Malzahn remains in a pretty good position

[aubiefifty 16,740]

nwaonline.com

Like It Is Malzahn remains in a pretty good position

By Gordmans

4-5 minutes

ATLANTA -- It has been more than seven months since Gus Malzahn flirted with the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Razorbacks.

It was a ploy, that went back and forth. Super Agent Jimmy Sexton didn't invent it, he just perfected it.

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He once got Houston Nutt's name mentioned for the Auburn job. No one had contacted Nutt, but Ole Miss took the bait, opened their checkbook and made Nutt wealthy.

So Sexton dangled Malzahn in front of Arkansas, probably spoke of a great homecoming, and the Razorback powers pow-wowed and scraped up as much money as they felt they could pay, which was more than the Fort Smith native was making at Auburn, but not as much as Auburn was willing to pay, at least for now.

Malzahn got a raise to $7.5 million -- he can now buy a Waffle House, his favorite place to eat -- and the truth is he was never coming to Arkansas.

Even as the second program in the state of Alabama, Auburn is in better shape than the Razorbacks. Definitely right now after six hard years of mostly disappointment and frustration.

Malzahn wants to win a national championship and believes he has a better chance of that on The Plains than in the mountains. It is about recruiting territory.

The upside for Malzahn today is he soundly beat arch-rival Alabama last year, 26-14 and he has 13 starters back including quarterback junior Jarrett Stidham and three receivers. In a Spread offense those are really good things to have back.

Yet, after beating the Crimson Tide the Tigers lost to Georgia soundly, 28-7, in the SEC Championship Game and that put Alabama back on the College Football Playoff radar where the Tide won it all.

The Tigers then lost to really talented and self-proclaimed national champions, Central Florida 34-27.

Grumblings among the fans picked up again, but that's the way Auburn is. Like Malzahn, they don't just want to beat Alabama, although that is the No. 1 priority every second of every day, they want to win it all.

Alabama has won five in the last 11 years, Auburn has one.

Gene Chizik led the Tigers to the title in 2010 and was fired two years later. His last season was when Malzahn was the head coach of the Arkansas State Red Wolves.

Malzahn slid into Chizik's office in December of 2012 and has been there ever since, leading Auburn to a 45-22 record including 12-2 his first season when he took the Tigers to the BCS Championship Game and ran out of time, losing the final BCS game before the playoffs were adopted to Florida State 34-31.

He's 2-3 against Nick Saban.

It doesn't seem to bother Malzahn that he's second to Saban, who reportedly makes more than $10 million a year, in Alabama. Malzahn likes money, but his ego is more about winning than who has the biggest lake house.

In some ways Malzahn seems like a perfect fit at Auburn. It's a very religious area and he's a very religious man.

He is competitive, although the 2015 season almost finished him when the Tigers went 2-6 in SEC play and 7-6 overall. A trip to the Birmingham Bowl is not what the Tigers Nation considers success.

Last season all he had to do was beat Georgia for the SEC title and the losses to Clemson, who beats a lot of teams on a regular basis these days, and LSU would have been forgotten and the Tigers would have made the playoffs.

That's what Malzahn needs to do to keep the SEC's most fickle fans happy. He needs to be in the hunt more years than not and that is why he advocates nine SEC games. Change is coming in the playoffs and Malzahn is prepared.

Sports on 07/20/2018

[DAG 33,964]

How we are the most fickle fan base when you got places like UF firing coaches who are wining their divisions? In my lifetime , Auburn hasn’t fired a coach who didn’t have it coming to them.

[Slammer1 409]

For our fickle fans I would like to point out that Nick Saban became a head coach in 1989 at Toledo. Saban had also been head coach at Mich St , Miami Dolphins before going to  bama. Gus has only been a head coach at AU since 2013 save his one year at Arky State and  we almost won it all in 2013 save for FSU's miracle win in the national championship game. Saban is light years ahead of him as far as being a head coach is concerned. I get annoyed with his stubbornness at times but he is still learning how to be a head coach. Saban didn't have any real success until LSU in 2004. He only had moderate success in the pros but I am sure he gained a lot of knowledge from Bill Bellichick.  So guess what I am really trying to say is, "patience grasshoppers". Gus has accomplished a hell of a lot more than the midget did in the short time Gus has been at the helm AND in the SEC!!

PS, Saban also has the REC behind him for recruiting.

