Chizik fired two years after title

Associated Press

AUBURN, ALA.

Gene Chizik led Auburn to a historic season but couldn’t keep the Tigers from descending to their lowest point in decades.

The rapid fall from a national championship to 3-9 and the Southeastern Conference doormat led to Chizik’s firing Sunday, the day after a humbling 49-0 loss to No. 2 Alabama that showed just how far the program has fallen.

The Tigers endured the worst slide within two years of winning a national championship of any team since the Associated Press poll started in 1936 and hadn’t lost this many games since going 0-10 in 1950. The decision came 17 months after Auburn gave Chizik a contract worth some $3.5 million annually through 2015 with a hefty buyout.

The Tigers went from 14-0 with a perfect SEC record with Cam Newton leading the offense in 2010 to 3-9 and 0-8, losing their final three league games by a combined 150-21. Auburn was blown out by Texas A&M (63-21) and Georgia (38-0) but the finale was even more painful for Tigers fans.

No. 2 Alabama cruised to a six-touchdown halftime lead en route to a 49-0 demolition Saturday that could easily have been much worse. It was still the second-most lopsided Iron Bowl in history, behind only the Tide’s 55-0 win in 1948.

N.c. state ousts o’brien

North Carolina State coach Tom O’Brien has been fired after a disappointing 7-5 season, the school announced Sunday.

O’Brien will not coach in the Wolfpack’s upcoming bowl game. Offensive coordinator Dana Bible has been named interim head coach, and all assistants have been retained through at least the bowl.

The Wolfpack has madea bowl in three-straight seasons. O’Brien went 40-35 in six seasons — but just 22-26 in the ACC.