Gus is a not a QB coach

[slipadeedoodah 24]

4 out of the 5 highest scoring offenses in Auburn history have been coached by Gus Malzahn, but sure lets get rid of him..... geniuses... and yes before you try to act like you're smart I know we didn't always play 12 games. Still Tuberville's highest scoring output was 417 points in 2004. Gus has 4 seasons at Auburn where his offense has put up AT LEAST 417 points. Just to put that into perspective.

I know your next question too. My answer to that is. If all Gus Mazahn needs is a JUCO QB to field an elite offense then by all means lets go get him a JUCO QB. It got us more National TItles than whatever Pat Dye was doing.

Oh and 2 out of our 3 highest scoring offenses of all time. Guess who was OC? Lashlee. He was on the staff for the other one by the way.

But some people prefer to make judgments on a smaller sample size and ultimately if you aren't willing to look at the bigger picture then maybe you are beyond reason.

[aubearcat 2,137]

I believe a change at the OC is probably necessary along with moving Craig to QB coach or making sure the OC is also a proven QB coach. However, I also believe that cleaning house completely will be counter productive. Coaching turnover every few years creates a lack of continuity and stability. I think you also have to ask yourself, who would AUburn hire? There are a number of very high profile jobs open as well as several mid-tier jobs. That will definitely dilute the pool from which to choose. Aside from that, many coaches will ask how much support they would truly have at AUburn. Recent history: a coach wins his first 20 games and is forced out 2.5 years later, coach building a strong program and save jet-gate would've been gone, coach wins MNC and is fired two years later, coach plays for MNC and two years later, people want him fired. I agree that there are concerns, however, a total re-start is not the answer in my opinion. Gus is still basically in the early stages of being a major college head coach. I think he deserves at least five years to prove whether he can do it or not.

[PowerOfDixieland 3,226]

Yes, metafour, mental issues. You said it yourself "Top 100 recruit with NFL physical tools..." Yet he can't hit the broad side of a barn 10 yards downfield. That's not coaching, that's a mental problem.

Jeremy Johnson made zero obvious "mental" mistakes yesterday. Throwing a ball two feet over a receiver's head isn't mental; it is mechanical and it stems from his complete breakdown of mechanics. His mechanics have been a known problem since HS, which obviously haven't been rectified here.

This should be relatively obvious. I'm no QB guru, but I know throwing mechanics (particularly baseball but they're almost identical). When a pitcher's front side "opens up" too early his pitches will always be high and away to the throwing arm side. Johnson's feet are pretty lazy fundamentally, almost always starting open and not allowing the shoulders and hips to stay in sync with the throwing arm. The "big arm" compensates only for velocity and cannot be accurate if the lower half of the body isn't fundamentally sound. Why hasn't this been corrected?

[AUIH1 1,515]

NONE of that changes the fact that the offense was light years better in 2009 than it was in 2008

It was light years better than a complete s***-show. That means literally nothing with regards to proving that it is all of a sudden good enough to compete for SEC/National titles.

and that Chris Todd set Auburn records that year.

Dear god, the "set records" argument is so stupid. This is a football team that has been run-run-run-run heavy since its inception. Setting passing records for this school was NOT a difficult task. Any successful spread-style offense would have set records here in 2009. We could have named Tony Franklin HC in 2009 and I guarantee he would have set records as well. The records were EASY to break, it just required a more pass-oriented offense which wasn't predicated towards "grinding the game out".

And it looks like another WarTiger hit and quit show when called out? LOL Well done metafour.

wde

[augolf1716 21,130]

Who really knows what's going on with the offense but it is scary to see coaches thinking that a gimpy SW was a step-up at QB during a crucial time in the game.

Maybe I'm the only one who thinks this but SW is being badly miss-used .....playing him while he is gimpy is just setting him up for a bigger injury because he is not quick enough to avoid the rush and get out of trouble.

Sure his knee might not be at risk for worse damage but to have him back there as a sitting duck when everyone in the stadium knows his limits. Some big DE or LB is going to crush him and ruin his shoulder or elbow with a big hit.....that's unconscionable IMO.

This season is going nowhere....might as well protect the kid's health and go back to Wallace or run the old single wing with Kerryon or Jason.

I agree and it worries me Gus would even think about playing him in those situations against a good UGA defense

[AUIH1 1,515]

Who really knows what's going on with the offense but it is scary to see coaches thinking that a gimpy SW was a step-up at QB during a crucial time in the game.

