Where did Malzahn fail and get us where we are?

[johnnyAU 3,634]

14 minutes ago, bigbird said:

the biggest is the lack of an ability to evolve his scheme, adjust to personnel, and the insistence that certain players can only do certain things

Completely agree. We should have started out this year as a passing team. Instead, we find ourselves at Amen Corner still uncertain as to our identity on offense. 

No running game to speak of, and 25 passes within 5 yards of the LOS. 

SMH

[Dan-0 479]

1) See the 2016 Clemson game in which we had a shockingly disastrous and ineffective offensive game plan which involved shuffling QBs and.....wait for it... the infamous Whirly Bird.

2) We have talented and experienced receivers all over the field and a QB who, although inconsistent, has shown an ability to get the ball to them when given protection- which our OL can´t do. So what do we do? Throw the same little WR screen over and over in game after game.

3) Overall lack of leadership and inability to fire up his players and staff. A culture of mediocrity has settled pervaded this program.

[AU-24 3,105]

Remember, Jacobs hired a committee to decide our next Coach, the committees decision was Gus. 

[bmartin3228 117]

In my opinion, Gus failed when he went away from an athletic QB is as simple as that. Because he refuses to change philosophy, he has to go this route.  Last year , we had some bulldozers on the line and Kerryon Johnson who was beautiful as knowing when to delay for blocks or go when taking the hand off and not getting negative plays.

Gus maybe put to much stock into Stidham being able to see the field. Oline has been a problem but so has finding easy check down passes, crossing routes ect. They are there Stidham just sometimes fails to find them quick. My opinion Gus is trying to open up run with the WR screen and Jet sweeps which is not a bad idea but like I saw someone say early , everybody knows when these are coming due to personnel on field and same guys being in motion. Other option is to go deep which we did not do at all last night to stretch the field to open up the run.(One time and got a PI)I  have been bothered a lot by the lack of deep balls we have thrown man to man against Slayton and especially Seth Williams. Those to guys will likely win jump ball , or at least break it up 

Gus has been MOST successful when he can open run up with a legit dual threat QB. Nick Marshal has an absolute cannon but was not a good throwing QB . He was a freak of athlete who could do enough to hit open guys and throw a good 50/50 ball. I have not understood why in games we have been up and out of reach that Gus has not put in Willis just to see how things look. Go back to last week against Texas AM when he came in for one play in the red zone , simple hand off but like how UGA has used fields it forces those DE to respect and not crash on RB for a 2 yard loss. 

Gus stubbornness to change for the players he has is what dug his grave. I believe (no insider) that he will be back next year no matter what I hear. Allen said it so its going to happen cause if is doesn't now it looks like (to me) he is being undermined and is not really making the calls. 

Gus needs to get Bryant , or find another JUCO athletic QB for next year to get Auburn back to where is needs to be. Joey Gatewood, I haven't watched him since All American game but he looked to have the IT factor as far as being a freak athlete. Those all american games are almost just like backyard football but its against the top guys in the nation and he was making them look like little boys when he was running the ball. Not a great thrower but again just need someone to distribute well enough to keep defense off balance like Nick Marshall did.

Just my opinion 

 

[bigbird 60,572]

19 minutes ago, AU-24 said:

Remember, Jacobs hired a committee to decide our next Coach, the committees decision was Gus. 

Yeah, the committee chose him.

[Eagle-1 3,821]

5 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

this is a sad time for me. i respect gus as a man and he wants to win as bad as anyone. he loves auburn and i was reminded in a different thread he wanted auburn folks to love him. i would love to see gus get it all together and be the coach we all thought he could be. if he gets the next year i hope people that love auburn would maybe help him correct the things he is doing wrong. at this point i just have too many doubts so i would be shocked if things worked out. but i agree with what dag said in another thread about us being too soft. i agree with that and it hurts my soul.

He loves Auburn alright. To the tune of 49 million dollars. 

Keep drinking the kool aid aubiefifty. If you're the last one off the bus please turn the lights off.

[The Six 39]

Thoughts and prayers with this idea

[Eagle-1 3,821]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

Yeah, the committee chose him.

Thanks. Saved me the trouble.

