Gus says more of a Football Coach and less of an CEO this Season

[AU-24 3,124]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/15199343/auburn-tigers-coach-gus-malzahn-gets-back-coaching-roots

"I'm a football coach, not a CEO," Malzahn told ESPN.com last week. "I probably tried to be too much of a CEO last season. My teams have taken on my personality in the past, and I think we sort of had four or five different personalities last year, all the different coaches' personalities. That's on me. That's my fault. You live and learn, and I learned the hard way last year."

[Barnacle 9,065]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/15199343/auburn-tigers-coach-gus-malzahn-gets-back-coaching-roots

"I'm a football coach, not a CEO," Malzahn told ESPN.com last week. "I probably tried to be too much of a CEO last season. My teams have taken on my personality in the past, and I think we sort of had four or five different personalities last year, all the different coaches' personalities. That's on me. That's my fault. You live and learn, and I learned the hard way last year."

That's as transparent and honest a quote as I have ever seen from Gus.

[PoetTiger 1,901]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/15199343/auburn-tigers-coach-gus-malzahn-gets-back-coaching-roots

"I'm a football coach, not a CEO," Malzahn told ESPN.com last week. "I probably tried to be too much of a CEO last season. My teams have taken on my personality in the past, and I think we sort of had four or five different personalities last year, all the different coaches' personalities. That's on me. That's my fault. You live and learn, and I learned the hard way last year."

That's as transparent and honest a quote as I have ever seen from Gus.

Yes it was

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

Surely Gus was is wrong on this. I know it for a fact that the whole down fall of AU football last year was due to the QB position. It has to be fact, I have read it on here and every other message board. Someone call Gus and tell him that it was not the coaches fault at all. It was just the QBs. Without them we would have had a NC.

[PoetTiger 1,901]

Kozan and Carl had some very interesting comments...very insightful

[Rednilla 5,406]

Surely Gus was is wrong on this. I know it for a fact that the whole down fall of AU football last year was due to the QB position. It has to be fact, I have read it on here and every other message board. Someone call Gus and tell him that it was not the coaches fault at all. It was just the QBs. Without them we would have had a NC.

Quarterback was the primary downfall of the team last year, regardless of coachspeak, but he's right that it wasn't ALL the QBs, and either way the blame ultimately goes to coaching. Personally, I'm glad Gus is owning up to that.

[WarTiger 3,987]

This is exactly how you grow as a coach. When you can publicly admit to making a mistake such as this, it speaks volumes. I'm even more confident in Malzahn to right the ship than I was before after reading that quote. He's still learning how to be a major college coach and this is a huge step in that growth, IMO.

"It wasn't just the quarterback last year," said Malzahn, whose Tigers slipped to ninth in the SEC in both scoring offense and total offense in league games. "I know the quarterback is the focal point and all that. We just didn't execute as a whole, and that falls on me. I tried to be a CEO, and I'm a football coach. I can promise you we'll execute better on offense this year."

[auburn4ever 1,266]

A lot of the blame for how the team last year does go to the head coach.

[WarTim 3,463]

A lot of the blame for how the team last year does go to the head coach.

I am shocked by this.......

[AUGoo 2,671]

This is exactly how you grow as a coach. When you can publicly admit to making a mistake such as this, it speaks volumes. I'm even more confident in Malzahn to right the ship than I was before after reading that quote. He's still learning how to be a major college coach and this is a huge step in that growth, IMO.

"It wasn't just the quarterback last year," said Malzahn, whose Tigers slipped to ninth in the SEC in both scoring offense and total offense in league games. "I know the quarterback is the focal point and all that. We just didn't execute as a whole, and that falls on me. I tried to be a CEO, and I'm a football coach. I can promise you we'll execute better on offense this year."

Have to agree.

Feeling much better about the future all of a sudden.

