Gus Malzahn: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 09:58, 14 December 2020

Gus Malzahn on the 2013 Auburn Fan Guide

Arthur Gustav Malzahn III (born October 28, 1965 in Irvine, Texas) was head coach of the Auburn Tigers football team from 2013 until 2020, amassing a 67-35 record, including three wins against Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide.

Malzahn graduated from Fort Smith Christian High School in Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1984 and was a walk-on receiver for the Arkansas Razorbacks under then-head coach Ken Hatfield. After one season he transferred to Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where he was a two-year letterman and earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1990.

Malzahn got his first coaching job as a defensive coordinator at Hughes High School in 1991. He became head coach in 1992 and, two years later, reached the state championship game with an upset of Pine Bluff Dollarway. Hughes fell just short in the title game, losing to Lonoke on an interception in the final minute.

His success at Hughes and his wide-open attack landed Malzahn a head coaching position at Shiloh Christian in 1996. Over the next four years, Malzahn transformed Saints into one of the most dynamic offenses in the nation. In 1998, Shiloh Christian quarterback Josh Floyd racked up 5,878 total yards and 66 passing touchdowns. Malzahn guided the Saints to back-to-back state championships in 1998 and 1999.

In 2001, Malzahn took over for legendary coach Jarrell Williams at Springdale High School. He led the program to two state championship game appearances in his last four years, winning the 5A title with a 54-20 victory over West Memphis in 2005.

Included on the championship team were prize recruits who all eventually joined their coach at the University of Arkansas.

Malzahn joined Houston Nutt's staff at the University of Arkansas on December 9, 2005, as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. Four of his former Springdale stars; quarterback Mitch Mustain, tight end Ben Cleveland, and wide receivers Andrew Norman and Damian Williams, signed with the Razorbacks.

The 2006 Razorbacks won the Southeastern Conference's western division championship, but finished the season with back-to-back losses to LSU and Florida, then lost to Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl to finish with a 10-4 record. Malzahn was named National Offensive Coordinator of the Year by Rivals.com. However his relationship with Nutt was strained and when new Tulsa Golden Hurricanes head coach Todd Graham offered him a job at the University of Tulsa, Malzahn accepted. Mustain and Williams followed him to Tulsa.

During the 2007 season, Malzahn's offense ranked first in the nation in total yards and third in passing. At the end of the season, he interviewed for the vacancy at Arkansas left by Houston Nutt's resignation, but was passed over in favor of Bobby Petrino.

Malzahn's 2008 Hurricanes offense again led the nation with 7,980 yards. On December 28, 2008 Malzahn was hired as offensive coordinator under Gene Chizik for the Auburn Tigers. Over the next three years the Tigers enjoyed greatly improved offensive production, increasing average scoring from 20 to 33 points per game. Senior quarterback Chris Todd set Auburn's single-season touchdown record with 22 scores. In Malzahn's second year with the offense, the 2010 Auburn Tigers football team went undefeated and won a BCS National Championship with Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Cam Newton. Malzahn won that year's Frank Broyles Award for the nation's top assistant coach. He was also recognized for his recruiting successes by ESPN.

Malzahn accepted the head coaching position at Arkansas State after the 2011 season. He led the Red Wolves to a Sun Belt Conference championship during his one-year tenure.

On December 4, 2012, Malzahn was announced to replace Gene Chizik as the head coach of Auburn University shortly after winning the Sun Belt Conference Championship. Malzahn's first hires were Defensive Coordinator Ellis Johnson (former head coach at Southern Miss and previously coached as Defensive Coordinator at several SEC schools) and Offensive Coordinator Rhett Lashlee (who followed Malzahn from Arkansas State where he was also the Offensive Coordinator).

In 2013, the Auburn Tiger offense under Malzahn was led by quarterback Nick Marshall. On November 16, 2013 with the Tigers down by 1 against Georgia facing 4th-and-18 and 36 seconds left in the game, Malzahn called the play "Little Rock" for Marshall which would become known as "The Prayer at Jordan–Hare". Marshall hit Ricardo Louis on a tipped 73-yard Hail Mary pass to give Auburn the victory.