Maybe I'm the only one who thinks this but SW is being badly miss-used .....playing him while he is gimpy is just setting him up for a bigger injury because he is not quick enough to avoid the rush and get out of trouble.

Sure his knee might not be at risk for worse damage but to have him back there as a sitting duck when everyone in the stadium knows his limits. Some big DE or LB is going to crush him and ruin his shoulder or elbow with a big hit.....that's unconscionable IMO.

This season is going nowhere....might as well protect the kid's health and go back to Wallace or run the old single wing with Kerryon or Jason.

I agree and it worries me Gus would even think about playing him in those situations against a good UGA defense

Seems like a Duh thing, but I think we have a Duh HC.

wde

[auburn4ever 1,266]

Gus may not be the QB coach, but he IS the head coach. And because of that, it all starts with him. After all, Gus hired Rhett.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

BTW, Georgia does NOT have a good defense. Some teams just make their defense look a lot better then what it really is.

[tiger88 934]

BTW, Georgia does NOT have a good defense. Some teams just make their defense look a lot better then what it really is.

That is rock solid logic there. They probably aren't "really" a 7-3 team either, alot a OC's and coaches probably work half days against them like ours did. Richt must be living right.

[AUbritt 611]

Georgia has a good D. We still should've won the game.

[FoundationEagle 637]

Georgia is ranked 14th in scoring defense.

[FoundationEagle 637]

Gus may not be the QB coach, but he IS the head coach. And because of that, it all starts with him. After all, Gus hired Rhett.

He did hire Rhett, of course 2 out of the last 3 years had explosive offenses so there is that as well.

[tbone4jc 2,241]

I agree in general with your post, but here's the problem:

Name an OC that would come into a system and

not be allowed to institute his offense. He will have to run Gus's offense and put new wrinkles into it. To put it frankly, this person would not be a coach but rather a consultant. No one with any ambition of long term success would be willing to do that.

Gus must be willing to CHANGE his offense to

match a new OC. This situation wreaks of what occurred b/w Gus and Nutt. Gus was merely a consultant. That's why he left.

I'm sorry but that is not right. Every HC has an area of experience and philosphy on one sideof the ball. Do you think Saban is going to hire a DC that changes his defensive philosphy? Or a Art Bryles at Baylor change his O for a coordnator? Even Gene Chizik had a defensive philosophy his DC agreed with.

Nearly every head coach had a their own philosophy as a coordinator that was successful. That is why they are a HC.

Gus needs to do some serious reckoning and decide what to do. We need a higher level of big time cfb level experience on our O staff afa overall management and playcalling goes.

I would think it would be hard to find a proven person to come in and learn his system and run it. When they went over the passing schemes, they'd probably walk out at that point thinking, "that is some stupid ####." However, I am guessing, maybe he could.

It just seems like with the gus and rhett plan, it's wait every 10 years for the stars to align and no one to get hurt and we get that once in a decade qb and we are on for a great year!

Yet, we see OSU win it all with their 3rd string qb playing his 2nd game last year. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Looks like some teams have not just a plan b, but a plan c, and perhaps beyond.

Gus needs help.

Wrong. If not for Ezekiel (?) Elliott OSU would not have beaten uat

[tiger88 934]

I agree in general with your post, but here's the problem:

Name an OC that would come into a system and

not be allowed to institute his offense. He will have to run Gus's offense and put new wrinkles into it. To put it frankly, this person would not be a coach but rather a consultant. No one with any ambition of long term success would be willing to do that.

Gus must be willing to CHANGE his offense to

match a new OC. This situation wreaks of what occurred b/w Gus and Nutt. Gus was merely a consultant. That's why he left.

I'm sorry but that is not right. Every HC has an area of experience and philosphy on one sideof the ball. Do you think Saban is going to hire a DC that changes his defensive philosphy? Or a Art Bryles at Baylor change his O for a coordnator? Even Gene Chizik had a defensive philosophy his DC agreed with.

Nearly every head coach had a their own philosophy as a coordinator that was successful. That is why they are a HC.

Gus needs to do some serious reckoning and decide what to do. We need a higher level of big time cfb level experience on our O staff afa overall management and playcalling goes.

I would think it would be hard to find a proven person to come in and learn his system and run it. When they went over the passing schemes, they'd probably walk out at that point thinking, "that is some stupid ####." However, I am guessing, maybe he could.

It just seems like with the gus and rhett plan, it's wait every 10 years for the stars to align and no one to get hurt and we get that once in a decade qb and we are on for a great year!

Yet, we see OSU win it all with their 3rd string qb playing his 2nd game last year. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Looks like some teams have not just a plan b, but a plan c, and perhaps beyond.

