A new hire in the Big 12 as Iowa State gets highly-regarded defensive coordinator Gene Chizik to replace Dan McCarney, who resigned, to lead their football program.
Chizik earned the job based on his top-shelf work at Auburn and most-recently, Texas, two programs who have won big recently.
His star reminds me of Bob Stoops when he left Florida for his first head-coaching gig at Oklahoma. Stoops work at Kansas State and then for Steve Spurrier and the Gators had him on everyone's wish list. Chizik is special, too, it says here. Only difference, and it's a big one, but Chizik isn't walking into many years of tradition in Ames as Stoops did in Norman.
That said, I'm sure Tommy Tuberville at Auburn and Mack Brown of the Longhorns gave the new Cyclones' boss glowing reviews to go with the numbers that don't lie, numbers that show Chizik coaching dominant defenses.
Iowa State has always been more about offense than defense, even under McCarney, a defensive mind.
That will change.
A season ago, I thought Chizik would be one of a few men who would be a winning hire for Colorado but it wasn't an opening that excited him. Instead, athletic director Mike Bohn found Dan Hawkins' glittering credentials irresistable.
Look for the Cyclones to be much improved in two or three years. Chizik will, however, have to prove he can recruit to Ames. There is no doubt about his ability to coach.
A good day to be a fan of Iowa State.
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