running the spread in high school.

Suddenly, after the beat down we gave them in Auburn last year he took spread offense oriented players and tried to force them into being proficient at running a pro-style offense which obviously has been a huge huge mistake, like trying to train a race horse to pull a plow.

It doesn't take a football genius to see that.

The only reason I can figure is that he looked at Saban and Bama and said, "I've got to do it like he does".

Am I right or am I wrong? No strong opinion here. I just can't see, after looking at their personnel why he ever thought they could run a pro-style offense unless he felt like he almost had to.

sip
 

colbysullivan

Hall of Fame
Dec 12, 2007
16,695
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Chizik is a defensive coach. Malzahn was the real brains (and real head coach for that matter) behind that offense. You've seen the result now that he's gone
 

GrayTide

Hall of Fame
Nov 15, 2005
18,810
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I honestly believe it is further evidence that Chizik has no plan, no organization, and no clue what it takes to be a head coach at any level.
 

jthomas666

Hall of Fame
Aug 14, 2002
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Birmingham & Warner Robins
I think there was pressure from Dye to return to smash mouth football. Malzahn's offense is ok in the minor leagues, but even with a once in a generation talent like Cam, it took an obscene amount of luck, cheap shots, and ball calls for AU to get the crystal.

Of course it does kind of remind me of Dubose's final year. In 1999, Charlie Stubbs had more or less taken control of the offense from OC Neil Calloway, turning the team into an offensive juggernaut (and damn, that was a fun offense to watch). When things started to go south in 2000, Dubose, desperate to try and salvage something and not really knowing anything about offense, put the reins of the offense back into the hands of Calloway. It did not end well.

One of the things I regret most about the Dubose debacle is that Charlie Stubbs really deserved better, and I wish he would have stayed at Bama for a few more years.
 

1958againbear

1st Team
Jan 27, 2011
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I honestly believe it is further evidence that Chizik has no plan, no organization, and no clue what it takes to be a head coach at any level.
This^^^ plus the fact that lightning never strikes twice (scam) even with the aubs system of trying to buy the best out there to run a spread offense whether Gus is there or not.
 

tidefanbeezer

All-American
Sep 25, 2006
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I honestly believe it is further evidence that Chizik has no plan, no organization, and no clue what it takes to be a head coach at any level.
Agree.

If he had put any thought into it at all, he would have hired an OC that ran an offense similar to Malzhan and suited his personnel.
 

Alajambama

2nd Team
Jul 25, 2012
318
0
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Fyffe, AL
The powers that be forced Tubbs into the spread offense with Franklin. Chizik pretty much inherited players recruited for that system. If Tubs had been given a choice, he would have ran the pro set with a strong running game. I still say they jumped gun on Tuberville but I'm kinda glad they did.
 

4Q Basket Case

FB|BB Moderator
Staff member
Nov 8, 2004
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I honestly believe it is further evidence that Chizik has no plan, no organization, and no clue what it takes to be a head coach at any level.
Amen, brother. I've said for some time that Chizik doesn't have a bad philosophy....he doesn't have one at all. No one can say that Saban made him change; but that's only because there was no fundamental outlook to change from.

What we can say is that Chizik copied Meyer and Petrino. Then, when he experienced their exact level of success -- that is to say not a lot without a once-in-a-generation QB -- he switched and reaped the rewards of recruiting three years to a highly specialized skill set, then tried to shoehorn them into a system wholly unsuited to the very skills for which he recruited them.

Given the total lack of underlying belief in how football games are won, the first class train wreck a highly respected poster predicted should not have been a surprise.
 

Bama1985

1st Team
Jan 18, 2006
794
126
62
61
Calhoun County
Let's face it, Chizik won a National Title with the spread offense and although he didn't conquer the world his other couple of years he did win a couple of bowl games.

He also recruited offensive players who specialized in running the spread in high school.

Suddenly, after the beat down we gave them in Auburn last year he took spread offense oriented players and tried to force them into being proficient at running a pro-style offense which obviously has been a huge huge mistake, like trying to train a race horse to pull a plow.

It doesn't take a football genius to see that.

The only reason I can figure is that he looked at Saban and Bama and said, "I've got to do it like he does".

Am I right or am I wrong? No strong opinion here. I just can't see, after looking at their personnel why he ever thought they could run a pro-style offense unless he felt like he almost had to.

sip
Good observation--
Not just Bama but LSU's success with power football was also an influence in Auburn changing offensive philosophies. Auburn has a history of a power running game
 

graydogg85

1st Team
Feb 7, 2006
934
169
62
Huntsville, AL
I think it was a full-on recruiting ploy. I suspect other schools were using their gadget-heavy spread against them on the recruiting trail, saying things like "it won't prepare you for the NFL" and so on and so forth. They narrowly missed on guys like Kouandijo, Calloway, Yeldon, etc. and I would bet that they felt the offensive scheme played a role. Plus, production dipped in 2011, Malzahn left for safer waters and people were beginning to blame the defensive struggles on the high-tempo offense. There were a lot of incentives there, but I'll bet recruiting was the biggest.

Would I have done the same thing? Perhaps, but not the same way they did it. You have to make a gradual transition if your roster is chalked full of spread-type players. Something like what Al Borges did at Michigan with Denard, where much of your offense is still shotgun zone-read but you progressively sprinkle in more two-back I-form with play action passing. Of course, that hasn't been a lights-out strategy for UM but they've been far more productive than Auburn the last two years.
 

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