Field Marshall Bradley
Veteran
Scout.com: Malzahn Headed Back to Auburn As Head Coach
Auburn, Ala.--The search for Auburn’s new head football coach has come to an end with Gus Malzahn the choice to replace Gene Chizik, who was fired following a disappointing 2012 season for the Tigers.
Offensive coordinator on Auburn’s 14-0 BCS National Championship team in 2010, Malzahn coached three seasons under Chizik before being named head coach at Arkansas State in December 2011.
He stayed on at Auburn long enough to coach the Tigers to a victory in last season’s Chick-Fil-A Bowl before heading to Jonesboro, Ark., where he led Arkansas State to the Sun Belt Conference title this season.
A highly successful high school coach in the state of Arkansas, Malzahn led his teams to three state championships and seven finals appearances in 14 seasons before getting his break in the college ranks at the University of Arkansas for the 2006 season.
That came on the heels of a 2005 season at Springdale High when the Bulldogs posted a 14-0 record and outscored opponents 664-118. As the offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks he coached Heisman runnerup Darren McFadden and led an offense that finished fourth nationally in rushing offense, averaging 228.5 yards per game.
Before moving to Auburn for the 2009 season, Malzahn spent two seasons at Tulsa, coordinating a Golden Hurricane offense that finished first nationally in total offense in 2007 and 2008. Tulsa's offense in 2007 established nine team school records and 12 individual records.
The Hurricane also set nine Conference USA team records while Tulsa quarterback Paul Smith broke an NCAA record by throwing for at least 300 yards in 14 consecutive games.
That season Tulsa averaged 543.93 yards of total offense, 371 yards passing, and 172.93 yards rushing per game and finished sixth in scoring offense at 41.14 points per game. In 2008 the Golden Hurricane led the nation in total offense by averaging 569.86 yards per game. Tulsa finished fifth in rushing offense, averaging 268 yards per game, and ninth in passing offense at 301.86 yards. Averaging 47.21 points per game was good enough for second in the nation.
Malzahn's arrival in 2009 and style of offense marked a drastic turnaround from the 2008 season when Auburn struggled to move the football and score points. In the first season the Tigers improved from a tie for 110th (17.33 points per game) to 17th (33.31) in the nation in scoring offense and from 104th (302.92 yards per game) to 16th (431.77) in total offense. It also took Auburn just six games in 2009 to score more points than it did in all 12 games in 2008.
The biggest improvement came at the quarterback position as Chris Todd completed 198-328 passes for 2,612 yards and 22 touchdowns with just six interceptions. He threw a touchdown pass in nine of 13 games that season.
That set the stage for what was to come in 2010. With junior college transfer Cam Newton at the helm the Auburn offense exploded on the way to a perfect 14-0 season and the BCS National Championship.
The Auburn offense set nine school records, including points in a season (577), points per game (41.2), total yards (6,989), total offense (499.2), rushing yards (3,987), rushing touchdowns (41) and passing touchdowns (31). Malzahn's record-setting offense in 2010 led the Southeastern Conference and finished in the Top 10 nationally in six statistical categories.
On his way to being the top pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Newton won the Heisman Trophy as the top college football player in America after throwing for 2,908 yards and 30 touchdowns and adding 1,586 yards and 20 more scores on the ground.
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Auburn, Ala.--The search for Auburn’s new head football coach has come to an end with Gus Malzahn the choice to replace Gene Chizik, who was fired following a disappointing 2012 season for the Tigers.
Offensive coordinator on Auburn’s 14-0 BCS National Championship team in 2010, Malzahn coached three seasons under Chizik before being named head coach at Arkansas State in December 2011.
He stayed on at Auburn long enough to coach the Tigers to a victory in last season’s Chick-Fil-A Bowl before heading to Jonesboro, Ark., where he led Arkansas State to the Sun Belt Conference title this season.
A highly successful high school coach in the state of Arkansas, Malzahn led his teams to three state championships and seven finals appearances in 14 seasons before getting his break in the college ranks at the University of Arkansas for the 2006 season.
That came on the heels of a 2005 season at Springdale High when the Bulldogs posted a 14-0 record and outscored opponents 664-118. As the offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks he coached Heisman runnerup Darren McFadden and led an offense that finished fourth nationally in rushing offense, averaging 228.5 yards per game.
Before moving to Auburn for the 2009 season, Malzahn spent two seasons at Tulsa, coordinating a Golden Hurricane offense that finished first nationally in total offense in 2007 and 2008. Tulsa's offense in 2007 established nine team school records and 12 individual records.
The Hurricane also set nine Conference USA team records while Tulsa quarterback Paul Smith broke an NCAA record by throwing for at least 300 yards in 14 consecutive games.
That season Tulsa averaged 543.93 yards of total offense, 371 yards passing, and 172.93 yards rushing per game and finished sixth in scoring offense at 41.14 points per game. In 2008 the Golden Hurricane led the nation in total offense by averaging 569.86 yards per game. Tulsa finished fifth in rushing offense, averaging 268 yards per game, and ninth in passing offense at 301.86 yards. Averaging 47.21 points per game was good enough for second in the nation.
Malzahn's arrival in 2009 and style of offense marked a drastic turnaround from the 2008 season when Auburn struggled to move the football and score points. In the first season the Tigers improved from a tie for 110th (17.33 points per game) to 17th (33.31) in the nation in scoring offense and from 104th (302.92 yards per game) to 16th (431.77) in total offense. It also took Auburn just six games in 2009 to score more points than it did in all 12 games in 2008.
The biggest improvement came at the quarterback position as Chris Todd completed 198-328 passes for 2,612 yards and 22 touchdowns with just six interceptions. He threw a touchdown pass in nine of 13 games that season.
That set the stage for what was to come in 2010. With junior college transfer Cam Newton at the helm the Auburn offense exploded on the way to a perfect 14-0 season and the BCS National Championship.
The Auburn offense set nine school records, including points in a season (577), points per game (41.2), total yards (6,989), total offense (499.2), rushing yards (3,987), rushing touchdowns (41) and passing touchdowns (31). Malzahn's record-setting offense in 2010 led the Southeastern Conference and finished in the Top 10 nationally in six statistical categories.
On his way to being the top pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Newton won the Heisman Trophy as the top college football player in America after throwing for 2,908 yards and 30 touchdowns and adding 1,586 yards and 20 more scores on the ground.
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that offense was bad every year he was there except for 2010