[doverstutts 1,643]

4 minutes ago, Eagle-1 said:

i agree with that and it hurts my soul.

mine, too....i have nothing personal against malzahn because he has everything going for him as a man,dad,husband,etc....its the coach malzahn that i don't like

[The Six 39]

1 hour ago, AU-24 said:

Remember, Jacobs hired a committee to decide our next Coach, the committees decision was Gus. 

This was the story but no one really believes that. 

[AuburnEagle79 2,169]

I do not believe Gus has failed. His value was inflated. We were all deceived. Big season with Cam. 2013 was like lightning in a bottle. He is an 8 win coach. Some seasons 6, some 10. 

 

I will say, he is very stubborn. When Saban was faced with the adversity of football changing to a fast paced game, he adapted (and whined a little, but whatever). Gus has not adapted. Come hell or high water, he will force his offense. 

[I_M4_AU 7,865]

6 hours ago, doverstutts said:

100% undeniable fact....here is the answer...no background in college football to fall back on....he is clueless on how to adapt and adjust and re-invent himself as the game evolves....he is going to be fired as soon as he finally sucks all of the life out of the football program....this is on AU athletics, not malzahn.....he was not ready

Respectfully disagree on it’s not Malzahn. I do agree he was not ready, but AU athletics knew he was an up and comer and paid him as such hoping he would learn on the job.  Learning on the job requires the learnee to adjust and adapt to the HC position as he progresses through the transition from OC to HC.  Malzahn’s first year was his down fall, he convinced himself he was the second coming of Knute Rockne.  The smartest man in the room.

Auburn Athletics needs to do a little more research into potential HCs and just not go with the “gut feeling” approach they have used in the past. After last night I think Auburn Athletics will get their chance.

[AuMarine 1,372]

3 hours ago, The Six said:

This was the story but no one really believes that. 

JMO.. but I believe Gus knew he would be the head coach at Auburn when he left for arky state. Chizik was in trouble.. Gus knew it.. Jacobs knew it.. they also both knew Gus would be back.. like I said just my opinion. 

[weagl1 1,785]

OL recruiting and development plus not really having a strategy of where he wanted to take the offense is where he has failed miserably.  We have no identity on offense.  What we have is just a hodgepodge of crap thrown together being run by a QB that is more of a pure passer.  Bringing in Bryant and going back to the zone read and RPO we were running with Marshall would probably be a good move.  That also fits Gatewood, Miller and Sandberg’s talent sets.  I don’t know about Nix but I understand he is also dual threat.  

[AU82 127]

I know that Gus will never do it but he needs to bring in a pass offense coordinator with NFL experience and try to mesh it with his running game because he will never change his philosophy regarding the run. That plus get a new offensive line coach.  

[Eagle-1 3,821]

2 minutes ago, AU82 said:

I know that Gus will never do it but he needs to bring in a pass offense coordinator with NFL experience and try to mesh it with his running game because he will never change his philosophy regarding the run. That plus get a new offensive line coach.  

You're right. It ain't happening. In Gus's world There is nothing wrong with his offense, just bad execution. Heckfire, he even has some on this very board convinced of such.

[AuMarine 1,372]

1. OL recruiting and the lack of talent. OL coaches and the lack of coaching ability. Hand and Grimes. This has finally caught up with Gus and it will take years to right this ship. 

2. Poor evaluator of Qb talent. 

3. Being stubborn. Refusing to adapt and continually running the same ole crap over and over expecting different results. 

4. Player development.. it is inexcusable that our back up QBs, rbs, are not allowed to play if by some crazy circumstance they do see the field, their plays are limited. I really wanted Gus to bench Stidham but honestly the backups wouldn’t stand a chance in hell because they are not allowed to run the entire offense. This just blows my mind about Gus and honestly it should tell us (Auburn) all we need to know. 

5. No self scouting whatsoever. If I can sit at home and call the plays .. then it would be smart to conclude that our opponent can do the same. For the love of all that is holy please look at this season and find your tendencies and erase them... come on man it doesn’t take a genius to see this. 

6. Last but not least, I am over Gus. I want to enjoy Auburn football again and to do that Gus needs to go. We need a fresh start all around. ( really wish we could keep Twill  and Gardner ..everyone else can go) As others have said, I feel sorry for the players. 

