AUBURN — The way Kodi Burns figured it, he owed Chip Lindsey at least a little bit.

Burns left Arizona State, where Lindsey was the offensive coordinator under head coach Todd Graham, after just one season to return to his alma mater to coach wide receivers. Nobody blamed Burns, and Lindsey certainly never held the decision against him. However, they also didn’t think they’d be coaching together again so soon either.

“Yeah, Kodi left me pretty quick, didn't he?” Lindsey joked earlier this year. “I'm excited. Kodi was here in 2013 with me and he's a bright young coach. I’m just looking forward, really, to working with that whole (offensive) staff. Those guys are men of character, guys you want to be around and you want your kids to play for and I'm looking forward to being around them.”

Burns had an idea that allowed him to make amends to Lindsey for leaving ASU. He invited Lindsey to live with him at his home at Auburn.

“We’re on the same page. I know what he’s thinking, he knows what I’m thinking. I believe in him, he believes in me, so it’s a great work relationship, great friendship,” Burns said.

Lindsey had no place to live in Auburn after he was hired by coach Gus Malzahn as offensive coordinator Jan. 21. In the final stages of recruiting and with his family still in Tempe, Arizona, Lindsey didn't have time to find housing.

Burns' invitation to become a roommate with Burns was an an offer Lindsey couldn’t pass up.

“Every single day we’re going home bouncing ideas off of each other,” Burns said. “Chip is my guy. I went out to Arizona State really to be with him. I believe in everything he’s doing. Obviously, it was a tough decision, but not a hard decision to come back to Auburn. The tough part was leaving Chip.”

With the autonomy to reconfigure the offense, Lindsey's changes to the playbook, including increased run-pass-option passes, was familiar to Burns while at Arizona State. Burns immediately developed a plan to increase the productivity of his inexperienced receiver group in Lindsey’s offensive scheme.

Burns didn’t realize that his house would turn into a hotel of sorts for new staff members. Lindsey since has moved out, but new tight ends/H-backs coach Larry Porter has occupied the guest bedroom after being hired in February.

“They’re like, Kodi is the single guy, throw everybody with me, which I don’t care because we get home late anyway and we go straight to sleep, but definitely it was definitely a fun time with Chip,” Burns said.

Auburn running backs coach Tim Horton, who has been on the Auburn staff since Malzahn took the head coach position in 2013, joked that Burns should be happy to open his doors to new members of the staff.

“Of course, I’ve said that. He’s got that big house all to himself,” Horton said with a smile.

Porter said the family atmosphere among the coaches allowed him to feel comfortable to the transition of his fourth job since 2012.

“It’s a bunch of people that make it clear that they wanted you here just as badly as anybody else,” Porter said. “It’s a group where you know you’ll be spending more time with them than your own family, so it’s a pleasure to work in this type of environment.”