Hugh Malzahn

[AU120289 380]

2 hours ago, OfficiatingExpert said:

Gus Malzahn was and is a better coach than Hugh Freeze. Change my mind. 

What is your criteria?

Just looking at the numbers, Gus has a .654 winning percentage, while Hugh is at .650. Both basically average 7.8 wins. 

[PL4AU56 6]

Gus got lucky. The players were already here when we went on that run in 13. Hugh was left with nothing. Still not an excuse to lose to that team, but Gus time ran out long before we fired him. We also didn’t need the debacle with Harsin @everyone

[Viper 3,132]

On 11/18/2023 at 5:23 PM, auburnphan said:

2.0 repeat.

Been saying it all the way back to his Ole Miss days. Only difference is Hugh gets to spend Rane’s $$$$$$$$ i.e. Hugh gets to cheat legally now.

[Headland Tiger 40]

I don’t believe Hugh’s past personal transgressions should factor into any critique of his coaching abilities or performance…however, when Auburn decided to hire him, knowing his past, they signed up for whatever is thrown our way in that regard. My main question with the hire was why hire a guy with baggage, when his coaching resume didn’t really justify the trouble or bad PR? But now that he is the coach I want him to succeed and again, any critique of this season shouldn’t be tied to the past personal things…

I wanted Gus gone at the end of his time I’ll admit that. I was tired of what I perceived as under achieving. I want more for the Auburn football program but I question whether those in charge do. We keep hiring guys who can’t get us higher than what we’ve been. Think about this list of coaches since Dye left…Baby Bowden, Tubs, Chiz, Gus and Harsin…not exactly college hall of fame material here. Now, that being said, all of those except Harsin had at least one great season and Tubs and Gus had some amount of sustained, consistent success, but not spectacular program -raising success. None of them were able to capitalize on the success they had and keep it rolling. Whether it was recruiting fails or program mismanagement, they just couldn’t stay on top for long. Ups and downs have defined the Auburn program forever. I remember someone quoting a line about France once in comparison to Auburn…”France is either soaring glory or profound sadness” —-Auburn to a T.

So, do I know if Hugh will be different? No idea but the thing that has perplexed me about our fans since his hire is the amazing faith they have in a guy who really hasn’t proven a ton at this level. Im not saying he won’t or can’t have great success at Auburn, and history tells us he will probably have at least a year or two of “soaring glory”. But is he the guy to take us to another level? Does that guy even exist? Perhaps Auburn is what it is. Ups and downs with a few more downs that ups overall 🤷‍♂️. We have 30 plus years of inconsistency to make us believe that may be true. 
 

I don’t have any answers nor do I claim to know if Hugh will be successful. I don’t know who I would’ve hired if not Freeze so Im not advocating for anyone or trying to do an “I told you so” .Saturday certainly is a red flag but given the circumstances its hard to make any rash judgements off that. We will know in a couple of years I suppose. My guess? Hugh has a great year or two and then the wheels fall off, much like his predecessors(minus Harsin). And we will have these same questions about the next coach. I have ZERO inside knowledge of those who wield power and make big decisions at Auburn, but given our history since Dye, I don’t believe they know how to hire a guy who can build and sustain a consistent championship contender on the plains. Like I said earlier, maybe that guy just doesn’t exist? War Eagle all. Sorry for the long post. 

[Tigger1985 812]

I guess the only difference that I see currently is the relentless recruiting that seems to be going on nationwide. We always seemed to recruit in certain areas and only there. Gus had no plan B and let our player quality slip. Jury is still out but I like the direction we are heading. Gus’s development of players was lacking 

[Gowebb11 9,362]

8 minutes ago, Tigger1985 said:

relentless recruiting

Amen to this. It’s been a long time since we’ve had this from our head coach. We’ve had great staff recruiters but as a head coach Hugh has set the highest bar as far as a hands on recruiter. It is paying off but I feel like it has come at a costs to his day to day coaching and game planning role. I expect him to close super strong in a few weeks and continue building a superb 2025 class. But I feel like he will be back to a more balanced role of recruiter and game planner next season. Beat Bama! 

[ScotsAU 1,343]

10 hours ago, PL4AU56 said:

Gus got lucky. The players were already here when we went on that run in 13. Hugh was left with nothing. Still not an excuse to lose to that team, but Gus time ran out long before we fired him. We also didn’t need the debacle with Harsin @everyone

Got lucky? He recruited half of them, including Tre Mason. He also found and signed Nick Marshall. Heck Malzahn’s recruiting classes were about as good as Chizik’s, and his last full class (before the 2020 season) was 9th in the country. His recruiting issues were mostly around inability to recruit OL after Kirby took over at UGA. We were raiding Georgia for offensive linemen for a while. Kirby closed the border. He was also a part of 2 NC appearances and 3 SEC west championships. He beat Saban more than any other coach active in that time frame. His win percentage remains one of the best in Auburn history. Sorry. That’s not luck. His last few years the product on and off the field started sliding. That’s why he was let go. But suggesting he wasn’t a successful here? No idea what you’re smoking, but would love to know where you got it. 
 

That said, you are right that Freeze didn’t have a good roster to work with coming in, and the players that were here weren’t ideal for his scheme. Expecting him to do what Gus did isn’t realistic either.

[bigbird 60,580]

On 11/19/2023 at 4:39 AM, OfficiatingExpert said:

Gus Malzahn was and is a better coach than Hugh Freeze. Change my mind. 