Two weeks later, in the Iron Bowl against Alabama, Malzahn's Tigers avenged two consecutive blowout losses to the Tide with a dramatic 34-28 win, clinched on an epic 109-yard return of a missed field goal (100 yards under NCAA scoring rules) for the game-winning touchdown as time expired. The win completed the greatest single-season turnaround in SEC history, and gave Auburn the SEC West title. Auburn would go on to win the 2013 SEC Championship game later that year against the Missouri Tigers. On December 8, 2013, it was announced that Auburn would play the Florida State Seminoles in the 2014 BCS Championship Game.

After leading the heavily favored Seminoles 21–3 in the second quarter, Auburn failed to stay in front and the lead slowly slipped away. Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston stepped up in the 4th quarter and rallied the Seminoles to a victory, leading the way with 6/7 passing for 77 yards on route to the go-ahead scoring touchdown. Auburn lost by a score of 34-31.

Malzahn won the 2013 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year, and Home Depot Coach of the Year Awards as well as the SEC Coach of the Year by the AP and coaches. On December 10, 2013, fans voted him the recipient of the inaugural Premier Coach of College Football Award. On December 23, 2013, it was announced that Malzahn had won the Associated Press National Coach of the Year, edging out Duke's David Cutcliffe, 33 votes to 17. Malzahn was only the second coach to win the award in his first season with a new team. In January 2014 after the national championship game, Malzahn added the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award and the Bobby Bowden Coach of the Year Award to bring the total number of national coach of the year awards to six for the first year head coach in the 2013-14 season.

In 2017, Malzahn led the Tigers to the SEC Championship game by defeating #1 ranked Georgia and #1 ranked Alabama over the span of three weeks. In a rematch with the Georgia Bulldogs, Auburn lost the 2017 SEC Championship Game 28–7. They went on to play Central Florida in the Peach Bowl where they would lose 34–27, a game that sparked controversy as it led to the first split National Championship since 2003 with the Colley Matrix (a poll deemed legitimate in determining a champion) awarding the title to UCF while Alabama won the actual CFP National Championship game by beating Georgia 26–23 in overtime. Immediately after the season, Malzahn agreed to a seven-year $49 million contract extension with Auburn.

Mainly on the strength of his first season, Malzahn is fifth on Auburn's all-time wins list, behind only Shug Jordan, Mike Donahue, Pat Dye and Tommy Tuberville.

On December 13, 2020, Malzahn was fired as head coach of Auburn at the conclusion of his eighth season. He finished with a 68-35 record, including 39-27 in the SEC. Auburn will buy out the remainder of his contract, to the tune of $21.45 million.

Malzahn is married to Kristi Otwell Malzahn and together they have two daughters, Kylie and Kenzie.

Preceded by: Tony Franklin	Auburn Tigers Offensive Coordinator 2009–2011	Succeeded by: Scott Loeffler
Preceded by: Gene Chizik	Auburn University Head Coach 2013–2020	Succeeded by: Kevin Steele (interim)

Publications

Malzahn, Gus (January 2003) Hurry Up No Huddle — An Offensive Philosophy. Monterey, California: Coaches Choice Books. ISBN 9781585186549

References

Wikipedia contributors, "Gus Malzahn." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (accessed December 14, 2020).

