Malzahn: "I love Auburn. I want them to do well."

[abw0004 10,134]

Classy response from Gus.  I don't see Harsin ever saying that.  Per SDS:

Gus Malzahn knows enough about the culture at Auburn to offer Hugh Freeze some advice on how to navigate his new job.

For example, while Freeze maintains he and Nick Saban remain good friends, Malzahn offers some wisdom.

“It’ll take just one Iron Bowl,” said Malzahn, who now coaches UCF after he led Auburn for 8 years, in an interview with Brandon Marcello of 247Sports. “That’ll change everything, let’s put it that way.”

No matter how the relationship ended, Malzahn still supports Auburn, especially with his friend Freeze at the helm. He’s even shared with Freeze of Auburn’s deepest recruiting beds with the best connections.

Malzahn is just one of 3 former Auburn coaches, including Gene Chizik and Tommy Tuberville, to still own homes inside or just outside Auburn’s city limits.

“I love Auburn. I want them to do well and the fact one of my friends is the head coach, any help he needs, I want to give,” says Malzahn, who still owns a home at nearby Lake Martin. “It’s just an unbelievable place. It’s kind of hard to explain, but if you go on the campus, you just feel it. The good thing about Hugh is he’s coached against Auburn numerous times, so he has a good feel from the outside.”

Edited April 11, 2023 by abw0004

[AUApostle 7,663]

Regarding “I don’t see Harsin ever saying that”.

Typical AU fan opinion on Gus: It’s not working out. You gave us some good times but you’re not what we need in order to grow the program.

Typical AU fan opinion on Harsin: Get the !$@& out of here! Now!

[shabby 1,958]

1 hour ago, AUDevil said:

Regarding “I don’t see Harsin ever saying that”.

Typical AU fan opinion on Gus: It’s not working out. You gave us some good times but you’re not what we need in order to grow the program.

Typical AU fan opinion on Harsin: Get the !$@& out of here! Now!

Baffled that you don't see the clear difference between Malzahn and Harsin. 

[ScotsAU 1,343]

1 hour ago, shabby said:

Baffled that you don't see the clear difference between Malzahn and Harsin. 

I don’t think he’s being insulting. I think what he’s saying is that a lot of Auburn people loved Gus but just felt it was time to move on, while everyone rightfully hated Harsin. 

Edited April 11, 2023 by ScotsAU

[Win4AU 4,055]

I'd love Auburn too if they made me a bajillionare.  Probably retire on Lake Martin with Tubs, Chizik, and Hugh one day.

[DAG 34,034]

36 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

I'd love Auburn too if they made me a bajillionare.  Probably retire on Lake Martin with Tubs, Chizik, and Hugh one day.

Exactly lol. 

[AU-24 3,118]

Class act!

[Sizzle 3,920]

12 hours ago, Win4AU said:

I'd love Auburn too if they made me a bajillionare.  Probably retire on Lake Martin with Tubs, Chizik, and Hugh one day.

Auburn made Harsin a bajillionare too and I doubt he’ll ever say the name “Auburn” again in his life 

[AuburnNTexas 7,198]

Gus was, is and always has been a class act. My only issue with Gus was he did not evolve enough as a coach. His Offense was the rage two things changed that Defenses caught up and rule changes hurt the speed he could run his offense. He had to constantly bring in offense players as he had one group of players for one play and another for another play which allowed defenses to substitute.

Other coaches took some of the things Gus developed and added things from other offenses for a more evolved hybrid type offense Gus basically did not change enough.

Gus is a good human being, he always ran a clean program and he was involved in some of Auburn's best moments. I will always be glad that Gus came to Auburn and I will always respect him but it was time for him to leave as Auburn was not going to get better under Gus.

[kevon67 2,368]

1 hour ago, Sizzle said:

Auburn made Harsin a bajillionare too and I doubt he’ll ever say the name “Auburn” again in his life 

That's a good thing as his time here will soon be forgotten. I honestly could give a sheet on how or where he lands or his future.

 

[AUpreacherman22 3,892]

I love Gus.   He is a really good guy!   He was good for us in a lot of ways!!!  
His career here had its ups and downs, but 2010 and 2013 were two of the most fun and successful seasons we’ve ever had!   I will always wish Gus the best in everything he does.   
 

I have no comments on the other guy.   

 

[tbone4jc 2,241]

Who was this Harsin fella? 

[cbo 7,975]

Easy to say bad things about Gus as a coach. Hard to say anything bad about him as a person. 

Can't think of one positive thing to say about Harsin. 

[AUpreacherman22 3,892]

2 hours ago, cbo said:

Can't think of one positive thing to say about Harsin

He’s gone. 