[alexava 6,974]

I am a Gus supporter. I never acquitted him of fault for last season but I didn't place so much blame that I wanted to fire him either. However I have seen his success in a short period of time and I know he didn't forget how that worked. I mean as an OC he turned AU around into a champion quickly. As a HC he turned a horribly uncompetitive loser into an SEC champion nearly won the NC in no time. I am not sure JJ would have been much better if Gus was more involved, but I think we might have seen a difference in the offense overall and won two or three more games with a better start out of the gate. This statement from him just adds to the confidence I have that he will get it done. I do think what he said about the team taking on his personality makes sense. I didn't play past my sophomore year in HS so those of you with more playing experience might agree and be able to explain that better than I could. But I think Rhett is as knowledgable as Gus in the game planning, implementation, maybe even play calling as Gus is but it is the personality part that the players feed off of that he lacks. So if he did give Rhett more responsibility it was probably not as ill advised as some here made it out to be. I think we will see a difference early this season.

[AUIH1 1,515]

Glad he admitted the obvious. Now just win football games.

wde

[AUbritt 611]

I'm glad he said what he said. But, then, I've never been a fan of the idea that the HC is supposed to be a CEO instead of a coach.

So, where are all those defending the CEO model?

Don't you want to slam Gus for saying he's a coach instead?

[Barnacle 9,065]

I'm glad he said what he said. But, then, I've never been a fan of the idea that the HC is supposed to be a CEO instead of a coach.

So, where are all those defending the CEO model?

Don't you want to slam Gus for saying he's a coach instead?

I'll give it a shot.

By my estimation, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer are the two most successful coaches in the modern college game. I think most would agree that they both fit the "CEO" mold of head coaches. To me, what distinguishes those two coaches from most others is their ability to get the most out of the people around them. Like any good leader, both have adopted a set of ideals, a "mission statement" through which they run their program. In almost every interview that Saban gives, he will give more mention to things like accountability, doing your job, etc. than to any technical aspects of the game. Alabama's entire program is built upon selling out to those ideals first, and then using them as the lens through which everything football related is learned. Not only are Saban's players' indoctrination key to his success, but so are his assistant coaches'. Don't get me wrong, Saban is one heck of a football coach, but I think he has separated himself because he is able to get the most out of everyone around him. His model has been incredibly successful. Urban Meyer runs a very similar program.

That being said, you have to know who you are. Saban is obsessed with the mental aspects of the game. Its the reason why Alabama dedicates a ton of money and resources to sports psychology. Gus just doesn't seem to share the same priorities. That's not a bad thing. You can't prioritize things based upon what you think you need to do to be a successful head coach. You can't prioritize based upon what other coaches do. You need to prioritize around what you do best, and for Gus that's being a coach. He's someone who is obsessed with the technical aspects of the game of football. I would say Gus' "mission statement" would be about the details - because his blueprint for success is predicated upon everything working a certain way on the field. Its about repetition. We've seen what his offense looks like when that's happening.

All coaches are going to be different. I'm just glad that he realizes what he needs to focus on. You can always hire people around you to make up for the areas that you aren't as good at. Hopefully this will be a step in the right direction for the program. Undoubtably it will make him a more effective leader.

[AUbritt 611]

I'm glad he said what he said. But, then, I've never been a fan of the idea that the HC is supposed to be a CEO instead of a coach.

So, where are all those defending the CEO model?

Don't you want to slam Gus for saying he's a coach instead?

I'll give it a shot.

By my estimation, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer are the two most successful coaches in the modern college game. I think most would agree that they both fit the "CEO" mold of head coaches. To me, what distinguishes those two coaches from most others is their ability to get the most out of the people around them. Like any good leader, both have adopted a set of ideals, a "mission statement" through which they run their program. In almost every interview that Saban gives, he will give more mention to things like accountability, doing your job, etc. than to any technical aspects of the game. Alabama's entire program is built upon selling out to those ideals first, and then using them as the lens through which everything football related is learned. Not only are Saban's players' indoctrination key to his success, but so are his assistant coaches'. Don't get me wrong, Saban is one heck of a football coach, but I think he has separated himself because he is able to get the most out of everyone around him. His model has been incredibly successful. Urban Meyer runs a very similar program.

