'All In' chronicles Gene Chizik's struggles, success

I finished reading a good sports-related book the other day that many of you would probably enjoy reading, “All In: What It Takes to Be the Best” by Gene Chizik and David Thomas.

Many of you will be familiar with Chizik, who is the head football coach at Auburn University. In 2010, he led Auburn to an undefeated season and the SEC and national titles. After last season, he received the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award and was also named the Associated Press SEC Coach of the Year, the Home Depot Coach of the Year, the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year and the Bobby Bowden National Collegiate Coach of the Year.

Things weren’t always rosey for Coach Chizik, however.

After a stellar career as an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee State, Stephen F. Austin, the University of Central Florida, Auburn and the University of Texas, Chizik posted a lackluster 5-19 record in his only other head coaching stop at Iowa State. For that reason, his hiring at Auburn was controversial, and in “All In” Chizik tells the story of how he overcame his record to lead Auburn to its first national title since 1957.

Released in July by Tyndale House Publishers, this 265-page book recounts Chizik’s experiences as an assistant coach, his hiring at Iowa State, his two seasons as the head coach there, his unexpected departure for Auburn in 2008 and his two seasons as Auburn’s head coach. As you might have expected from a book published a few months after Auburn’s national title win, this book goes into great deal about Auburn’s 2010 championship season.

This book also goes into great detail about Chizik’s personal life. It describes his relationship with his father, his wife, his children and his “football family.” Chizik comes across as a very spiritual person and as a pretty decent human being. Regardless of who you pull for on the football field, it’ll be hard to put this book down without a new respect for Chizik. I think most of us would benefit from his words of wisdom regarding how he overcame many of the obstacles he’s overcome in his career.

This book, which was co-written by Fort Worth Star-Telegram senior sportswriter and columnist David Thomas, also includes an entertaining introduction by Texas head coach Mack Brown, who was Chizik’s boss during Chizik’s time as a Texas assistant. Some of you may be familiar with Thomas from his earlier book, “Remember Why You Play: Faith, Football and a Season to Believe,” which chronicles the football program at Faith Christian School in Grapevine, Texas.

It should also be noted that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to YouTurn, an organization created by Chizik and his wife, Jonna, to help “nonprofits positively impact the lives of children throughout the state of Alabama.”

In the end, I think that a lot of you, especially the Auburn fans in the audience, will enjoy “All In.” For those of you who aren’t Auburn fans, this book is also worth reading. It might not make you an Auburn fan, but it’ll probably make you a fan of Gene Chizik.