Coaches who need a win – Week 13, The insanity of Auburn and Alabama

Normally this is a list counting down many coaches who need a win for some reason whether it be to calm the natives or save his job. And believe me there are quite a few guys on that list this week for one reason or another. Rick Neuheisel (UCLA), Mark Richt (Georgia), Rich Rodriguez (Michigan), Jeff Tedford (Cal) and Bronco Mendenhall (BYU) all qualify. With those names and more out there though, all eyes turn to two coaches this week.

Nick Saban (Alabama) and Gene Chizik (Auburn) – I know what those of you outside the South are thinking: why the heck do these two guys need a win more than anyone else out there? They have both met or exceeded expectation thus far in their careers at the school and both have highly ranked teams. Also, neither is in any danger of being fired with a loss.

To those making those arguments, you don't understand this rivalry. This rivalry is an obsession like none experienced anywhere else. As an Auburn alumni who grew up in Southern California I can speak from experience. The USC-UCLA rivalry is nothing compared to this. It may not be the best in a pure football context (that would be Ohio St.-Michigan) and its not from a tradition standpoint either (that would be either USC-Notre Dame or Army-Navy), but the all consuming need to win this game in the state of Alabama is like nothing seen anywhere else in American sports.

Back in 1989, Alabama was undefeated, ranked number 2 and needed to only win the first game in this series played in Auburn (the series had been played in Birmingham before that and let me say despite its supposed neutral site, that site was anything but neutral and everyone in the state knows it whether they admit it or not) to earn a shot at top ranked Miami in the Sugar Bowl for the national title. Auburn won the game 30-20 and Alabama coach Bill Curry was the head coach at Kentucky the next season after the fans turned on him and one threw a rock through his living room window after the defeat.

In 2002, Dennis Franchione left after losing to Auburn in part because he couldn't take the pressure and expectations that came with the Auburn-Alabama game. The head coach at Alabama has to win that game or he is a failure. Mike Shula's repeated failures in the Auburn-Alabama game are why he is considered a total failure as a coach despite guiding the program through probation, leading a ten win season (that ended in the worst offensive line performance in the history of the rivalry and was the beginning of the end for Shula at the school).

The expectations have also done plenty of damage at Auburn and also saved coaches and seasons. One look at Tommy Tuberville's tenure at Auburn shows this. Tuberville was given a pass for his first season (much like Chizik), but was then expected to produce. He won his second Iron Bowl and then lost the 3^rd in blowout fashion. After that 3^rd season, there was some talk that Tuberville should fired. Remember that at that point he had won the SEC West once and played LSU in a winner take all game losing on the road in year three. Later, Tuberville saved his job during the whole JetGate fiasco by beating Alabama in 2003 and likely would have been retained and allowed to do whatever he wanted with his staff had he pulled the upset in 2008.

For the current coaches, this game means everything. For Saban, he already has a national title, but he clearly beat a downtrodden Auburn program the last two seasons. Losing at home to the Tigers could be terrible for him in recruiting and bizarrely enough could set the wheels in motion for him to be gone from Tuscaloosa before his contract runs out in four years. For Chizik, everything is on the line. If the Cam Newton allegation are true, Chizik is coaching for his job. Win and he keeps the job no matter the Newton situation. Lose and Newton is declared ineligible with NCAA sanctions on the way and he has a major problem.

At both schools, this rivalry is all-consuming. As an Auburn fan and alumni, there is one thing I fear this season and it is something I dismissed when I first heard it way back in 2001. My roommate my freshman year told me that we have to win that game. Even if we win the national title with the loss, if the loss was Alabama we would never hear the end of it. I never thought it was possible, but here we are.