That being said, you have to know who you are. Saban is obsessed with the mental aspects of the game. Its the reason why Alabama dedicates a ton of money and resources to sports psychology. Gus just doesn't seem to share the same priorities. That's not a bad thing. You can't prioritize things based upon what you think you need to do to be a successful head coach. You can't prioritize based upon what other coaches do. You need to prioritize around what you do best, and for Gus that's being a coach. He's someone who is obsessed with the technical aspects of the game of football. I would say Gus' "mission statement" would be about the details - because his blueprint for success is predicated upon everything working a certain way on the field. Its about repetition. We've seen what his offense looks like when that's happening.

All coaches are going to be different. I'm just glad that he realizes what he needs to focus on. You can always hire people around you to make up for the areas that you aren't as good at. Hopefully this will be a step in the right direction for the program. Undoubtably it will make him a more effective leader.

So, you come to praise Gus, not to bury him. Et tu, Barnacle?

[Rednilla 5,406]

I'm glad he said what he said. But, then, I've never been a fan of the idea that the HC is supposed to be a CEO instead of a coach.

So, where are all those defending the CEO model?

Don't you want to slam Gus for saying he's a coach instead?

I'll give it a shot.

By my estimation, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer are the two most successful coaches in the modern college game. I think most would agree that they both fit the "CEO" mold of head coaches. To me, what distinguishes those two coaches from most others is their ability to get the most out of the people around them. Like any good leader, both have adopted a set of ideals, a "mission statement" through which they run their program. In almost every interview that Saban gives, he will give more mention to things like accountability, doing your job, etc. than to any technical aspects of the game. Alabama's entire program is built upon selling out to those ideals first, and then using them as the lens through which everything football related is learned. Not only are Saban's players' indoctrination key to his success, but so are his assistant coaches'. Don't get me wrong, Saban is one heck of a football coach, but I think he has separated himself because he is able to get the most out of everyone around him. His model has been incredibly successful. Urban Meyer runs a very similar program.

That being said, you have to know who you are. Saban is obsessed with the mental aspects of the game. Its the reason why Alabama dedicates a ton of money and resources to sports psychology. Gus just doesn't seem to share the same priorities. That's not a bad thing. You can't prioritize things based upon what you think you need to do to be a successful head coach. You can't prioritize based upon what other coaches do. You need to prioritize around what you do best, and for Gus that's being a coach. He's someone who is obsessed with the technical aspects of the game of football. I would say Gus' "mission statement" would be about the details - because his blueprint for success is predicated upon everything working a certain way on the field. Its about repetition. We've seen what his offense looks like when that's happening.

All coaches are going to be different. I'm just glad that he realizes what he needs to focus on. You can always hire people around you to make up for the areas that you aren't as good at. Hopefully this will be a step in the right direction for the program. Undoubtably it will make him a more effective leader.

I'd say that's a fair synopsis.

[AUIH1 1,515]

I'm glad he said what he said. But, then, I've never been a fan of the idea that the HC is supposed to be a CEO instead of a coach.

So, where are all those defending the CEO model?

Don't you want to slam Gus for saying he's a coach instead?

I'll give it a shot.

By my estimation, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer are the two most successful coaches in the modern college game. I think most would agree that they both fit the "CEO" mold of head coaches. To me, what distinguishes those two coaches from most others is their ability to get the most out of the people around them. Like any good leader, both have adopted a set of ideals, a "mission statement" through which they run their program. In almost every interview that Saban gives, he will give more mention to things like accountability, doing your job, etc. than to any technical aspects of the game. Alabama's entire program is built upon selling out to those ideals first, and then using them as the lens through which everything football related is learned. Not only are Saban's players' indoctrination key to his success, but so are his assistant coaches'. Don't get me wrong, Saban is one heck of a football coach, but I think he has separated himself because he is able to get the most out of everyone around him. His model has been incredibly successful. Urban Meyer runs a very similar program.

