Tuberville on Malzahn

[aubiefifty 16,754]

 The Athletic

“It’s great to see how much Gus Malzahn has solidified himself as the head coach at Auburn. Now there’s no longer any doubt who the coach is going to be since he’s signed a new contract.

He’s really grown as a head coach at Auburn from being an offensive guru to, now, a guy who understood on his own that, hey, I’ve got to start playing defense along with offense.

Everybody talked about his struggles of winning away from campus, but everybody has that problem. You know, I struggled with that. I went to USC and got my tail handed to me in my fourth year in the Coliseum. And then we came back a year later and got hammered by USC again at home. Now, in both years, they were in the championship race. But everybody is going to struggle with big games, especially early in the season.

So when you go on the road, you’ve got to take your best with you, and you’ve got to have some luck on your side. If you don’t take a defense with you, you’re going to struggle. I don’t care who’s on offense; when you go on the road, the defense is really going to set the tone for you.

Gus’ defense has gotten so much better every year that he’s been there, especially with Kevin Steele. You’ve got to have great help with your assistants, and they’ve got to be on the same page with you. But the head coach has to set that tempo.

I was a head coach for 20-plus years, and I always had a lot to learn. And that’s the reason why I think Gus has done such a good job. Gus has shown he’s learned a lot in that head coach position.

He’s understood that scoring 50 points per game in this league is just not going to happen. You’ve got to be balanced. He’s learned how to be a head coach in the SEC. From my perspective, it’s hard. It’s really hard to be a head coach in the SEC because you’ve got to balance everything.

You’ve got to take your hat off to Gus. He realized that, as a head coach, you’ve got to be willing to make changes. He was willing to pull the trigger for the betterment of Auburn. Gus has come to grips with that, and you really have to come to grips with it yourself. Somebody can’t tell you that.

As a head coach, there’s many a day you sit around going, “You know, we can do this or that on offense.” But everything you do has got to match what you do defensively. You’ve got to be able to back it up on defense.

The first game was huge for both Auburn and Washington. National spotlight in the first game for two great teams is a hard game to coach. There are too many unknowns. Offense early in the season is very unpredictable, but you can always count on a great defense early because it’s about great athletes playing hard and fast.

That first half against Washington was outstanding. And then in the second half, you could tell that your defense had to win it for you away from home.

Auburn isn’t an offense yet that can say what they can do in the running game or the passing game. They don’t know it all yet. There are some question marks on offense. But Auburn went in and won it with their defense, which is what you have to do when you’re still sorting things out offensively.

The first two games have really shown how Gus has gravitated toward the Auburn people. And even though he’s had his ups and downs, which everybody has being a head coach in the SEC, you’ve got to win over the people. You also have to understand more of what it’s going to take to win at that one school.

Every school in the SEC is different. If Gus was at another school, he’d have to learn different things. But at Auburn and being in the SEC West, you’ve got to evaluate who you are, who you want to be and who you want to beat.

You’ve got to learn your strengths and weaknesses. He’s played great offense. His experience let him understand real quick that he had to balance his defense with an offense, or else he was going to struggle.

In the SEC, you’re not just going to simply outscore most people. You’re going to have to battle all the way to the end, and your defense has to be as strong as your offense. You need a good running game, a ball-control passing game, hard-nosed, physical defense and a consistent kicking game.

Going into this season, Gus knew last year that he struggled simply because of the fact that he didn’t have the same team heading into the conference championship game and the bowl game as he had early in the year. He lost his running backs and had a different team.

You grow as a head coach, understanding that in this conference — and it takes a while to understand this — you’ve got to have backup plan after backup plan as you go through an SEC season. It’s so physical that your backups have to be a big part of it.

When we won big at Auburn, we always had three or four running backs. They all got carries. And Auburn was great last year with Kerryon Johnson. If they would’ve had Kerryon Johnson, I think they could’ve won it all last year. But injuries happen, and somebody’s got to step in.

That’s why early this year, they’re looking among those young guys for that second, third and fourth running back. To me, that’s where SEC football starts — with defense and depth in your running game. They’ve got a lot of good running backs, and I think that’s going to pay off for Gus as they get down to the middle and end of their schedule this year.

And the offensive line, it’s not what it’s going to be at the end of the year, if they can stay healthy. But after the first week, you see a different lineup. You see different guys coming in. They’ve got a heck of an offensive line coach. J.B. Grimes is one of the best ones in the country. And if he had any hair, he’d be pulling it out. But he doesn’t have to worry about that.

Gus and his team now have LSU this week. LSU is always early in the season for Auburn. It’s a turning point. It’s not the end of the season one way or the other, but it’s going to really set the table for how you coach the rest of the year.