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Arthur Gustav Malzahn III''' (born [[October 28]], [[1965]] in Irvine, Texas) is the current head  coach for [[Auburn Tigers football|Auburn University]]. Malzahn is a high school coaching legend in the state of Arkansas and the former offensive coordinator at both Arkansas and Tulsa. He is known as one of the innovators of the wildcat offense and has been described as "one of the sport's most innovative offensive minds, not just in the college ranks, but in all of football."
+[[Image:2013 Auburn fan guide.jpg|right|thumb|Gus Malzahn on the 2013 Auburn Fan Guide]]
+'''Arthur Gustav Malzahn III''' (born [[October 28]], [[1965]] in Irvine, Texas) was head coach of the [[Auburn University|Auburn]] [[Auburn Tigers football team|Tigers football team]] from [[2013]] until [[2020]], amassing a 67-35 record, including three wins against [[Nick Saban]]'s [[Alabama Crimson Tide]].
-==Playing career==
+Malzahn graduated from Fort Smith Christian High School in Fort Smith, Arkansas in [[1984]] and was a walk-on receiver for the Arkansas Razorbacks under then-head coach Ken Hatfield. After one season he transferred to Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where he was a two-year letterman and earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education in [[1990]].
-Malzahn graduated from Fort Smith Christian High School in Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1984 and was a walk-on receiver at Arkansas under then-head coach Ken Hatfield in 1984 and '85 before transferring to Henderson State University located in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where he was a two-year letterman (1988, '89) and earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1990.
-==Coaching career==
+Malzahn got his first coaching job as a defensive coordinator at Hughes High School in [[1991]]. He became head coach in [[1992]] and, two years later, reached the state championship game with an upset of Pine Bluff Dollarway. Hughes fell just short in the title game, losing to Lonoke on an interception in the final minute.
-=== High school coaching career ===
-Successful at every stop of his career, he actually got his start as the defensive coordinator at Hughes High School in 1991. He became head coach in 1992 and in 1994 Hughes reached the state championship game with an upset of Pine Bluff Dollarway. Hughes fell just short in the title game, losing to Lonoke on an interception in the final minute.
-His success at Hughes and his wide-open attack landed Malzahn a head coaching position at Shiloh Christian in 1996. From 1996-2000, Malzahn transformed Shiloh Christian into one of the most dynamic offensive prep squads in the nation. In 1998, Shiloh Christian set a national record with 66 passing touchdowns for the season, while quarterback Josh Floyd nearly set an individual national record with 5,878 total yards (5,221 passing, 657 rushing).  Malzahn guided the Saints to back-to-back state championships in 1998 and 1999.
+His success at Hughes and his wide-open attack landed Malzahn a head coaching position at Shiloh Christian in [[1996]]. Over the next four years, Malzahn transformed Saints into one of the most dynamic offenses in the nation. In 1998, Shiloh Christian quarterback Josh Floyd racked up 5,878 total yards and 66 passing touchdowns. Malzahn guided the Saints to back-to-back state championships in [[1998]] and [[1999]].
-In 2001, Malzahn took over for legendary coach Jarrell Williams at Springdale High School. Malzahn continued the rich tradition of the Bulldogs’ program. He led the program to two state championship game appearances in his last four years, winning the title in 2005.
-Malzahn led his squad to the state title game in only his second season in 2002. The Bulldogs lost a hard-fought 17-10 decision to Fort Smith Southside.
-Springdale was on track for another state title game appearance in 2004 before Little Rock Central sidetracked the Bulldogs’ title hopes in the state semifinals. Springdale was upset by the eventual state champion, 31-20. The Bulldogs finished the season at 12-1.
+In 2001, Malzahn took over for legendary coach Jarrell Williams at Springdale High School. He led the program to two state championship game appearances in his last four years, winning the 5A title with a 54-20 victory over West Memphis in [[2005]].
