In what became a tumultuous four-year coaching job, Gene Chizik took Auburn to its first national championship since 1957. From there, Chizik seemed to lose control of a program and finally lost his job in a season where the team had more player suspensions than victories.
Dec. 13, 2008
Gene Chizik was hired as the head coach of the Auburn Tigers following the resignation of Tommy Tuberville after Tuberville’s squad finished 5–7 in 2008.
Jan. 1, 2010
The Tigers won the Outback Bowl 38–35 over Northwestern to push Auburn to 8–5 in Chizik’s first year as head coach.
Oct. 5, 2010
The NCAA sent an email to Auburn investigating the eligibilty of Cam Newton after a scandal alleging the Newtons accepted money to come to Auburn.
Jan. 10, 2011
Auburn finished the season 14–0 behind Cam Newton’s Heisman-winning effort after beating Oregon 22–20 for the BCS National Championship.
March 11, 2011
Four Auburn players, Mike McNeil, Shaun Kitchens, Antonio Goodwin and Dakota Mosley, were arrested for first degree robbery of a mobile home.
Dec. 10, 2011
All-SEC running back Michael Dyer was suspended. Auburn would go on to win the Chick-fil-A Bowl without him, but Dyer later transferred and testified that he smoked synthetic marijuana and that his gun was used in the March 11 robbery.
Aug. 17, 2012
Freshman running back Jovon Robinson was ruled ineligible after his high school counselor admitted to forging his transcript. The NCAA announced an investigation into Auburn recruiting November 21. This comes after a string of player conduct violations leading to the suspensions of Quan Bray, Reese Dismukes, DeAngelo Benton and Zeke Pike. Pike subsequently transferred to the University of Louisville.
Nov. 25, 2012
Gene Chizik was fired following Auburn’s 49–0 Iron Bowl loss to Alabama in Tuscaloosa the day before. The loss capped off a dismal 3–9 season for the Tigers.
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