As a coach, you’re always asking, “How good are we? How good are they?” Win or lose, you’ll find out. There’s always things from the LSU game that you will carry into the rest of the season. It’s huge for both teams. You’ll find out where you’re at.

I can remember the 2004 season, we beat LSU on that extra point. We didn’t know how good we were. Gus and Auburn, they don’t know how good they are right now.

But I can tell from watching this team play that they’ve gotten better, and their recruiting has gotten better. Gus has got Auburn playing consistently in the top 10. That’s what you want.

And then you want to be able to pop that one year where, all of a sudden, you’re No. 1.

Tommy Tuberville was a head coach for 21 seasons at the FBS level at Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech and Cincinnati. He was a two-time SEC Coach of the Year and the 2004 AP National Coach of the Year.
 

 

 

[selias 2,398]

Wasn't this behind a pay wall yesterday?

[PoetTiger 1,896]

Good read ..thanks 

[RunInRed 16,383]

No paywall if you dl the app, correct?

[selias 2,398]

Just now, RunInRed said:

No paywall if you dl the app, correct?

Maybe? I just know I tried to read it yesterday from Google News and got locked out.

[aubiefifty 16,754]

1 minute ago, RunInRed said:

No paywall if you dl the app, correct?

i copied and pasted from another site but i did not realize it might have been a pay site. if i am messing up please delete. thanx selias.......rolls eyes.

[aubiefifty 16,754]

sorry red if i am wrong but i refuse to lie about anything. but i promise if it was it was not intentional. i believe the guy posting it had that app because he never mentioned a pay site. should i delete?

[atl-tiger 655]

4 minutes ago, selias said:

Maybe? I just know I tried to read it yesterday from Google News and got locked out.

 

Just now, aubiefifty said:

sorry red if i am wrong but i refuse to lie about anything. but i promise if it was it was not intentional. i believe the guy posting it had that app because he never mentioned a pay site. should i delete?

I saw it yesterday.  If you signed up for their "free trial" you could read the whole article.  

[triangletiger 1,599]

As a follically-challenged individual, I thought this was a great line:

Quote

J.B. Grimes is one of the best ones in the country. And if he had any hair, he’d be pulling it out. But he doesn’t have to worry about that.

 

[tigerfangs 269]

@aubiefifty thanks for posting, enjoyed. 

[LKEEL75 2,566]

This actually touches on something that I was thinking about the other day.  I hate this metric in some regards but in others it is very intriguing. 

Gus's coaching tree.

I hate listening to how all these coaches are from Little Nicky's "coaching tree".  Some spent a year with him as an analyst.  Now those that spent years there learning the process then that makes sense.  So I digress....  My point is there are some great coaches out there NS & Belichick are top of their games.  When someone goes there and really learns from those coaches they are better for it.  When you look up Gus's tree, well....  Not exactly the greatest coaches.  I mean really you have Nutt & Chizik.  Now I think Chizik is a great guy, but he was not HC material at all.  And Nutt, well his name says it all.  CGM has had to basically learn how to run a program with trial and error.  I think he has done a great job considering the conference he plays in, the pressure he is under and the lack of examples that he had to get here.

[alexava 6,973]

Boring writing. Need editor. 

[ToomersStreet 795]

THis is I think the third interview Tubs has done about Gus.  All of them have been very insightful as far has things that have been going on in the past and present with Gus. 

[keesler 5,924]

1 hour ago, LKEEL75 said:

This actually touches on something that I was thinking about the other day.  I hate this metric in some regards but in others it is very intriguing. 

Gus's coaching tree.

I hate listening to how all these coaches are from Little Nicky's "coaching tree".  Some spent a year with him as an analyst.  Now those that spent years there learning the process then that makes sense.  So I digress....  My point is there are some great coaches out there NS & Belichick are top of their games.  When someone goes there and really learns from those coaches they are better for it.  When you look up Gus's tree, well....  Not exactly the greatest coaches.  I mean really you have Nutt & Chizik.  Now I think Chizik is a great guy, but he was not HC material at all.  And Nutt, well his name says it all.  CGM has had to basically learn how to run a program with trial and error.  I think he has done a great job considering the conference he plays in, the pressure he is under and the lack of examples that he had to get here.

Yep - Gus has had to improvise, innovate, create, and learn by trial & error.  He hasn't been able to go back and draw from the well of elite HC's he worked under previously or use their business model to tailor his own program.  (Houston freaking Nutt - good Lord have mercy!)  He hasn't really even had a consistently successful mentor that helped shape who he is as a HC of his own program.  