-His 2005 squad at Springdale went 14-0, easily won the state’s Class 5A championship, outscored its opponents 664-118, including a 54-20 victory over West Memphis in the state championship game, and was consistently ranked among the top 10 teams in the nation.
-Included on the championship team were prize recruits Mitch Mustain, Ben Cleveland, Andrew Norman, and Damian Williams who all eventually joined their coach at the University of Arkansas. Offensive tackle Bartley Webb decided to leave the state to play for the University of Notre Dame.
-=== College offensive coordinator coaching career ===
+Included on the championship team were prize recruits  who all eventually joined their coach at the University of Arkansas.
-==== University of Arkansas ====
-Malzahn joined Houston Nutt's staff on [[December 9]], [[2005]], as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach, following an impressive five-year run at Springdale High School capped by one of the most dominant seasons by any high school in 2005. Given that much of Springdale High's football talent decided to follow Mr. Malzahn to Arkansas and the fact that Mr. Malzahn had never coached in college, many questioned what Houston Nutt's motives were. Malzahn was part of the Razorbacks 2006 season in which they won the SEC Western Division championship. However, their season ended with three straight losses to LSU, Florida in the SEC Championship Game, and Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl to finish with a 10-4 record.
-There was a widely reported tension between Houston Nutt's reliance on the ground game (which turned out to be one of the best running games in the nation in 2006) and Malzahn's philosophy of spreading the field with a no-huddle offense. The poor ending of the season only added stress to the already tense coaching relationship. Malzahn was named the National Offensive Coordinator of the Year by Rivals.com.
+Malzahn joined Houston Nutt's staff at the University of Arkansas on [[December 9]], [[2005]], as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. Four of his former Springdale stars; quarterback Mitch Mustain, tight end Ben Cleveland, and wide receivers Andrew Norman and Damian Williams, signed with the Razorbacks.
-In January [[2007]], Malzahn received an offer from the University of Tulsa and his friend, new head coach Todd Graham. Malzahn took the Tulsa job to be offensive coordinator and Assistant Head Coach. Damian Williams and Mitch Mustain, prize recruits and Malzahn's former players, also left the Razorback program. Shortly afterward, both Mustain and Williams decided to transfer to the University of Southern California.
+The [[2006]] Razorbacks won the [[Southeastern Conference]]'s western division championship, but finished the season with back-to-back losses to LSU and Florida, then lost to Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl to finish with a 10-4 record. Malzahn was named National Offensive Coordinator of the Year by Rivals.com. However his relationship with Nutt was strained and when new Tulsa Golden Hurricanes head coach Todd Graham offered him a job at the University of Tulsa, Malzahn accepted. Mustain and Williams followed him to Tulsa.
-==== University of Tulsa ====
+During the [[2007]] season, Malzahn's offense ranked first in the nation in total yards and third in passing. At the end of the season, he interviewed for the vacancy at Arkansas left by Houston Nutt's resignation, but was passed over in favor of Bobby Petrino.
-During the 2007 season Malzahn emerged as one of the premier offensive coordinators in the nation, as Tulsa ranked 1st in the nation in total yards per game, ahead of Texas Tech and Hawaiʻi, and with a more balanced attack than both teams. The Golden Hurricane also ranked 3rd in the nation is passing and led their conference in scoring. Tulsa became the first team in NCAA history to have a 5,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and three 1,000-yard receivers in a single season.
-After the regular season, Malzahn interviewed for the open position at Arkansas once Nutt resigned in November 2007.