[WDE0007 166]

I know that many schools have coaches with NFL experience, whether as a player, coach, or both. I know Steele and TWill (and I'm sure a few others I can't think of off the top of my head) do, but maybe Gus should hire more coaches with pro-level experience. He tends to make a lot of "I'll give you a chance in the toughest conference" hires.

[IronMan70 3,277]

As a former Gus supporter I turned neutral before the season, taking a wait and see approach. I still had hopes for this year but I honestly think it's time for Gus to move on. There was a lot of promise but it just doesn't seem to be working out. If he stays another year it will be his 10th year with the AU program as either OC or HC. That is enough body of evidence for the PTB to make a decision. One of his issues has been the ability to recruit to critical needs. In football, it's always been about the OL/DL first and it always will be. We have at least been competitive in those areas, more so on the DL, until this year's OL. But since recruiting is the backbone of any program we need to be realistic about the obvious. 

Let's face it, any new HC will have to compete for recruits with a bama machine and Georgia building one like it. Doing it the "way they do" means they will have 5* RBs on their 3rd string, 5* QBs coming and going like water and deep OLs that are strong as an ox. That said, if we don't want to do "what they do", there are still 10 other teams on our schedule. We should expect to beat them EVERY year (a major Gus issue) and beat bama/uga periodically. If we decide to go their way, most fans don't, we should expect to be undefeated every year. We need to understand the differences in those two choices and temper expectations accordingly. 

[AU-HANDLEY-TIGER 205]

1 hour ago, AuMarine said:

JMO.. but I believe Gus knew he would be the head coach at Auburn when he left for arky state. Chizik was in trouble.. Gus knew it.. Jacobs knew it.. they also both knew Gus would be back.. like I said just my opinion. 

You are exactly right , he wanted to distance himself until Chizik was fired.

 

[DAG 33,997]

I just saw a stat where Gus is 24-24 against power 5 opponents post the kick six? Not good. To me, 2015 really wrecked Gus. I believe he really lost confidence after that year, where he second-guessed everything. I also believe he could feel the tides turn with the fan base. 2016 specifically is when a good majority started questioning him, specifically after that horrid Clemson game. He got some mulligans in the 2015 season due to JJ and 2014 being on the defense. Once 2016 came around, it was exposing season. The guy really doesn’t know how to adapt. Just wish he would humble himself enough to seek assistance. 

[milehighfan 1,240]

I don't actually know if Gus has lost this team but it appears he is trying to hold on for dear life.

If Gus is kept on how will the players respond? How will the PTB at Auburn respond to Gus.

Last but certainly not least, how will recruits respond. I have this terrible feeling it's going to get worse before it gets better.

[DAG 33,997]

3 minutes ago, milehighfan said:

I don't actually know if Gus has lost this team but it appears he is trying to hold on for dear life.

If Gus is kept on how will the players respond? How will the PTB at Auburn respond to Gus.

Last but certainly not least, how will recruits respond. I have this terrible feeling it's going to get worse before it gets better.

I don't think he has lost the team but that shouldn't be a rationale to keep him. Not saying that you are claiming this but I have heard it been said, well the boys are still competing. Okay? Ron Zook players competed for him. So did Les Miles players...those players loved their respective coaches. But UM won a championship with a lot of Zook players. Those same players who loved him but weren't competing at a level they were capable of.

[milehighfan 1,240]

3 minutes ago, DAG said:

I just saw a stat where Gus is 24-24 against power 5 opponents post the kick six? Not good. To me, 2015 really wrecked Gus. I believe he really lost confidence after that year, where he second-guessed everything. I also believe he could feel the tides turn with the fan base. 2016 specifically is when a good majority started questioning him, specifically after that horrid Clemson game. He got some mulligans in the 2015 season due to JJ and 2014 being on the defense. Once 2016 came around, it was exposing season. The guy really doesn’t know how to adapt. Just wish he would humble himself enough to seek assistance. 

Great thought but don't count on it. Gus is never wrong. Don't believe me, just ask him.

[milehighfan 1,240]

Auburn seems to be caught between a rock and a hard place. No matter which way they turn it's not going to be easy.