WDE

[DAG 33,964]

1 minute ago, Slammer1 said:

For our fickle fans I would like to point out that Nick Saban became a head coach in 1989 at Toledo. Saban had also been head coach at Mich St , Miami Dolphins before going to  bama. Gus has only been a head coach at AU since 2013 save his one year at Arky State and  we almost won it all in 2013 save for FSU's miracle win in the national championship game. Saban is light years ahead of him as far as being a head coach is concerned. I get annoyed with his stubbornness at times but he is still learning how to be a head coach. Saban didn't have any real success until LSU in 2004. He only had moderate success in the pros but I am sure he gained a lot of knowledge from Bill Bellichick.  So guess what I am really trying to say is, "patience grasshoppers". Gus has accomplished a hell of a lot more than the midget did in the short time Gus has been at the helm AND in the SEC!!

PS, Saban also has the REC behind him for recruiting.

WDE

Why are you even comparing Gus Malzahn to Saban? Not a fair or realistic comparison.

[abw0004 10,110]

4 minutes ago, DAG said:

Why are you even comparing Gus Malzahn to Saban? Not a fair or realistic comparison.

This topic has been discussed on here before (I know because I created the topic ), but I think the point @Slammer1 was trying to convey was Saban has had more time to mold into the coach he is today than Gus, that many forget his other head coach stops before Alabama.  That Gus' learning curve has been steeper as he immediately had to go up against the best of the best every year than slowly ramp up to it.  Not a topic I want to rehash again, just trying to clarify for the both of you so it doesn't turn into an argument.  Trying to help two gentlemen out!

[DAG 33,964]

5 minutes ago, abw0004 said:

This topic has been discussed on here before (I know because I created the topic ), but I think the point @Slammer1 was trying to convey was Saban has had more time to mold into the coach he is today than Gus, that many forget his other head coach stops before Alabama.  That Gus' learning curve has been steeper as he immediately had to go up against the best of the best every year than slowly ramp up to it.  Not a topic I want to rehash again, just trying to clarify for the both of you so it doesn't turn into an argument.  Trying to help two gentlemen out!

I know what he is trying to convey but you can’t compare the two. NS did not have the opportunity to walk into a situation as a first time HC that Gus had the opportunity to do. Yes Gus walked into the tough SEC as a HC. Gus also got the opportunity to a coach a team and a program that he already was familiar with, with a lot of freaking resources. You can’t ask for something better than that. NS started his power 5 HC career at Michigan State, so he had to really have a big learning curve to even get them to compete and be successful.

If anything Gus Malzahn story is more complimentary to Dabo Swinney than NS. I don’t anybody has forgotten that trajectory of what NS had prior to Alabama. In fact most people on this board use it as a way to disregard his coaching prowess and now you have people who want to use him as a measuring stick. Which one is it? Lol

[abw0004 10,110]

10 minutes ago, DAG said:

I know what he is trying to convey but you can’t compare the two. NS did not have the opportunity to walk into a situation as a first time HC that Gus had the opportunity to do. Yes Gus walked into the tough SEC as a HC. Gus also got the opportunity to a coach a team and a program that he already was familiar with, with a lot of freaking resources. You can’t ask for something better than that. NS started his power 5 HC career at Michigan State, so he had to really have a big learning curve to even get them to compete and be successful.

If anything Gus Malzahn story is more complimentary to Dabo Swinney than NS. I don’t anybody has forgotten that trajectory of what NS had prior to Alabama. In fact most people on this board use it as a way to disregard his coaching prowess and now you have people who want to use him as a measuring stick. Which one is it? Lol

You both make good points, I was just trying to clarify for you.  That's all I was trying to do.  This is the good time of year for me so I try to keep the peace where I can .  This week I had SEC Media Days , next week I got Shark Week ?, after that Last Chance U , and then Fall Camp !  Good time to be alive!  

[Slammer1 409]

27 minutes ago, DAG said:

Why are you even comparing Gus Malzahn to Saban? Not a fair or realistic comparison.

That's exactly my point !

[ToomersStreet 795]

5 hours ago, DAG said:

How we are the most fickle fan base when you got places like UF firing coaches who are wining their divisions? In my lifetime , Auburn hasn’t fired a coach who didn’t have it coming to them.

Because Jay Jacobs made a bone head hire with CHizik.  Yes Chiz got  more than lucky with Cam and won a NAtty but two years later Jacobs fired him to save  himself.  However, Chizik was fired because 1. he completely lost control of  the program.  The  off the field  issues were so  embarrassing Chizik would probably have been fired even if he had gone 8-4.  2. His players QUIT on him.  

