aubiefifty 16,791 Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 oanow.com Chip Lindsey has ‘a lot of autonomy’ as Auburn’s offensive coordinator Josh Vitale | AU Writer Follow on Twitter Like on Facebook Auburn offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey coaches quarterback Woody Barrett during spring practice on Feb. 28, 2017, in Auburn, Ala. Gus Malzahn has responded to nearly every question about Auburn’s quarterbacks this spring with a similar answer “Chip, in time, will narrow it down.” “Chip will have a recommendation.” “I’m leaving that up to Chip.” In a lot of ways, Rhett Lashlee was an extension of Auburn’s head coach. He played for Malzahn at Shiloh Christian School in Arkansas and served as either a graduate assistant, quarterbacks coach or offensive coordinator under him in 10 of his 11 years as a coach. Chip Lindsey, nearing the two-month mark of his second tenure on the Plains, seems to truly be Auburn’s offensive coordinator. “I’ve got a lot of autonomy,” Lindsey said. Lindsey has been on Malzahn’s staff before — he was an offensive analyst at Auburn during the 2013 season — but he made his mark in coaching outside of Malzahn’s shadow: He was a successful head coach in the Alabama and Georgia high school ranks, and spent the last three seasons as the offensive coordinator at Southern Miss (2014-15) and Arizona State (2016). Malzahn made it clear when Lindsey accepted the job in January that it would be his offense, and that fact has been evident through Auburn’s first five spring practices Whereas Malzahn might have spent a lot of time around Lashlee and the Tigers’ quarterbacks during past practices, the two open media viewing windows this spring have seen Lindsey working with the quarterbacks alone while Malzahn oversees the bigger picture. When Malzahn has been asked about the quarterbacks or about how the offense might change in 2017, he’s always deferred to Lindsey. Malzahn has even allowed quarterbacks to work with independent coaches when they’re away from the team, something that he’s been reluctant to do in the past but that his new offensive coordinator supports. “We kind of talked about that even before he was hired. He’s very familiar with what we’ve been successful with and he’s just going to add some bells and whistles and some flair to what we’re doing,” Malzahn said. “I really expect our offense to start taking on his personality.” Related Sitting next to just the second offensive coordinator he has ever hired as a collegiate head… That new personality is expected to be more pass-heavy. Auburn’s offense has passed on no more than 37 percent of its plays over the past four years under Malzahn, while Lindsey’s last three offenses all passed on more than 50 percent of their plays. Those changes are still months away from being seen on the field in a real game, but they have been felt in practice: Tight ends, which are expected to see in an increased role, have added more routes to their playbooks, and running backs have worked more on catching the ball out of the backfield than they have in the past. “He’s a quiet guy and he’s going to teach every itty bitty step, every yard marker, every left, right, everything that’s important to you and your success,” running back Kerryon Johnson said. “He's an easy going guy,” right tackle Braden Smith said. “He's trying to get everybody knowing the system better. It's a little bit different with the terminology. It's a little bit different with the wrinkles that are going in. But, I mean, basically, he's trying to get that all installed. I think he's going to do really good things for the program.” It remains to be seen what effects the new approach will have on Auburn’s offense. But through the first three weeks of spring practice, it appears Malzahn is content to allow Lindsey to run the show on offense. “I think we’re just trying to find the right mix of what we want to do,” Lindsey said. “When I was at Troy we were a certain way. When I was at Southern Miss running the offense we were a certain way. At Arizona State we were a little different than Southern Miss. It’s all about the team you have. You build the team around your quarterback and your playmakers, and that’s what we’re trying to do here.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auburn offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey coaches quarterback Woody Barrett during spring practice on Feb. 28, 2017, in Auburn, Ala. Gus Malzahn has responded to nearly every question about Auburn’s quarterbacks this spring with a similar answer “Chip, in time, will narrow it down.” “Chip will have a recommendation.” “I’m leaving that up to Chip.” In a lot of ways, Rhett Lashlee was an extension of Auburn’s head coach. He played for Malzahn at Shiloh Christian School in Arkansas and served as either a graduate assistant, quarterbacks coach or offensive coordinator under him in 10 of his 11 years as a coach. Chip Lindsey, nearing the two-month mark of his second tenure on the Plains, seems to truly be Auburn’s offensive coordinator. “I’ve got a lot of autonomy,” Lindsey said. Lindsey has been on Malzahn’s staff before — he was an offensive analyst at Auburn during the 2013 season — but he made his mark in coaching outside of Malzahn’s shadow: He was a successful head coach in the Alabama and Georgia high school ranks, and spent the last three seasons as the offensive coordinator at Southern Miss (2014-15) and Arizona State (2016). Malzahn made it clear when Lindsey accepted the job in January that it would be his offense, and that fact has been evident through Auburn’s first five spring practices Whereas Malzahn might have spent a lot of time around Lashlee and the Tigers’ quarterbacks during past practices, the two open media viewing windows this spring have seen Lindsey working with the quarterbacks alone while Malzahn oversees the bigger picture. When Malzahn has been asked about the quarterbacks or about how the offense might change in 2017, he’s always deferred to Lindsey. Malzahn has even allowed quarterbacks to work with independent coaches when they’re away from the team, something that he’s been reluctant to do in the past but that his new offensive coordinator supports. “We kind of talked about that even before he was hired. He’s very familiar with what we’ve been successful with and he’s just going to add some bells and whistles and some flair to what we’re doing,” Malzahn said. “I really expect our offense to start taking on his