27 Facts About Gene Chizik

Gene Chizik played college football at the University of Florida in 1981 for head coach Charley Pell.

Gene Chizik earned a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Florida in 1986, and received a master's degree in guidance and counseling from Clemson University in 1991.

Gene Chizik began his coaching career at Seminole High School, serving as their defensive coordinator and inside linebacker coach from 1986 to 1988.

Gene Chizik then became a graduate assistant at Clemson from 1988 to 1989, working with the outside linebackers.

Gene Chizik was then promoted to the defensive coordinator role, which he held from 1996 to 1997.

Gene Chizik then served as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach for Central Florida from 1998 to 2001.

Gene Chizik later employed a very similar scheme at Auburn, where he served again as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach from 2002 to 2004.

Gene Chizik coached in three bowl games, the 2003 Capital One Bowl, 2004 Music City Bowl, and 2005 Sugar Bowl.

Gene Chizik garnered the 2004 Broyles Award, which is given each year to the top assistant coach in the nation.

In 2005, Gene Chizik was hired by Texas to serve as their co-defensive coordinator, assistant head coach, and linebackers coach.

In November 2006, Gene Chizik was hired to replace outgoing coach Dan McCarney as head football coach of Iowa State.

Gene Chizik's contract with ISU was a six-year deal worth a guaranteed $6.75 million.

Gene Chizik's name came up frequently as a coach who would be on the hot seat for the following season, though all acknowledged the difficulty of the job given the lack of resources and difficult schedule.

Gene Chizik has a strong knowledge of this athletics program, this university and the community, and he knows how to be successful in the Southeastern Conference.

Gene Chizik is a high-energy coach that is an outstanding motivator and demands a tough, physical style of football.

Gene Chizik subsequently hired Curtis Luper and Trooper Taylor, both of whom were coaching at Oklahoma State, to coach running backs and wide receivers.

Gene Chizik brought Jay Boulware from his ISU staff to be the special teams coordinator and hired former Auburn player Tracy Rocker away from Arkansas to coach the defensive line.

Iowa State was paid $750,000 by Gene Chizik to be released from his contract which was paid by a loan from Auburn that was forgiven $150,000 for every year Gene Chizik coaches, and would have been paid off entirely if he reached the end of the five-year deal.

The 2012 season was the first season that Gene Chizik did not have Gus Malzahn on staff; Malzahn had accepted the head coach position at Arkansas State following the 2011 season.

Gene Chizik was released after four seasons, and Auburn bought out his contract for $11.09 million.

Gene Chizik was named defensive coordinator at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on January 19,2015.

Gene Chizik inherited a unit that had given up 497 yards per game in 2014; only three other teams in Power 5 conferences had surrendered more yards per game.

Gene Chizik will serve as the de facto defensive coordinator, with the defense utilizing his preferred scheme, despite Charlton Warren and Tommy Thigpen having co-coordinator titles.

Gene Chizik stepped down from the SEC Network upon his return to North Carolina in 2022.

Gene Chizik is married to Joanna Gene Chizik, the daughter of his high school football coach.

Cally is named after a former player that Chizik coached at Stephen F Austin State University, Calloway "Cally" Presley Belcher.

Belcher and Gene Chizik had a very close relationship and Gene Chizik named Cally in honor of Belcher, who died of a brain aneurysm after suffering a hit to the head in practice.