If he ever finds a way to consistently win at a high level, put his team in competition for championships and win those high end bowls games - he'll be a "self made man" in his profession.  Definitely a goal worth striving for as a relatively young HC.

[keesler 5,924]

18 minutes ago, ToomersStreet said:

THis is I think the third interview Tubs has done about Gus.  All of them have been very insightful as far has things that have been going on in the past and present with Gus. 

If anybody understands the challenges Gus has faced within the (former) AU Administration and the pressure that position carries, it's xCTT.  Many HC's would've told AU to shove it, rather than put up with what TT went through.

[AUsince72 11,084]

14 minutes ago, keesler said:

Yep - Gus has had to improvise, innovate, create, and learn by trial & error.  He hasn't been able to go back and draw from the well of elite HC's he worked under previously or use their business model to tailor his own program.  (Houston freaking Nutt - good Lord have mercy!)  He hasn't really even had a consistently successful mentor that helped shape who he is as a HC of his own program.  

If he ever finds a way to consistently win at a high level, put his team in competition for championships and win those high end bowls games - he'll be a "self made man" in his profession.  Definitely a goal worth striving for as a relatively young HC.

Excellent perspective.

That's why as freaking angry as I get at the #ButGus moments, I try and step back and see all of the awesome stuff he does and means to this program.

There is a lot of trash going on in college football and he keeps Auburn above it.

But looking at it as you just posted makes him even more impressive.

Nice post.

[keesler 5,924]

2 minutes ago, AUsince72 said:

Excellent perspective.

That's why as freaking angry as I get at the #ButGus moments, I try and step back and see all of the awesome stuff he does and means to this program.

There is a lot of trash going on in college football and he keeps Auburn above it.

But looking at it as you just posted makes him even more impressive.

Nice post.

Oh, I've been first in line to beat him down, whine, complain, bitch, moan, etc. about his bone-headed decisions, staffing choices, stubborn as a mule demeanor, and overall management style.  I firmly believe those characteristics have cost AU wins (plural) in the last 5 yrs and it's irritating from a fan's perspective. 

At the end of the day, he's here to stay and I can only hope he's willing to continue to slowly make changes and adjust in an effort to better his program for the future.   

The waters of the SEC are ripe with new blood, and these new HC's are ready to feast - I don't want Gus/AU to be a bala shark suited for a 10 gallon tank when we need to be a great white to navigate waters infested with Fisher/Saban/Smart/Mullen.

[Tiger 8,818]

I have also been very critical of Gus. I knew we were going to have to push through his growing pains upon hiring him but while you're going through those pains they seem much worse than what you thought they'd be like -- I won't detail this any further lol.

But as long as he keeps the recruiting at the level that it's been at he can really become a force as a HC in the SEC and entire country as he gets more seasoned as a HC because he will only be getting better. The coaching tree thing is a very good point, not only is he learning on the fly but both P5 staffs he was on were led by 2 currently unemployed coaches. As noted above by others he has not only been learning on the job but was thrown in the water with his only lifelines being a shoelace* and this guy: 

 

*No ill will towards Chizik -- he's a fantastic man, but if not for Larry Coker he may have been the worst coach to win a national title. And I couldn't care less about that. I will forever be grateful for the national title he gave us.

[aujeff11 6,243]

I’m guessing the Athletic is a thing now and I cannot prolong subscribing. They’ve got a lot of good contributors and they are much different from the lazy Al.com articles that let contextual fluff dominate the articles. 

[keesler 5,924]

If anything, Hootie Nutt brought comedy with his sideline antics and interviews.  The gifs are always hilarious.

Nutt is/was a great motivator and he fielded some decent Arky teams while he was there - sold his soul to get the Gus' & his HS players (5?) combo pack, talked them into staying in-state to play for the Hogs which ultimately didn't work out, but he gave it a shot.  His first couple of years at OM were solid by OM standards until recruiting went in the crapper.

[CleCoTiger 1,957]

6 hours ago, selias said:

Wasn't this behind a pay wall yesterday?

It was free on my Android phone...if you downloaded the app.  It was teased with the first several paragraphs in the Google new feed though. No paywall that I could see.

[Potatooooooes!! 1,370]

Good gracious that man can repeat himself...and ramble...

[Scotty2Hotty 520]

7 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

I went to USC and got my tail handed to me in my fourth year in the Coliseum

Huh?? The game was tied with 1:30 left. 

[The Plainsman 948]

3 hours ago, keesler said:

If anybody understands the challenges Gus has faced within the (former) AU Administration and the pressure that position carries, it's xCTT.  Many HC's would've told AU to shove it, rather than put up with what TT went through.

Whereas I hear you,  coaches simply do not leave Auburn.