Gus needs help.

Wrong. If not for Ezekiel (?) Elliott OSU would not have beaten uat

Wtf does that have to do with the point I am making? There are more than a few players OSU wouldn't have won without that night and Cardale Jones is one of them. Their 3rd string qb played a very good game all things considered. He had multiple impact plays that turned the game when they needed them most.

My point was some teams can put in their 2nd and third string freshman qb and not miss a beat while we seem to need the stars to allign perfectly and a stud qb to go nearly injury free to pull off a really good year. So far this year we've had one qb poop the bed, one not be ready, improve steadily and get hurt, and no plan c due to injury. Plus the rest of the O has been a bit of a mess but is coming along.

My overall point was Gus needs some help.

[cole256 17,065]

BTW, Georgia does NOT have a good defense. Some teams just make their defense look a lot better then what it really is.

Now that's deep....

[Mikey 16,597]

Gus is the OC and will continue to be the OC as long as he's the head coach. Just as Tuberville was the DC. Hiring some OC from outside will not matter one small bit.

Although it has been covered a couple of times above, those questioning the mental issue condition need to read a book by Pat Jordan "A False Spring". Skilled, well-coached and experienced athletes suddenly becoming unable to perform is a thing that happens.

[tiger88 934]

Gus is the OC and will continue to be the OC as long as he's the head coach. Just as Tuberville was the DC. Hiring some OC from outside will not matter one small bit.

Although it has been covered a couple of times above, those questioning the mental issue condition need to read a book by Pat Jordan "A False Spring". Skilled, well-coached and experienced athletes suddenly becoming unable to perform is a thing that happens.

Semantics are important. Tuberville dictated what type of D was run. If he was the DC he was the most passive DC I've seen in some games.

I think Gus is more involved in the game time operation of the offense than tubs was of the D, and he definitely dictates what type of O is run.

Mikey, just because what you mention is a thing that happens doesn't mean it is what is happening here. Do you have some game footage or direct knowledge of him exhibiting awesome footwork and mechanics on a regular basis? He could also have simple performance anxiety. Who knows right now?

[AU64 10,122]

I agree in general with your post, but here's the problem:

Name an OC that would come into a system and

not be allowed to institute his offense. He will have to run Gus's offense and put new wrinkles into it. To put it frankly, this person would not be a coach but rather a consultant. No one with any ambition of long term success would be willing to do that.

Gus must be willing to CHANGE his offense to

match a new OC. This situation wreaks of what occurred b/w Gus and Nutt. Gus was merely a consultant. That's why he left.

I'm sorry but that is not right. Every HC has an area of experience and philosphy on one sideof the ball. Do you think Saban is going to hire a DC that changes his defensive philosphy? Or a Art Bryles at Baylor change his O for a coordnator? Even Gene Chizik had a defensive philosophy his DC agreed with.

Nearly every head coach had a their own philosophy as a coordinator that was successful. That is why they are a HC.

Gus needs to do some serious reckoning and decide what to do. We need a higher level of big time cfb level experience on our O staff afa overall management and playcalling goes.

I would think it would be hard to find a proven person to come in and learn his system and run it. When they went over the passing schemes, they'd probably walk out at that point thinking, "that is some stupid ####." However, I am guessing, maybe he could.

It just seems like with the gus and rhett plan, it's wait every 10 years for the stars to align and no one to get hurt and we get that once in a decade qb and we are on for a great year!

Yet, we see OSU win it all with their 3rd string qb playing his 2nd game last year. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Looks like some teams have not just a plan b, but a plan c, and perhaps beyond.

Gus needs help.

Wrong. If not for Ezekiel (?) Elliott OSU would not have beaten uat

Wtf does that have to do with the point I am making? There are more than a few players OSU wouldn't have won without that night and Cardale Jones is one of them. Their 3rd string qb played a very good game all things considered. He had multiple impact plays that turned the game when they needed them most.

My point was some teams can put in their 2nd and third string freshman qb and not miss a beat while we seem to need the stars to allign perfectly and a stud qb to go nearly injury free to pull off a really good year. So far this year we've had one qb poop the bed, one not be ready, improve steadily and get hurt, and no plan c due to injury. Plus the rest of the O has been a bit of a mess but is coming along.

My overall point was Gus needs some help.

Pointing out the ginormous flaw in you logic. Before Braxton Miller went down the offensive identify had been established as a run heavy , option qb offense with a threat of throwing. This season we had potential to be great but disaster happened in 3 phases. Gus doesn't need help. He needs a competent qb that can be a threat to throw more then 5-10 yards

That's on Gus too of course. Only 2 deep at QB to start the season?...who would ever do that?