 

However, Paul Finebaum, Danny Sheridan, and every other commentator who said Chizik was an awful hire, and said in 2012 that we need to  part ways with him now likes to  call us a fickle fan base because Chizik had no idea how to run a program.

[WarEagle1983 2,185]

?

[Scotty2Hotty 520]

On 7/20/2018 at 4:43 PM, ToomersStreet said:

Because Jay Jacobs made a bone head hire with CHizik.  Yes Chiz got  more than lucky with Cam and won a NAtty

If it weren’t for Chizik and his staff, Mullen ends up with Cam and we win 7-9 games in 2010 with Turner Gill, who left Buffalo for Kansas and is now at Liberty, sporting a lifetime HC record of 66-78.

Instead, we end up with a Heisman and National Championship. Don’t know about you, but I’ll take 2009-2012 type results every 4 years vs. what Turner Gill has done in his entire 12-year HC career. 

Plus we very likely don’t get Gus as Chizik brought him in. We might have Hugh Freeze instead. It COULD be a lot worse.

Ripple effect. 

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

1 hour ago, Scotty2Hotty said:

If it weren’t for Chizik and his staff, Mullen ends up with Cam and we win 7-9 games in 2010 with Turner Gill, who left Buffalo for Kansas and is now at Liberty, sporting a lifetime HC record of 66-78.

Instead, we end up with a Heisman and National Championship. Don’t know about you, but I’ll take 2009-2012 type results every 4 years vs. what Turner Gill has done in his entire 12-year HC career. 

Plus we very likely don’t get Gus as Chizik brought him in. We might have Hugh Freeze instead. It COULD be a lot worse.

Ripple effect. 

Gives me butterflies

[ToomersStreet 795]

9 hours ago, Scotty2Hotty said:

If it weren’t for Chizik and his staff, Mullen ends up with Cam and we win 7-9 games in 2010 with Turner Gill, who left Buffalo for Kansas and is now at Liberty, sporting a lifetime HC record of 66-78.

Instead, we end up with a Heisman and National Championship. Don’t know about you, but I’ll take 2009-2012 type results every 4 years vs. what Turner Gill has done in his entire 12-year HC career. 

Plus we very likely don’t get Gus as Chizik brought him in. We might have Hugh Freeze instead. It COULD be a lot worse.

Ripple effect. 

Yeah, I also remember Garry Patterson being interested as well.  So  yeah, things could have  been different.

[tbone1430 1,346]

Hopefully he will continue to grow as a HC. While he is a paranoid offensive bookworm guru, he's ours for the next few years or longer. If he strings together a few 10 win seasons I don't see him going anywhere unless he wants to leave. Tubs only had 2 10+ win seasons in 10 years and pat dye only had 4 in 12 years. My main measure is can we be at least a top 15 team? Tubs did it 5 of the 10 seasons, and Dye did it 7 of his 12. Gotta have consistency. If he lets go of the reigns and Chip can do his thing more this year I see good things. That's the difference with how he treats Steele and Chip. He knows he doesn't know defense so he doesn't interfere at all. He thinks he knows everything about offense so he is more hesitant to let go. Granted his offensive accomplishments speak for themselves. But so do his boneheaded times (LSU/running all RB1s into the ground, etc.). Cautiously optimistic but get back to me in November. War Eagle as always.  

[oracle79 3,569]

1 hour ago, tbone1430 said:

pat dye only had 4 in 12 years

He also only had 3 seasons with 5 or more losses in 12 years and those were his 1st and last two seasons.  Gus has already had 3 of those in 5 years.  Hopefully, no more.

[AUsince72 11,084]

8 hours ago, oracle79 said:

He also only had 3 seasons with 5 or more losses in 12 years and those were his 1st and last two seasons.  Gus has already had 3 of those in 5 years.  Hopefully, no more.

^^^ This.

As discussed previously, 10 wins used to be more impressive than it is today.  10 wins used to mean no more than 1 or 2 losses and a probable Conf Champ and/or Bowl victory.

10 wins now is fine but when coupled with 4 losses, No Championship and embarrassing Bowl loss.....it's not really a goal anymore (unless you're talking strictly Regular Season totals).

Hopefully numbers are not the goal but rather "Win the SEC".  