That being said, you have to know who you are. Saban is obsessed with the mental aspects of the game. Its the reason why Alabama dedicates a ton of money and resources to sports psychology. Gus just doesn't seem to share the same priorities. That's not a bad thing. You can't prioritize things based upon what you think you need to do to be a successful head coach. You can't prioritize based upon what other coaches do. You need to prioritize around what you do best, and for Gus that's being a coach. He's someone who is obsessed with the technical aspects of the game of football. I would say Gus' "mission statement" would be about the details - because his blueprint for success is predicated upon everything working a certain way on the field. Its about repetition. We've seen what his offense looks like when that's happening.

All coaches are going to be different. I'm just glad that he realizes what he needs to focus on. You can always hire people around you to make up for the areas that you aren't as good at. Hopefully this will be a step in the right direction for the program. Undoubtably it will make him a more effective leader.

I'd say that's a fair synopsis.

I don't think Saban is a true CEO coach at all. I think he absolutely has both hands in the spuat D; especially the DBs. He has learned to let the O go somewhat since hired Kiffen. Saban is quick to make changes when the whole program does not operate to his standards.

wde

[mustache eagle 2,430]

The hands on, "players coach" model and the CEO model both work depending on the type of leadership skills each head coach has.

IMO tubbs was a CEO typed coach. You have to know your own strengths and weaknesses as a leader and then use your best skill sets.

I for one am not a good CEO type leader. I have to be hands on, in the trenches with my employees and I lead by example. My business partner is more of a CEO type leader. We are both effective.

[Rednilla 5,406]

I don't think Saban is a true CEO coach at all. I think he absolutely has both hands in the spuat D; especially the DBs. He has learned to let the O go somewhat since hired Kiffen. Saban is quick to make changes when the whole program does not operate to his standards.

wde

Oh there's no doubt that he is a control freak, but I think he micromanages the coaches more than the players, which definitely fits a CEO style. However, I don't pay too close of attention to UAT, so

[AuburnEagle79 2,171]

Nick Saban does take the CEO role, but don't think for a minute that he isn't heavily involved with the defense and secondary. Very hands on with the secondary.

I love this article. I think it's funny that he said we took 4-5 personalities of our coaches and we had 5 coaches leave and Rhett has been de facto demoted by the OL coach.

[AU-24 3,124]

This is exactly how you grow as a coach. When you can publicly admit to making a mistake such as this, it speaks volumes. I'm even more confident in Malzahn to right the ship than I was before after reading that quote. He's still learning how to be a major college coach and this is a huge step in that growth, IMO.

"It wasn't just the quarterback last year," said Malzahn, whose Tigers slipped to ninth in the SEC in both scoring offense and total offense in league games. "I know the quarterback is the focal point and all that. We just didn't execute as a whole, and that falls on me. I tried to be a CEO, and I'm a football coach. I can promise you we'll execute better on offense this year."

Agree 100%

[AU-24 3,124]

The hands on, "players coach" model and the CEO model both work depending on the type of leadership skills each head coach has.

IMO tubbs was a CEO typed coach. You have to know your own strengths and weaknesses as a leader and then use your best skill sets.

I for one am not a good CEO type leader. I have to be hands on, in the trenches with my employees and I lead by example. My business partner is more of a CEO type leader. We are both effective.

^This^

[cooltigger21 0]

A lot of the blame for how the team last year does go to the head coach.

surely you jest.

[JDUBB4AU 5,140]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/15199343/auburn-tigers-coach-gus-malzahn-gets-back-coaching-roots

"I'm a football coach, not a CEO," Malzahn told ESPN.com last week. "I probably tried to be too much of a CEO last season. My teams have taken on my personality in the past, and I think we sort of had four or five different personalities last year, all the different coaches' personalities. That's on me. That's my fault. You live and learn, and I learned the hard way last year."

I appreciate what Gus said.

[AUCoop79 1]

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

Win football games . That's you're only job and you're getting paid a king's ransom to do it.

Now shut up and perform.