[tmjiv 0]

Boloney and more baloney. Gus has totally lost his way and has no idea who he is. A stable of 2 great running backs and he cannot figure out what to do when he cannot throw that ball? My 10 year old knows there are only 2 phases to the offensive game. I'm so very tired of hearing the excuse that we simply don't have an effective QB. This is a play calling and players used problem.

AND putting in Sean while holding out Tray for an ankle shows poor poor judgement for O players safety and desperation while the D side knows what is important.

[Mikey 16,597]

I agree in general with your post, but here's the problem:

Name an OC that would come into a system and

not be allowed to institute his offense. He will have to run Gus's offense and put new wrinkles into it. To put it frankly, this person would not be a coach but rather a consultant. No one with any ambition of long term success would be willing to do that.

Gus must be willing to CHANGE his offense to

match a new OC. This situation wreaks of what occurred b/w Gus and Nutt. Gus was merely a consultant. That's why he left.

I'm sorry but that is not right. Every HC has an area of experience and philosphy on one sideof the ball. Do you think Saban is going to hire a DC that changes his defensive philosphy? Or a Art Bryles at Baylor change his O for a coordnator? Even Gene Chizik had a defensive philosophy his DC agreed with.

Nearly every head coach had a their own philosophy as a coordinator that was successful. That is why they are a HC.

Gus needs to do some serious reckoning and decide what to do. We need a higher level of big time cfb level experience on our O staff afa overall management and playcalling goes.

I would think it would be hard to find a proven person to come in and learn his system and run it. When they went over the passing schemes, they'd probably walk out at that point thinking, "that is some stupid ####." However, I am guessing, maybe he could.

It just seems like with the gus and rhett plan, it's wait every 10 years for the stars to align and no one to get hurt and we get that once in a decade qb and we are on for a great year!

Yet, we see OSU win it all with their 3rd string qb playing his 2nd game last year. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Looks like some teams have not just a plan b, but a plan c, and perhaps beyond.

Gus needs help.

Wrong. If not for Ezekiel (?) Elliott OSU would not have beaten uat

Wtf does that have to do with the point I am making? There are more than a few players OSU wouldn't have won without that night and Cardale Jones is one of them. Their 3rd string qb played a very good game all things considered. He had multiple impact plays that turned the game when they needed them most.

My point was some teams can put in their 2nd and third string freshman qb and not miss a beat while we seem to need the stars to allign perfectly and a stud qb to go nearly injury free to pull off a really good year. So far this year we've had one qb poop the bed, one not be ready, improve steadily and get hurt, and no plan c due to injury. Plus the rest of the O has been a bit of a mess but is coming along.

My overall point was Gus needs some help.

Pointing out the ginormous flaw in you logic. Before Braxton Miller went down the offensive identify had been established as a run heavy , option qb offense with a threat of throwing. This season we had potential to be great but disaster happened in 3 phases. Gus doesn't need help. He needs a competent qb that can be a threat to throw more then 5-10 yards

That's on Gus too of course. Only 2 deep at QB to start the season?...who would ever do that?

Who would do that? A coach whose #3 QB had to have arm surgery over the summer.

[tbone4jc 2,241]

Boloney and more baloney. Gus has totally lost his way and has no idea who he is. A stable of 2 great running backs and he cannot figure out what to do when he cannot throw that ball? My 10 year old knows there are only 2 phases to the offensive game. I'm so very tired of hearing the excuse that we simply don't have an effective QB. This is a play calling and players used problem.

AND putting in Sean while holding out Tray for an ankle shows poor poor judgement for O players safety and desperation while the D side knows what is important.

So, what's your solution? Fire Gus? Last season our defense cost us many games and the head coach made changes. Now the defense is getting better but still cost us a couple wins this season. I try and see the point of view that Gus is washed up but it's not true. Does he make questionable calls in games? Yes. I scratch my head sometimes along with everyone else. Unfortunately, play calls that players don't execute get misdiagnosed as bad coaching or bad play calling. Gus will be here next year, the offense will be rolling and the defense will be rocking and all this fire Gus nonsense will all be forgotten. I done. War Eagle

[Timeslider 6 269]

I can see both sides of this argument, Gus has had some injuries that has impacted the team's performance and at the same time he has made some mistakes with the play-calling. But all that is not the problem, the problem is where do we go from here and does Gus have a decent idea about what to do to save the rest of the season. I believe he does.

