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October 17, 2024 • 11 mins
Former coach Gene Chizik still has love for Auburn 10-17-24
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:01):
H Right.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Welcome back to Sports Talk ninety ninety five. Randy Kennedy
at the Mobile Country Club here for the kickoff event
for the twenty twenty.

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Five Reese's Senior Bowl.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Here with the keynote speaker, Gene Chisey, former head coach
at Auburn, and Gene, I don't think I have to
tell you, but the last most recent Auburn head football
coach to win a national championship.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
How about that? Well, it's Randy.

Speaker 3 (00:22):
It's a pleasure to be here. Jim and I are
very good friends. Obviously, the Senior Bowl is such a
special event for so many players. I've been down here,
you know, numerous times. And plus I love Mobile. I've
been down here, you know, over the years, so many
different times. I know a lot of different people down here.

(00:42):
And actually my daughter did an internship with the Senior
Bowl her senior year when she was at Auburn, So
this is these are very familiar stomping grounds for me.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Tell people what you're doing immediately after this event.

Speaker 3 (00:53):
Immediately after this event, I'm driving back to Auburn four
hours so that we can subsequently turn around the next
day and drive up to Greenville to see my son
coach and he's coaching at Farman University, so we're excited
about the weekend.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
All right, So, first of all, you still live in Auburn, obviously,
and you have been there. What's the pool there?

Speaker 3 (01:16):
You know, it's interesting. A lot of people ask that.
It's really kind of hard to describe, to be honest
with you, It's a great place to raise your children.
It's a great community, a great family oriented culture there,
and obviously the university drives things. But what an amazing
place to live. What an amazing place you know to

(01:39):
grow friendships. And you know, we've been there probably if
I had to count, seventeen or eighteen total years now
because we never moved. We were there obviously in two
thousand and two as the defensive coordinator, came back as
the head coach, and then my kids all graduated from
school there, so we have a huge allegiance to the place,

(02:00):
and we've had our house there for a long time now.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
It's true with you, and it's true with other coaches
as well. It seems like, no matter how their tenure,
when it's like I still want to be here for
my family or just to live here, they've really said
something about that Auburn area.

Speaker 1 (02:14):
Yeah, it really does.

Speaker 3 (02:14):
And we've got so many special friends there and so
many special relationships with people that you know, that were
outside of football. You know, they weren't all inside of football.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
Obviously.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
We'll always have those connections with the guys that were,
you know, associated with the football program back then, but
we've got so many great relationships outside of that.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
So it's just it's home for us. And my wife
feels the same way.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
It's been fourteen years since you won that national championship
at Auburn, but you also had the run as a
defensive coordinator with with Mac Brown at North Carolina. Have
you gotten the Are you gotten past the coaching bug now?

Speaker 1 (02:49):
You know? It's interesting.

Speaker 3 (02:51):
This is the first year that I have probably in Randy,
I don't know, fifty some odd years that I wasn't
either playing coaching or doing TV. So it's the first
true season where I've been able to sit back and
watch games on a Saturday where I wasn't working.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
So it's been really unique perspective.

Speaker 3 (03:12):
There's things that I miss about it, there's things that
I don't. When I retired in January, my wife referred
to it as a fake retirement because she's wondering when
I'll take the next thing that comes that looks good.
But right now I'm really enjoying myself, really enjoy being
a fan and watching football from a different set of lenses.

Speaker 1 (03:33):
Nothing on the line that certainly doesn't hurt.

Speaker 3 (03:36):
But it's been a really cool offseason.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
I think you'll take this as a compliment, but you
want a national championship. Clear you did something right as
a football coach, but as an analyst working on the SEC.
I mean, I think fans of every school just thought
you did a terrific, terrific job. Is that did that
just come naturally or was that a lot of hard work?

Speaker 1 (03:57):
You know, Randy, I put a lot into it.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
You know, whatever I do, I like to, you know,
prepare and you know, make sure that on quote unquote
game day, I'm ready.

Speaker 1 (04:07):
I enjoyed it. I loved it. People ask me if
I'm going to go back to it.