[McLoofus 35,182]

9 hours ago, tbone1430 said:

Granted his offensive accomplishments speak for themselves. 

And boy, are they ever a box of chocolates. 

[WDE427 72]

That’s all fine and dandy with the “patience grasshopper” BUT I or we have been patient for a long time and CGM is still doing the same thing he did in 2010. It wasn’t a “miracle” win for FSU it was gus doing the same thing he was doing in 2017. (1) running the same play over and over ( without cam it would have not worked in 2010, I believe a whole lot of them plays would have been dead if not for him) (2) getting up by fourteen to twenty-one poin and going into clock management mode, no matter what quarter it is (2013). (3) getting one player and riding them till they get hurt and then the backup has no experience (I believe the whole ten wins theory is because when the good season players leave nobody the following year has any playing time). And also since he has been there, he is a control freak. He won’t let the offense coordinator run the offense. I would think as a head coach to grow you learn to change through the years. Not do the same thing year in and year out and let the coordinators you hire do their job. But this is all just my opinion and we all know about opinions. 

[auburn4ever 1,266]

After closing the 2017 season with back to back EMBARRASSING loses (28-7) to Georgia in the SEC Championship game and then (34-27) to Central Florida in the Peach bowl. Malzahn gets a new 7 year $49 million contract.thanks to Jay Jacobs before he stepped down as AD.

[bigbird 60,460]

4 minutes ago, auburn4ever said:

After closing the 2017 season with back to back EMBARRASSING loses (28-7) to Georgia in the SEC Championship game and then (34-27) to Central Florida in the Peach bowl. Malzahn gets a new 7 year $49 million contract.thanks to Jay Jacobs before he stepped down as AD.

Thanks for the recap.

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

13 minutes ago, auburn4ever said:

After closing the 2017 season with back to back EMBARRASSING loses (28-7) to Georgia in the SEC Championship game and then (34-27) to Central Florida in the Peach bowl. Malzahn gets a new 7 year $49 million contract.thanks to Jay Jacobs before he stepped down as AD.

Well, we did bat .500 against last years NCs.

[AUpreacherman22 3,884]

12 minutes ago, auburn4ever said:

After closing the 2017 season with back to back EMBARRASSING loses (28-7) to Georgia in the SEC Championship game and then (34-27) to Central Florida in the Peach bowl. Malzahn gets a new 7 year $49 million contract.thanks to Jay Jacobs before he stepped down as AD.

No offense A4E, but this post is a demonstration of the short-sighted thinking that has gotten AU, and many other programs, in a lot of trouble.  

Unfortunately, live in a world where wins and losses are the most important factor. That’s true.  But it’s not the only factor.

First, when looking at Ws and Ls, we need to look at big picture, not just the last 2 games. We could look at another 2 games and think he’s the best coach ever (only team to beat 2 #1s in a single season EVER!).  The truth is somewhere in between.  The biggest concern with CGM  is consistency.  It is reasonable to believe he is as likely of a candidate to get us there as anyone, and since he’s already here, keeping him is the only thing that makes sense.  

Outside of wins and losses, we look at academics, character on and off the field, PR, recruiting, long term outlook, etc.  In all of those categories, CGM has done very well.  

Lets pray for CGM, that he continues to excel at positively influencing these young men, and that he improves in consistency with game planning/game prep.  

(Another factor to consider is that lil nicky will be retiring soon.  Guess who will be in the best position to take over bama’s position on the throne of the SECW, and even SEC and nation?  AU can/should definitely be in that conversation)

[AUsince72 11,084]

1 hour ago, auburn4ever said:

After closing the 2017 season with back to back EMBARRASSING loses (28-7) to Georgia in the SEC Championship game and then (34-27) to Central Florida in the Peach bowl. Malzahn gets a new 7 year $49 million contract.thanks to Jay Jacobs before he stepped down as AD.

You should have started a whole new thread with this breaking news.

[AUBwins 10,074]

On 7/23/2018 at 1:46 PM, AUld fAUx@ said:

Gives me butterflies

I see what you did there 

[Tiger 8,818]

This is my thinking:

At AU you have to win 5 big time games to be national champions. UGA, Bama, SECCG, Round 1, and then the Championship game. We can possibly get by losing one of the games before playoffs start but we will need outside help.

I don't trust the July 27, 2018 version of Gus to win 5 big games in one season without tripping himself up. Particularly 5 in a row.