[Mims44 1,869]

Boloney and more baloney. Gus has totally lost his way and has no idea who he is. A stable of 2 great running backs (we got 1 not two) and he cannot figure out what to do when he cannot throw that ball? My 10 year old knows there are only 2 phases to the offensive game (Your son should also know then that success in 1 phase is a lot of times predicated on the threat or perceived threat of success with the other phase). I'm so very tired of hearing the excuse that we simply don't have an effective QB. This is a play calling and players used problem.

AND putting in Sean while holding out Tray for an ankle shows poor poor judgement for O players safety and desperation while the D side knows what is important.

So, what's your solution? Fire Gus? Last season our defense cost us many games and the head coach made changes. Now the defense is getting better but still cost us a couple wins this season. I try and see the point of view that Gus is washed up but it's not true. Does he make questionable calls in games? Yes. I scratch my head sometimes along with everyone else. Unfortunately, play calls that players don't execute get misdiagnosed as bad coaching or bad play calling. Gus will be here next year, the offense will be rolling and the defense will be rocking and all this fire Gus nonsense will all be forgotten. I done. War Eagle

Agreed TBone, bad seasons happen now and then.

And doomsayers are doomsayers, because... they say doom.

[AU64 10,122]

I agree in general with your post, but here's the problem:

Name an OC that would come into a system and

not be allowed to institute his offense. He will have to run Gus's offense and put new wrinkles into it. To put it frankly, this person would not be a coach but rather a consultant. No one with any ambition of long term success would be willing to do that.

Gus must be willing to CHANGE his offense to

match a new OC. This situation wreaks of what occurred b/w Gus and Nutt. Gus was merely a consultant. That's why he left.

I'm sorry but that is not right. Every HC has an area of experience and philosphy on one sideof the ball. Do you think Saban is going to hire a DC that changes his defensive philosphy? Or a Art Bryles at Baylor change his O for a coordnator? Even Gene Chizik had a defensive philosophy his DC agreed with.

Nearly every head coach had a their own philosophy as a coordinator that was successful. That is why they are a HC.

Gus needs to do some serious reckoning and decide what to do. We need a higher level of big time cfb level experience on our O staff afa overall management and playcalling goes.

I would think it would be hard to find a proven person to come in and learn his system and run it. When they went over the passing schemes, they'd probably walk out at that point thinking, "that is some stupid ####." However, I am guessing, maybe he could.

It just seems like with the gus and rhett plan, it's wait every 10 years for the stars to align and no one to get hurt and we get that once in a decade qb and we are on for a great year!

Yet, we see OSU win it all with their 3rd string qb playing his 2nd game last year. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Looks like some teams have not just a plan b, but a plan c, and perhaps beyond.

Gus needs help.

Wrong. If not for Ezekiel (?) Elliott OSU would not have beaten uat

Wtf does that have to do with the point I am making? There are more than a few players OSU wouldn't have won without that night and Cardale Jones is one of them. Their 3rd string qb played a very good game all things considered. He had multiple impact plays that turned the game when they needed them most.

My point was some teams can put in their 2nd and third string freshman qb and not miss a beat while we seem to need the stars to allign perfectly and a stud qb to go nearly injury free to pull off a really good year. So far this year we've had one qb poop the bed, one not be ready, improve steadily and get hurt, and no plan c due to injury. Plus the rest of the O has been a bit of a mess but is coming along.

My overall point was Gus needs some help.

Pointing out the ginormous flaw in you logic. Before Braxton Miller went down the offensive identify had been established as a run heavy , option qb offense with a threat of throwing. This season we had potential to be great but disaster happened in 3 phases. Gus doesn't need help. He needs a competent qb that can be a threat to throw more then 5-10 yards

That's on Gus too of course. Only 2 deep at QB to start the season?...who would ever do that?

Who would do that? A coach whose #3 QB had to have arm surgery over the summer.

Gave him time to get a #3 ready however...and bet they knew Queen needed surgery weeks or more before it took place. Basically it seems that believed that JJ was the man.....and if he needed a breathing spell, SW could do that. ....and never even considered the possibility of what we are experiencing....and unless they are hiding something, there is still not a #3 ready to play.....otherwise they would not have put a crippled SW into the game last week. the 5Ps demonstrated for all of us to see.

[PigskinPat 2,579]

Considering our recent success with Juco QB's, maybe we should look at offering this young man so we'll have a "backup" plan?

http://www.ibabuzz.com/beartalk/2015/10/20/football-cal-offers-jc-touchdown-machine/