personality.” Related Sitting next to just the second offensive coordinator he has ever hired as a collegiate head… That new personality is expected to be more pass-heavy. Auburn’s offense has passed on no more than 37 percent of its plays over the past four years under Malzahn, while Lindsey’s last three offenses all passed on more than 50 percent of their plays. Those changes are still months away from being seen on the field in a real game, but they have been felt in practice: Tight ends, which are expected to see in an increased role, have added more routes to their playbooks, and running backs have worked more on catching the ball out of the backfield than they have in the past. “He’s a quiet guy and he’s going to teach every itty bitty step, every yard marker, every left, right, everything that’s important to you and your success,” running back Kerryon Johnson said. “He's an easy going guy,” right tackle Braden Smith said. “He's trying to get everybody knowing the system better. It's a little bit different with the terminology. It's a little bit different with the wrinkles that are going in. But, I mean, basically, he's trying to get that all installed. I think he's going to do really good things for the program.” It remains to be seen what effects the new approach will have on Auburn’s offense. But through the first three weeks of spring practice, it appears Malzahn is content to allow Lindsey to run the show on offense. “I think we’re just trying to find the right mix of what we want to do,” Lindsey said. “When I was at Troy we were a certain way. When I was at Southern Miss running the offense we were a certain way. At Arizona State we were a little different than Southern Miss. It’s all about the team you have. You build the team around your quarterback and your playmakers, and that’s what we’re trying to do here.”
DAG 33,982 Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 Gus is starting to trust and act like a HC. This could be the beginning of great things . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoundationEagle 637 Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 1 hour ago, DAG said: Gus is starting to trust and act like a HC. This could be the beginning of great things . This is assuming he doesn't immediately revert to his old ways as soon as the offense sputters. One can hope that is not going to happen, but I'll believe it when I see it. I really hope I get to see it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jared52 4,354 Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 Sounds like Gus is toeing the line he's been given. Good to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WFE12 9,191 Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 10 hours ago, DAG said: Gus is starting to trust and act like a HC. This could be the beginning of great things . seems too good to be true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WarEagleSteve Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 57 minutes ago, WFE12 said: seems too good to be true Gus has shown in the past that he (sometimes) learns from his mistakes. He recognized after the 2014 season that a change needed to be made at defensive coordinator and made it. He recognized after the 2016 season (albeit with an alleged bit of prodding) that a change needed to be made on the offensive side of the ball and made it. I should hope that the Auburn faithful would at least wait until the season starts before deciding that Gus is the proverbial "old dog" in this instance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarEagle1983 2,185 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 On 3/19/2017 at 11:36 AM, FoundationEagle said: This is assuming he doesn't immediately revert to his old ways as soon as the offense sputters. One can hope that is not going to happen, but I'll believe it when I see it. I really hope I get to see it ? I'm of the same opinion. I'm not expecting Gus to say nothing but I certainly hope CL is entrusted to a large degree when the real games kick off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corchjay 5,311 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 There won't be a huge difference in the offense. Things I expect is more balance especially on first down, not going nascar to just go fast, slightly expanded route tree with the TE involved some, but the biggest difference you will see is the RPOs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbird 60,525 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 8 hours ago, corchjay said: There won't be a huge difference in the offense. Things I expect is more balance especially on first down, not going nascar to just go fast, slightly expanded route tree with the TE involved some, but the biggest difference you will see is the RPOs. And passes to the backs that aren't wheel routes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strychnine 1,802 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 9 hours ago, corchjay said: There won't be a huge difference in the offense. Things I expect is more balance especially on first down, not going nascar to just go fast, slightly expanded route tree with the TE involved some, but the biggest difference you will see is the RPOs. I have not seen a need for the offense to be radically different. Lack of balance and a versatile passing attack have been its biggest weaknesses. Give me those two plus better red zone performance, and I will be quite happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUIH1 1,515 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Sounds wonderful. When the real games start, we will get a better indication. wde Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