+Malzahn's [[2008]] Hurricanes offense again led the nation with 7,980 yards. On [[December 28]], [[2008]] Malzahn was hired as offensive coordinator under [[Gene Chizik]] for the [[2009 Auburn Tigers football team|Auburn Tigers]]. Over the next three years the Tigers enjoyed greatly improved offensive production, increasing average scoring from 20 to 33 points per game. Senior quarterback [[Chris Todd]] set Auburn's single-season touchdown record with 22 scores.  In Malzahn's second year with the offense, the [[2010 Auburn Tigers football team]] went undefeated and won a BCS National Championship with Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback [[Cam Newton]]. Malzahn won that year's Frank Broyles Award for the nation's top assistant coach. He was also recognized for his recruiting successes by ESPN.
-In 2008, Tulsa was again the nation's most prolific attack, leading with nearly 7,980 total yards of offense averaging 570 yards per game. The Golden Hurricane were ranked 2nd in the nation in scoring behind Oklahoma, scoring over 47 points per game.  The offense was also the nation's most balanced attack, ranking 5th in the nation in rushing and 9th in passing.  The Tulsa quarterbacks finished 3rd in the nation in passing efficiency, behind only Oklahoma and Texas.
+Malzahn accepted the head coaching position at Arkansas State after the [[2011]] season. He led the Red Wolves to a Sun Belt Conference championship during his one-year tenure.
-==== Auburn University ====
+On [[December 4]], [[2012]], Malzahn was announced to replace [[Gene Chizik]] as the head coach of Auburn University shortly after winning the Sun Belt Conference Championship. Malzahn's first hires were Defensive Coordinator [[Ellis Johnson]] (former head coach at Southern Miss and previously coached as Defensive Coordinator at several SEC schools) and Offensive Coordinator [[Rhett Lashlee]] (who followed Malzahn from Arkansas State where he was also the Offensive Coordinator).
-Malzahn was named the offensive coordinator at [[Auburn Tigers football|Auburn University]] on December 28, 2008.  He coached 3 years under head coach [[Gene Chizik]] including the 2010 National Championship season  when he won the 2010 Frank Broyles Award (given to the nation's top assistant coach).
-==College head coaching career==
+In 2013, the Auburn Tiger offense under Malzahn was led by quarterback [[Nick Marshall]]. On [[November 16]], [[2013]] with the Tigers down by 1 against Georgia facing 4th-and-18 and 36 seconds left in the game, Malzahn called the play "Little Rock" for Marshall which would become known as "[[The Prayer at Jordan–Hare]]". Marshall hit [[Ricardo Louis]] on a tipped 73-yard Hail Mary pass to give Auburn the victory.
-===Arkansas State University===
-Malzahn accepted the head coaching position at Arkansas State after the 2011 season. He led the Red Wolves to a Sun Belt Conference championship during his one-year tenure.
-===Auburn University===
+Two weeks later, in the [[2013 Iron Bowl|Iron Bowl]] against [[2013 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]], Malzahn's Tigers avenged two consecutive blowout losses to the Tide with a dramatic 34-28 win, clinched on an epic [[Kick Six|109-yard return of a missed field goal]] (100 yards under NCAA scoring rules) for the game-winning touchdown as time expired.  The win completed the greatest single-season turnaround in SEC history, and gave Auburn the SEC West title. Auburn would go on to win the 2013 SEC Championship game later that year against the Missouri Tigers.  On [[December 8]], [[2013]], it was announced that Auburn would play the Florida State Seminoles in the 2014 BCS Championship Game.
-On [[December 4]], [[2012]] Malzahn was announced as Auburn's head coach, replacing Chizik after a 3-9 season.
-== Offensive Philosophy ==
+After leading the heavily favored Seminoles 21–3 in the second quarter, Auburn failed to stay in front and the lead slowly slipped away. Heisman Trophy winner [[Jameis Winston]] stepped up in the 4th quarter and rallied the Seminoles to a victory, leading the way with 6/7 passing for 77 yards on route to the go-ahead scoring touchdown. Auburn lost by a score of 34-31.
-Coach Malzahn is known for his no-huddle offensive [[philosophy]]. In January 2003, he published a book and instructional video titled ''Hurry Up No Huddle — An Offensive Philosophy'' (ISBN 9781585186549), that became the blueprint for the offensive wave engulfing the state of Arkansas.  Several NFL teams adopted some of Malzahn's offensive strategies.  Malzahn is perhaps best known for his formation, the "[[Wildcat offense|Wildcat]]", which became famous during his year at the Razorbacks, but is actually a variation on the Single Wing, a play that dates to Pop Warner.
