Iowa State Fans and Auburn's Gene Chizik

A friend (a former long-time sportswriter) was wondering the other day why Iowa State fans haven’t commented on the success of Auburn’s Gene Chizik.

Chizik is riding high these days with the Tigers. Auburn will face Oregon in the BCS championship game next month.

Chizik spent only two years as Iowa State’s coach. He went 5-19 and then accepted the Auburn job. Chizik may be the only coach in the history of college football to have a losing record and gain a better job with more money.

There were some bitter feelings in Iowa State land when this all happened. Cyclone fans felt betrayed.

But apparently, they have moved on with their team.

Paul Rhoads replaced Chizik and lead the Cyclones to a bowl game in his first season. The Cyclones slipped to 5-7 this year, but had a chance to become bowl eligible with a win in their final game.

So maybe Cyclone fans are so happy with Iowa native Rhoads that they have forgotten about Chizik.

Iowa State will never become like Auburn. Auburn has resources that the Cyclones can only dream about.

But coaching is a lot like good shoes. You need a good fit. Apparently this is the case with Chizik at Auburn and Rhoads at Iowa State.