Off the top of my head, Outside of recruiting, roster management, player development, scheme, player evaluations, coaching evaluation, in-game adjustments, administration, vision, public relations, fund raising, politics, and community outreach, then I'd say you're probably right. 

[EagleEye67 1,944]

Well,  Gus shaves more often, gotta give him that...

[ellitor 33,114]

On 11/18/2023 at 5:23 PM, auburnphan said:

2.0 repeat.

You are way too intellegent to have one of the worst takes in AU message board history, which is what this is.

[augolf1716 21,301]

On 11/19/2023 at 8:08 AM, bigbird said:

If Golf hadn't hooked Abraham up with  his friend Sarah... 

Yeah that was a mistake take full responsibility 

[Mims44 1,889]

5 hours ago, bigbird said:

Off the top of my head, Outside of recruiting, roster management, player development, scheme, player evaluations, coaching evaluation, in-game adjustments, administration, vision, public relations, fund raising, politics, and community outreach, then I'd say your probably right. 

Stop it Bird. It's bad luck.

 

Last time I read a big rant from you about how Gus was an abject failure Auburn introduced us to Harsin.

[Hank2020 3,216]

9 minutes ago, Mims44 said:

Stop it Bird. It's bad luck.

 

Last time I read a big rant from you about how Gus was an abject failure Auburn introduced us to Harsin.

Yes, that was definitely a bad memory. All major programs have their terrible games and terrible coaches. Heres to hoping this is the first but not the second. He definitely seems to be working his butt off in the recruiting side if things.

[bigbird 60,580]

49 minutes ago, Mims44 said:

Stop it Bird. It's bad luck.

 

Last time I read a big rant from you about how Gus was an abject failure Auburn introduced us to Harsin.

Not abject, Gus was a good man and ambassador. 

[Dwayne Pride 379]

10 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Not abject, Gus was a good man and ambassador. 

Agree but birds aren’t real. 

[bigbird 60,580]

35 minutes ago, Dwayne Pride said:

Agree but birds aren’t real. 

I keep hearing that. Just consider me a dinosaur! 

[Win4AU 4,054]

“Futures Bright, No Doubt”

[Dwayne Pride 379]

4 minutes ago, bigbird said:

I keep hearing that. Just consider me a dinosaur! 

When does the government change out your batteries?

[Dwayne Pride 379]

1 minute ago, Win4AU said:

“Futures Bright, No Doubt”

Just watch. 

[CR 2,446]

7 hours ago, bigbird said:

Off the top of my head, Outside of recruiting, roster management, player development, scheme, player evaluations, coaching evaluation, in-game adjustments, administration, vision, public relations, fund raising, politics, and community outreach, then I'd say your probably right. 

The people that didnt want him will never acknowledge this. Freeze has busted his ass trying to rebuild this program on the fly.

[ShocksMyBrain 9,368]

2 hours ago, Win4AU said:

“Futures Bright, No Doubt”

“Bo Nix will win the Heisman”

(Just not at Auburn)

[Dwayne Pride 379]

5 hours ago, CR said:

The people that didnt want him will never acknowledge this. Freeze has busted his ass trying to rebuild this program on the fly.

Meh. 
 

If that were the case, we wouldn’t have lost the game this past weekend.  
 

Believe me, I have celebrated and cussed with the best over the past two weeks. Last week left a bit to be desired. 

[aubiefifty 16,898]

1 hour ago, Dwayne Pride said:

Meh. 
 

If that were the case, we wouldn’t have lost the game this past weekend.  
 

Believe me, I have celebrated and cussed with the best over the past two weeks. Last week left a bit to be desired. 

is it safe to say the team came out colder than a polar bears ice hole?  grins

[AUwent 3,767]

Opinions on Toppmeyer's article today (about us and Gus)? Not going to post it because I'll get slammed for it but obviously I hope he is proven wrong.

Edited November 23, 2023 by AUwent

[NCTiger1982 171]

1) If you are OK with 8 wins a season you are part of the problem with our fan base. FSU & UM were homecoming opponents before Bowden & Schnellenberger/Jimmy Johnson.  Clemson was nothing special before Dabo. The expectations have to change with our fan base and we need to quit making excuses about Bama & GA being close by. Chizik biggest contribution to Auburn was proving we can and should recruit with the best. NIL also means Bama and GA can’t just buy our recruits out from under us. NIL makes this the most level playing field we have had versus our rivals. 
2) Gus’ extension was basically putting ourselves on probation. He had 8 years to take the next step and failed. Good person, but an average HC that requires a strong DC to prop up his O. Beating  Saban 3 times means little when you factor in 4-5 loses most years. Gus left a bad situation and we put a clueless HC in charge of the mess for 2 years making matters worse. Freeze took over a much worse scenario than Gus left Harsin. I’m very disappointed in this first year but the recruiting is what I’m clinging to and the only positive for me right now. If we keep all our commits, flip Coleman, Williams and some others to have a top 10 class it would give me hope. I do realize last week’s s-show can have an impact on some of our commits and recruits. 
3) I saw the Freeze hire as maybe 1 more win per year than Gus because historically his O was more creative and also more physical. He was also involved with the D and had a salty D. Freeze never had the the keys to a program like ours which should improve his performance. Factoring in NIL here again has got to help. 

I certainly have my doubts but Freeze was right saying his 2024 & 2025 classes will determine his success at Auburn.