augolf1716 21,140 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 yep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexava 6,973 Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 17 hours ago, Strychnine said: I have not seen a need for the offense to be radically different. Lack of balance and a versatile passing attack have been its biggest weaknesses. Give me those two plus better red zone performance, and I will be quite happy. If pass protection improves, we are there. That is the biggest concern for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 On 3/22/2017 at 8:15 AM, Strychnine said: I have not seen a need for the offense to be radically different. Lack of balance and a versatile passing attack have been its biggest weaknesses. Give me those two plus better red zone performance, and I will be quite happy. 8 hours ago, alexava said: If pass protection improves, we are there. That is the biggest concern for me. As if beating a dead horse weren't bad enough, Captain Obvious here to do the beating... but having a QB with a brain and 4 limbs that all function moderately well for a full season will be a tremendous advantage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToomersStreet 795 Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 1 hour ago, McLoofus said: As if beating a dead horse weren't bad enough, Captain Obvious here to do the beating... but having a QB with a brain and 4 limbs that all function moderately well for a full season will be a tremendous advantage. So the Scarecrow and Tin-man are out. The wizard turned out to just be an ordinary guy. I don't like this story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 16,791 Posted March 24, 2017 Author Share Posted March 24, 2017 cbssports.com The real differences between Chip Lindsey, Gus Malzahn Brandon Marcello AUBURN, Ala. — Gus Malzahn set out to find an offensive coordinator to challenge him and shake things up. He wanted a play-caller who would implement new plays and inject a portion of their philosophy into his hurry-up, no-huddle system. He also searched for a coach with a proven track record of developing quarterbacks. In the end, he landed Arizona State offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, a familiar face in the state of Alabama after a decade-plus of coaching high school football in the region. While Auburn will look to spice up its passing game, it will do so with a familiar — but underutilized — approach: run-pass option plays. “We’re traditionally one of the best rushing teams in our league and to be able to hurt defenses when they roll an extra guy down and cheat the box, that’s something he’s got a little expertise in.” Malzahn said. “That’s part of it.” Run-pass option plays are relatively simple but difficult to defend because the play is not predetermined from the sideline, leaving the decision whether to run or throw the football to the quarterback. Offensive linemen always block as if it is a run play in an attempt to confuse the defense (and simplify the play for the offense). Still, there’s always an option to run or throw, sometimes with several directions to choose from in a split second. Auburn fans have seen plays out of this concept before: the Tigers’ game-tying touchdown throw from Nick Marshall to Sammie Coates in the final minute of the 2013 Iron Bowl was a run-pass option. Still, it appeared at the time (and in the seasons since) these plays were pre-determined from the sideline, leaving the decision making out of the quarterback’s hands. “We used some non-traditional RPOs,” Malzahn said. Lindsey emerged from the Air Raid offensive tree. He loved to throw the football as a high school coach but that changed through the years. He sides more with RPO plays with a run, play-action philosophy. In other words, it’s similar to Malzahn’s system, but with a few extra flairs and one noticeable difference: a reliance on the quarterback to make decisions. “If you watch his teams now they want to be able to run the football, whether it’s zone read, post-mesh bubbles, throwing the bubble screens and the quick screens and all those kind of things, trying to get the ball out on the perimeter, but also at the same time it’s evolved into a lot of RPOs, so whether it’s pre-snap or post-snap or during the play, I think he’s involved into some of that also,” said Hoover High coach Josh Niblett, who coached against Lindsey. “I think there will be some things Gus will want because Gus is going to want to run the football but also at the same time Chip is a guy — wherever he’s been, he’s been really good offensively. He’s always done a good job of changing with the times and reinventing himself every year and I think guys that do that are guys who stay on top of their profession.” The question is whether Malzahn hands the offense over to Lindsey to allow him to fully implement these ideas and tweak the system. The differences between this spring (and the coaches) is noticeable, players say. “Putting in a lot of passing plays, I guess you can say,” receiver Eli Stove said. “We’re going to be throwing it around a lot.” Lindsey is also developing a more detailed route tree for running backs, which has placed emphasis on the tailbacks in the passing game. Malzahn has maintained throughout the spring he will provide space for Lindsey to operate, and the coordinator has had no problem running the show. “I’ve got a lot of autonomy,” Lindsey said. “I’m glad he’s saying that. that’s good. He’s one of the best that’s ever done it so he’s a guy that I’m going to lean on for sure, but he’s been great with me. We’re doing things the way we want to do it, the way it fits Auburn. The way our offensive staff is doing things, obviously he knows what we’re doing and how we’re doing it and there are a lot of things he really likes. I think we’re just trying to find the right mix of what we want to do.” Not only is Malzahn relinquishing full control of his offense for the first time, he's also letting go of micro-managing the quarterbacks on the field. Whether more freedom means more success remains to be seen. Malzahn's approach worked amazingly well in 2013, when the Tigers led the nation in rushing and advanced to the BCS National Championship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAG 33,982 Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 This all sounds very good . CGM just needs to walk around the field , observing the positional coaches and motivating the team and underlings to align with his philosophy . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milehighfan 1,240 Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 On 3/22/2017 at 6:15 AM, Strychnine said: I have not seen a need for the offense to be radically different. Lack of balance and a versatile passing attack have been its biggest weaknesses. Give me those two plus better red zone performance, and I will be quite happy. Won't we all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oracle79 3,569 Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 CGM should coach his coaches, and off field analysts, etc. Positional coaches should coach the players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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