FanHouse Pat Dye

Auburn's new coach Gene Chizik has remained under the radar thus far. Fortunately here at the ClayNation column we became aware that each new coach has to stand up and introduce himself to the other SEC coaches at the annual coaches meeting.

Fortunately we were able to capture the entirety of this fabricated introduction. And now we can fabricate it for your enjoyment today. Meet Gene Chizik. Already his introductory speech is being called the Gettysburg Address of Auburn football.

Mike Freeman, the columnist whose article served as the inspiration for this series, amazed on-lookers when he did what few realized was possible: simultaneously pissing off both Alabama and Auburn fans. For its part, the Loveliest Villiage on the Plains had its hackles raised by a number two ranking in Freeman's poll. It turns out that while they're no angels, the Auburn Tigers are not quite #2 material.

It is unusual that infractions in diverse sports can be blamed on the head football coach, but in this case the NCAA is very clear in its 1993 report that those violations and the ones covered by the 1991 report (which included only the men's basketball and tennis programs and, therefore, are not being scored here) fell on the shoulders of Pat Dye who served as both head coach and Athletics Director from 1981 to 1992.Sorry, No Photos

Arkansas Athletic Director Frank Broyles is expected to step down this week. His departure is yet another symbol of the passing of one of college football's greatest generations, the great coaches who presided over the game from 1960 or so until the mid to late 1970's. Broyles coached the Razorbacks from 1958 to 1976 helping them win a championship and competing nationally in a great era against powers like Alabama, USC, Notre Dame and Michigan.

Another giant of his time has left us in the mortal sense: Bo Schembechler. Schembechler coached Michigan from 1969 to 1989 becoming the face of the program until his death just before the Michigan/Ohio State game last year.

The only giants of that era still with us are Broyles, former Texas coach Darrell Royal (1957-1976) and former Notre Dame coach Ara Paraseghian (1964-1974).

Among the magnificent but dead is Alabama's Bear Bryant (1958-1982) who retired at the end of the 1982 season and promptly checked out of mortal existence. Ohio State's Woody Hayes (1951-1978) hung around until his death in 1987. Nebraska's Bob Devaney (1962-1972) checked out in 1997 and USC's comedic John McKay (1960-1975) lasted a little longer, passing away in 2001.

All those giants left the coaching ranks long ago, but each stewarded elite programs for a decade or more. To this day most of them remain the standard for which current coaches aspire to at each of their programs. Schembechler's death and Broyles' departure signal the end of their collective direct involvement in the college game.

As that great generation fades further into memory we must now also begin to take stock of the succeeding generation of coaches. I'm talking about guys like Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno, Tom Osborne, John Robinson, Vince Dooley, Don James, Hayden Fry, Pat Dye, Lou Holtz, Lavell Edwards and Barry Switzer here.

They are the ones who were the game's caretakes from the mid to late 1970's until the late 1980's, an era of great transition and upheaval due to parity measures such as scholarship limits, the completion of racial integration and the rapid and dramatic death of plodding, run-heavy conventional offenses such as USC's "Student Body Right/Student Body Left" approach.

We'll save that analysis for another day, another time. Until then it's one final embrace of perhaps college football's "greatest generation" of coaches. Thanks for the memories, fellas.

As you would expect, all the talk in the state of Alabama today is centering on the firing of head football coach Mike Shula. For the third time in four years, Alabama will yet again try to fill the shoes of the very late Paul "Bear" Bryant.

Listening to the syndicated Paul Finebaum Radio Show out of Birmingham on Monday, it's apparent how out of touch most Alabama fans are when it comes to college football in the 21st century. The vast majority of callers have put their stock in somehow luring South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier to the Capstone. Another often mentioned name is Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban.

Do Alabama people honestly believe that either one of those men would remotely consider taking the Alabama job. First off, the jobs they have are better than the Tide job - yes South Carolina has much more upside these days than Alabama.