Speaker 3 (04:11):
I wanted to take this year off and literally do nothing,
just to see, you know, things from a different perspective.
As I said earlier, but I love TV. I loved
doing TV. I even did radio. I did serious XM
radio for a couple of years in there.

Speaker 1 (04:28):
It does kind of come natural.

Speaker 3 (04:30):
It really does, because you really are just saying what
you see, and the preparation comes from knowing the players
and knowing the coaches and knowing their style and watching
a lot of film. But when I see it, it
comes out pretty naturally as to what I see.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
So that's why I enjoyed it.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
Do you think you'd want to be on the road
every week, like doing in the booths stuff, because I've
loved the stuff you've done, like studio. Hey, let's break
this down. Let's tell you why this did or does
not work.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yeah. I I've done games in the booth as well.

Speaker 3 (05:00):
So when I was doing studio, I told him I
didn't want to do it every week, but every you know,
three or four weeks, I would do a Thursday night
game or a Friday night game, even at some points
when they started putting Friday night games on.

Speaker 1 (05:14):
So I do enjoyed, you know, doing things from the booth.
I did like that, but I do like the studio better.
I like the studio better.

Speaker 3 (05:24):
I can sit back, I can watch the games, and
I can get my perspective in a quiet environment.

Speaker 2 (05:29):
I like that you mentioned your son CALLI, I give
you a chance to brag on him. I think fans
around here, high school fans got a chance to see
him play football and baseball in the Mobile area now
going on to a college career as well as you
know just what he's doing in the coaching room.

Speaker 3 (05:44):
Yeah, I'm really proud of him, Randy. You know, he
he had a tremendous high school career in both football
and baseball. And as you noted earlier, we came down
here and played mcgil Tulan. We came and played Baker
in baseball, I think is soft more year, came down
and played Davidson even but he went on, he signed
at Furman, graduated this past season, ended up playing five years.

(06:10):
His last year he was second in the country in
interceptions and was Walter Camp first team All Americans.

Speaker 1 (06:16):
So I was very very proud of him.

Speaker 3 (06:18):
And then subsequently Furman turned around and offered him a
job coaching. So he's actually coaching the defensive backs there,
loving every minute every morning and he gets up he
loves every minute of it. And just really proud for
him and what he's accomplished, you know, on the field
as a player and now starting his career going into coaching,
it's been really interesting. Matter of fact, I'm gonna go

(06:39):
up and watch him this weekend, you know, coach at
home coming up there at Firman, So I'm looking forward
to that, but very very proud of what he's accomplished.
I always thought one of the most interesting facts about
you is that you married the daughter of your.

Speaker 1 (06:54):
High school football coach. So did she know she was
marrying a coach?

Speaker 2 (06:58):
And I guess if she did, she kind of knew
what she was getting into, right.

Speaker 3 (07:01):
Yeah, I'm not sure she totally understood what she was
getting into. I think she had an idea there ten
thousand foot view, but yes, that is true.

Speaker 1 (07:11):
She was.

Speaker 3 (07:12):
She was the daughter of my head high school football coach,
and which is very unique and made some very weird,
awkward Thanksgiving dinners early on, but we grew into it,
and she did.

Speaker 1 (07:25):
She understood the profession.

Speaker 3 (07:27):
Didn't really know it from the college world and what
that looks like, but she understood the football part the piece,
and her dad was gone a lot and working a lot,
so she understood that.

Speaker 1 (07:39):
But when we you can imagine when we met, the.

Speaker 3 (07:43):
Shock when she realized who I was and I realized
who she was.

Speaker 1 (07:48):
It was it was a very interesting night.

Speaker 2 (07:50):
So y'all got together after the fact, after after he
was your football coach.

Speaker 3 (07:54):
Right, Well, what was amazing is she's quite a few
years younger than me, and I used to see her
around the field house, but when I was a senior
in high school, she was still in elementary school. So
she was a young girl. And when I first met her,
she had graduated college. I was thirty and she was
twenty two, and I had to make sure how old.

Speaker 1 (08:14):
Are you like?