-Malzahn has been involved as a guest speaker and instructor at numerous coaching clinics around the nation.
+Malzahn won the 2013 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year, and Home Depot Coach of the Year Awards as well as the SEC Coach of the Year by the AP and coaches.  On [[December 10]], [[2013]], fans voted him the recipient of the inaugural Premier Coach of College Football Award.  On [[December 23]], 2013, it was announced that Malzahn had won the Associated Press National Coach of the Year, edging out Duke's [[David Cutcliffe]], 33 votes to 17.  Malzahn was only the second coach to win the award in his first season with a new team. In January 2014 after the national championship game, Malzahn added the [[Paul "Bear" Bryant Award]] and the [[Bobby Bowden Coach of the Year Award]] to bring the total number of national coach of the year awards to six for the first year head coach in the 2013-14 season.
-==Personal==
+In [[2017 Auburn Tigers football team|2017]], Malzahn led the Tigers to the SEC Championship game by defeating #1 ranked Georgia and #1 ranked [[2017 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]] over the span of three weeks. In a rematch with the Georgia Bulldogs, Auburn lost the 2017 SEC Championship Game 28–7. They went on to play Central Florida in the Peach Bowl where they would lose 34–27, a game that sparked controversy as it led to the first split National Championship since 2003 with the Colley Matrix (a poll deemed legitimate in determining a champion) awarding the title to UCF while Alabama won the actual CFP National Championship game by beating Georgia 26–23 in overtime. Immediately after the season, Malzahn agreed to a seven-year $49 million contract extension with Auburn.
-He is married to Kristi Otwell Malzahn and together they have two daughters, Kylie and Kenzie Malzahn.
-== References ==
+Mainly on the strength of his first season, Malzahn is fifth on Auburn's all-time wins list, behind only [[Ralph Jordan|Shug Jordan]], [[Mike Donahue]], [[Pat Dye]] and [[Tommy Tuberville]].
-* Gus Malzahn. (2009, December 10). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:05, December 12, 2009 [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gus_Malzahn&oldid=330818162]
+On [[December 13]], [[2020]], Malzahn was fired as head coach of Auburn at the conclusion of his eighth season. He finished with a 68-35 record, including 39-27 in the SEC. Auburn will buy out the remainder of his contract, to the tune of $21.45 million.
-== External links ==
+Malzahn is married to Kristi Otwell Malzahn and together they have two daughters, Kylie and Kenzie.
-*[http://auburntigers.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/malzahn_gus00.html Official Auburn bio]
-*[http://tulsahurricane.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/malzahn_gus00.html Official Tulsa bio]
-*[http://www.hogwired.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=30722&SPID=2419&DB_OEM_ID=6100&ATCLID=530220&Q_SEASON=2006 Official Arkansas bio]
-*[http://www.tulsaworld.com/sports/article.aspx?articleID=20081031_94_B1_Univer345434 TulsaWorld Profile]
 {{start box}}
+{{succession box | title=[[Auburn Tigers football|Auburn Tigers Offensive Coordinator]]| before=[[Tony Franklin]] | years=2009–2011 | after= [[Scott Loeffler]]}}
+{{succession box | title=[[Auburn Tigers football|Auburn University Head Coach]] | before=[[Gene Chizik]] | years=2013–2020 | after=[[Kevin Steele]] (interim)}}
+{{end box}}
+==Publications==
+* Malzahn, Gus (January 2003) ''Hurry Up No Huddle — An Offensive Philosophy''. Monterey, California: Coaches Choice Books. ISBN 9781585186549
-{{succession box | title=[[Auburn Tigers football|Auburn Tigers Offensive Coordinator]]| before=[[Tony Franklin]] | years=2009&ndash;2011 | after= [[Scott Loeffler]]}}
+== References ==
-{{end box}}
+* Wikipedia contributors, "[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gus_Malzahn&oldid=994088320 Gus Malzahn]." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (accessed December 14, 2020).
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Malzahn, Gus}}
 [[Category:1965 births]]
 [[Category:Living people]]
+[[Category:Football players]]
+[[Category:Football coaches]]
+[[Category:Authors]]
 [[Category:Auburn Tigers football coaches]]

Gus Malzahn: Difference between revisions

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