As reported by several outlets, Gene Chizik is stepping down as UNC's DC to spend more time with his family.
http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/story/gene-chizik-north-caroli...
"After many emotional family discussions and a lot of prayerful consideration, I have made the personal decision to step away from football to focus on my family," Chizik said in a statement obtained by FOX Sports, adding that his time in Chapel Hill has been an unbelievable experience. "Personally, it has been extremely difficult for my family and me. We have been apart for the past two years for the first time in my 30-year coaching career. I have been a long-distance husband to my devoted wife, Jonna. I missed my twin daughters' entire senior year of high school, along with sending them off to college. My son, Cally, is a high school football and baseball player. I have only seen two of Cally's baseball games and two of his football games in two years. As every parent can imagine, being a long-distance dad to my children has been extremely difficult on everyone."
It is also being reported that UNC has elevated LB coach John Papuchis (a VT grad) to the position of DC.
http://www.goheels.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3350&ATCLID=211465098
Comments
Could it be that the NCAA is about to crack down? Perhaps?
No, sadly, that won't actually happen.
This was my first thought, too, but he seems genuine. Only time will tell
Same here. Either that or he is about to indicated in another scandal at UNC.
I've seen this movie before. In a year he'll announce he's taking the HC job at anOSU.
In all seriousness, that's gotta be tough and I hope he enjoys his time with his family. I also think the NCAA should let any defensive players who committed to UNCheat out of their LOI, but that ain't gonna happen.
My respect level for Coach Chizik just went way up. Go enjoy your son's accomplishments sir, and don't ever look back.
Hmm I wonder how Dazz is feeling right about now.
Well sometimes Dazz just the way it goes
and that's the waaaaaaaaay the news goes
Was about to up vote but realized you were at +69 so I thought better than to go and ruin something like that.
ooo I really want to remove my upvote just to knock it down
Don't be shy bb
Probably feels the same way Khalil Ladler did last year. I do hate how schools everywhere do this though, it's really unfair to the kids *coughLSUcough*
ladler lost his dc?
His position coach.
Things' ll never be the same
Isn't he tenured? /s
Seriously why did Dazz go to UNC?
Mixture of a few things.
1) didn't want to be in Hunters shadow
2) parents still had a bad taste in their mouth about how his brother was treated.
3) defensive scheme worked better for his playing style at UNC
Edit: Can't spel
Thanks for the insight BAG
Wait what happened with Deon, he got a DWI didn't he?
Yeah, after that he kind of landed himself in the doghouse with the previous staff. Other than jet sweeps, seems like he never really grasped the receiver position. Great athlete, just seems to be unable to find a fit anywhere. Is he still working at safety?
chizik was a great defensive coordinator, i think this really hurts unc in the next few years
I certainly hope so.
The post NSD assistant jumping ship tradition continues.
Perhaps wally world might have family-friendly work hours for Gene
Credit: http://www.thekeyplay.com/comment/359567#comment-359567
The UNC headline that I want to see if the NCAA hammering them.
That's gonna take a while
I wonder if we went after Papuchis when we hired our staff. Good recruiter. It's also not clear if he was involved with football at all when he was at VT.
Sometimes in life you have to choose between career and children, I'm a firm believer for being there to watch your children grow. You can't get that back....
While I agree it is important to see your children grow, you also have to make money to support your family and your children's growth (i.e. career). In other words its easy to say that family is first but in reality you need to worry about your career almost as much as your family, for you and their financial security.
That's certainly true for folks like us with normal jobs, but Chizik's made enough money getting fired to live comfortably for the rest of his life.
His Auburn buyout was $7.5M. He's going to be alright.
He is not quite at Charlie Weis levels, but pretty good. Charlie the only coach in history who has been paid more NOT to coach then paid while coaching.
Charlie the only coach in history who has been paid more NOT to coach then paid while coaching.
Judging by the results on the field, I'd say that the teams paying him not to coach came out on the better end of that deal.
I wish someone would pay me a few mil to not coach.
I am available for this opportunity as well.
I'll be your coordinator.
Do you have kids? Because its not a pleasant situation to be in personally when you realize you've lost time with them at the expense of a career and that you can't get that time back when they are grown. Seen parents in this situation and many are extremely regretful... If you can't do both (money-family) with the balance heavily tilted toward your family you'd best cut back on the career time. You can always make back money, you can't make back time.
This is true, many people regret this when they are older, This isnt 1950 anymore where man has to work all the time to support his family, Couples can work together today and make a decent living where you may not be rich, but you will have the time to be together. Its all what you choose to do, what standard of living you feel is acceptable. LIke you said you can go make more money but you cant go back and watch your kids grow.
"Just Sayin' "
Kudos to Chizik for choosing family over football. In a couple years when his kid has graduated HS, I'm sure he'll have no problem finding a new gig. Bonus points for putting UNC in a tight spot. Double bonus for this maybe giving a former Hokie a shot at being the new DC.
Oh boy, thinking back to how UNC was on defense before Chizik was around... Things could get ugly soon for the hat in Chapel Hill. No wonder we were hearing his name leaked all over the place for potential openings after the season. Wouldn't be surprised if he knew Chizik was leaving before their bowl game and just had an arrangement to not announce until after the recruiting season ended.
The classes were too hard for him
This morning my boss was talking about a guy she went to high school with that played pro football. It was Natrone Means. He played RB for the Chargers and Jaguars and a little while for the Panthers.
While looking at his Wiki page she goes, He went to Chapel Hill? I don't know how he made it through Chapel Hill.
Had to bite my tongue really hard as boss's daughter just graduated from UNC.
Should have taken the shot. Your job is definitely worth it.
When I read this article I was anticipating something along the lines of,
"I have only seen two of Cally's baseball games and two of his football games in two years, and he's already completed his undergrad degree at UNC. Next year he will be a HS junior."
On the other hand, it doesn't feel like that long ago he was holding the Natty Championship trophy. That goes to show how fast the CFB landscape changes.
apparently UNC also lost defensive line coach Tray Scott (to Ole Miss and then Georgia), and defensive backs coach Charlton Warren (to Tennessee).
They still get over estimated in preseason rankings. Something something high paced offense.
Apparently a coach wearing a visor is good for an additional 3-5 spots in conference rankings and 5-10 spots in the AP and ESPN rankings. See: Spurrier, Kiffin Wastewater Person, Stoops, Fedora
Exactly. Losing the majority of your defensive staff (DL & DB coaches), along with being attached to an offensive system that is a DC's worst nightmare made this a no brainer. He can advance his career better by taking a TV gig or even sitting out, than trying to create a miracle on defense at UNC (which will never happen under Fedora and especially not in the next couple seasons).
Chizik won for his family and his career. Still surprised he took the job, but says a lot when you see so much of the staff bolting...
Leaving to spend time with your family?
Bad things are about to happen at UNC.
https://twitter.com/mcmurphyespn/status/830482853326618626
UNC RB coach going to Auburn.
Fuente gonna be going to UNCheat's recruits like...
Unfortunately, all the guys who just signed letters of intent don't have any recourse but to go to UNCheat.
I only have so much empathy for kids who knowingly board a sinking ship
I am starting think the NCAA is finally going to hammer UNC, right after the basketball season of course.
In all seriousness though, even if 4 coaches leaving around the same time isn't indicative of bigger issues, I'm still hopeful that we can use this to our advantage on the recruiting trail in NC. I know the rankings will change a lot in the next year but currently NC has 15 kids listed at 4*s and up and VA only has 7.