[alexava 6,973]

On 4/12/2023 at 9:11 AM, Sizzle said:

Auburn made Harsin a bajillionare too and I doubt he’ll ever say the name “Auburn” again in his life 

Auburn also tried to get away from paying the bajillion by making up some dirty shat on him. I don’t blame him at all for not mentioning auburn. 

[Rednilla 5,401]

On 4/11/2023 at 2:26 PM, abw0004 said:

I don't see Harsin ever saying that.

I doubt it, but then he didn't have the kind of success Gus did while at Auburn to have felt the love of the fan base the same way, so it's not exactly the same situation.

[Rednilla 5,401]

On 4/12/2023 at 10:26 AM, kevon67 said:

That's a good thing as his time here will soon be forgotten. I honestly could give a sheet on how or where he lands or his future.

 

I've got a feeling he's going to be remembered in the same light as Doug Barfield. Gus didn't coach as long as Shug, but had a similar path on a shorter scale, and Freeze has turned up the fire on recruiting in much the same way Pat Dye did as Barfield's successor. Hopefully, he'll have similar on-field success, as well.

[abw0004 10,134]

18 minutes ago, Rednilla said:

I doubt it, but then he didn't have the kind of success Gus did while at Auburn to have felt the love of the fan base the same way, so it's not exactly the same situation.

Even if Harsin had the same level of success, I still don't think he would ever say this.  It's not in his personality.  That's my opinion of course. 

[Rednilla 5,401]

1 hour ago, abw0004 said:

Even if Harsin had the same level of success, I still don't think he would ever say this.  It's not in his personality.  That's my opinion of course. 

Perhaps not in those words, but had we (Auburn) and Harsin endeared ourselves to one another, I feel confident he would express fondness for the program. The problem is that he was just never the right fit. 

But he's gone. I think we should wish him well and move on. Just my two cents.

[abw0004 10,134]

1 minute ago, Rednilla said:

Perhaps not in those words, but had we (Auburn) and Harsin endeared ourselves to one another, I feel confident he would express fondness for the program. The problem is that he was just never the right fit. 

But he's gone. I think we should wish him well and move on. Just my two cents.

That is fair.

[penguin149 391]

7 hours ago, alexava said:

Auburn also tried to get away from paying the bajillion by making up some dirty shat on him. I don’t blame him at all for not mentioning auburn. 

Not completely sure how much was made up on him and not sure how guilty Auburn was in whatever transpired.  He had players leaving in droves, DC left for a lower paying, less prestigious job, etc.  Ex-players (with nothing to gain) were calling him out.  Auburn had the responsibility to investigate.  If there had been an abusive situation and AU not checked things out, we would be liable for any incidents that may have arisen.  After the way 2022 season went, we should have paid him half of his buyout and pressed that he was incompetent.....

[Hank2020 3,224]

12 minutes ago, penguin149 said:

Not completely sure how much was made up on him and not sure how guilty Auburn was in whatever transpired.  He had players leaving in droves, DC left for a lower paying, less prestigious job, etc.  Ex-players (with nothing to gain) were calling him out.  Auburn had the responsibility to investigate.  If there had been an abusive situation and AU not checked things out, we would be liable for any incidents that may have arisen.  After the way 2022 season went, we should have paid him half of his buyout and pressed that he was incompetent.....

True, that same DC stayed 1 year with Harsin, but also only stayed 1 year with Oklahoma State, and is not even coaching this year. I assume Harsin bothered him so much he could only last 1 year with Oklahoma State.

Edited April 14, 2023 by Hank2020

[alexava 6,973]

2 hours ago, Hank2020 said:

True, that same DC stayed 1 year with Harsin, but also only stayed 1 year with Oklahoma State, and is not even coaching this year. I assume Harsin bothered him so much he could only last 1 year with Oklahoma State.

Exactly. Players leave, is just what players do. The bottom line is that he didn’t win enough and recruited even worse. It was obviously not going well. What auburn did and how they did it, made it nearly impossible. Had we got the hold call in the EZ or Tank stayed in bounds, we beat bammer , there’s no investigation and Harsin is still our coach in ‘23.

[ScotsAU 1,343]

On 4/12/2023 at 10:26 AM, kevon67 said:

That's a good thing as his time here will soon be forgotten. I honestly could give a sheet on how or where he lands or his future.

 

Oh I doubt it will be forgotten. He’ll go down in infamy as a cautionary tale for why culture fit actually matters with coaches at Auburn.

[Rednilla 5,401]

7 hours ago, ScotsAU said:

Oh I doubt it will be forgotten. He’ll go down in infamy as a cautionary tale for why culture fit actually matters with coaches at Auburn.

FIFY