Speaker 3 (08:14):
That was one of my first questions, and she had
just graduated from Florida State and that's kind of how
everything started. And it was quite a surprise when I realized, So,
you're the grown up version of the girl that I
saw because when I graduated high school, it was twelve
years later that I saw her. That's when I met her,

(08:36):
and then the relationship just blossomed from there and we've
been married for twenty six years now.

Speaker 1 (08:42):
That's awesome.

Speaker 2 (08:42):
Yeah, you hit your high school football coach knows the good,
bad and ugly about all the players. So the fact
that you were accepted into the family, that speaks well
for you.

Speaker 3 (08:50):
Yeah, I guess he just didn't tell her all of
the ugly or the bad. He must have only told
her the good, because somehow or another I lucked into
that one. But she is been an incredible mom and
an incredible wife and an incredible partner, and.

Speaker 1 (09:04):
Couldn't be more blessed.

Speaker 2 (09:05):
When's the last time you watched Auburn win the National
Championship in January of twenty eleven.

Speaker 3 (09:13):
Wow, that's the first time I've been asked that in
a long time. Do you know that I don't know
that I've ever watched the game all the way through.

Speaker 2 (09:24):
There's a lot of people listening who have watched it,
like within the last week.

Speaker 1 (09:27):
I promise you, Well, that's great. It was a great memory.

Speaker 3 (09:30):
But I'll be honest with you, I don't know that
I've watched the TV copy all the way through, even
to this day. And it's great memories and it's an
incredible time and brought so much joy to so many
great Auburn fans, and I'm so proud of that. But
to say that I've sat down and literally watched the
game all the way through, I don't know that I've
ever done that.

Speaker 1 (09:51):
You should do it. It was a good game. I promise
you I might go there and do that after this weekend.

Speaker 3 (09:55):
Now that you challenge me, I can't get asked this
question again and say I've never watched this.

Speaker 1 (10:00):
That'll be my next thing when I get back to Auburn.

Speaker 2 (10:02):
I promise you, when you watch it, you're gonna be
like that was worth it.

Speaker 1 (10:05):
That was a good football game.

Speaker 3 (10:06):
Yeah, I remember bits and pieces of it, and from
what I remember is pretty good.

Speaker 1 (10:11):
Especially the last kick in the walk off.

Speaker 3 (10:13):
In in uh in the win. But uh, great time
for Auburn fans and Auburn folks for sure.

Speaker 2 (10:18):
Geane, what do you think about Auburn football today?

Speaker 1 (10:21):
You know, I've watched them a good bit.

Speaker 3 (10:23):
Uh. You know, I think they have the makings of
a team that's got the potential to be really good.

Speaker 1 (10:28):
You know, it's like anything, Randy.

Speaker 3 (10:29):
You know, they're struggling a little bit at the quarterback position.
They got a you know, a young guy there, and
he's got some talent.

Speaker 1 (10:37):
I think they've got a talented football team.

Speaker 3 (10:39):
And I think this league this year is really pretty
much you know, on any given week, anybody can beat anybody.
And you can see that. You know, Auburn's had some
really good moments. You know, should they you know, if
they protect the football better, don't have as many turnovers.
I think that the record could be much different. But

(10:59):
they've lost I think for in a row now, or
if it's not for in a row as four in general,
and they can rebound. They've got enough talent to do it.
They got to, you know, put some things together and
I turn the ball over. They'll win some more games
for the years over.

Speaker 2 (11:15):
Jean's so great to catch up with you, and I
think Auburn folks will be proud to know you're still there,
part of the Auburn community and planning to.

Speaker 1 (11:21):
Be throughout the rest of your years.

Speaker 2 (11:23):
Appreciate you being with us and catching up.

Speaker 1 (11:25):
Thank you, Rayd. I appreciate it myself.

Speaker 2 (11:27):
Jeane Jusick is the keynote speaker here at the Senior
Bowl Committee kickoff dinner at the Mobile Country Club.

Speaker 1 (11:33):
This is Sports Talk ninety nine to five.
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