Tag: Gus Malzahn fired

Auburn fans have grown tired of the ‘good ol’ boy’ system

Auburn alumni and fans are tired of the same people running and ruining the football program over and over again.

For years, Auburn has been branded to the world as a family, but really it’s more of an avaricious autocracy where only big money talks.

When it comes to decisions regarding football, only a select group of individuals seem to be heard and whatever they say goes.

These individuals are notorious for sticking their dirty little hands where they don’t belong, and now they have single-handedly converted Auburn’s head coaching search into a clown show. They’re doing it all for the sake of control and access to exclusive perks that neither you nor I will ever see. Not because they love Auburn. Ego fragility at its finest.

We’re witnessing a coup of epic proportions on The Plains. Before Gus Malzahn was fired on Sunday, these guys knew who they wanted and they wouldn’t need to go far to find him. They had their eyes set on Kevin Steele because, according to them, Steele has the characteristics Auburn needs to revert back to the old glory days of the 1980s.

It’s not like football has advanced or anything in the last 40 years. Auburn  facilities sure haven’t. As I said before, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand why Auburn continues to fall behind other SEC schools in recruiting  battles. Since 1989, Auburn football practice facilities have been located at the Auburn Athletics Complex, which is shared by numerous sports. Auburn football is ranked in the bottom half of the SEC in terms of facilities, and its new football-only complex, which should have been a brainchild a long time ago, is set for completion in 2022.

On Tuesday, athletic director Allen Greene and President Jay Gogue  announced the university had established an advisory committee who would cooperate with the Parker Executive Search Firm out of Atlanta to assist in finding Auburn’s next head coach. It was also around this time the public found out Greene would have virtually zero say in selecting Auburn’s next head coach, and the decision would fall to the hands of the big money boosters and ultimately Gogue himself.

This charade between these three boosters and Auburn University is so predictable it’s worse than a Hallmark Christmas movie. By Wednesday, the apathetic fan grew enraged when it was revealed the boosters planned to shove the hiring of Steele down their throats. The news ignited a revolution. By midnight on Thursday, #StopSteele was trending on Twitter, and Auburn players past and present began making it clear who they wanted to see as Auburn’s next head coach.

Here we are six days removed from the firing of Gus Malzahn. It’s been revealed current Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is lined up to interview on Sunday. Louisiana head coach Billy Napier and Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliot are also scheduled to meet with Auburn in the coming days. But it’s also been reinforced that the “good ol’ boy” boosters are 110% committed to hiring Steele.

Hiring Steele reaffirms the message Auburn isn’t a family, but an institution run by the good ol’ boy system. The ramifications of this will be immediate. Greene will probably run for the hills. I mean, could you blame him? Two players have entered the transfer portal this week while recruiting is in shambles. Oh, and an already lethargic fan base will plunge even further into the depths of disinterest.

We were tired in 2003 after Bobby Lowder’s “JetGate.” We were tired in 2008 after Jay Jacobs escorted a head coach with a 5-19 record into Auburn to the chorus of, “We want a leader not a loser!”

We’re outright exhausted now.

Gus Malzahn posts heartfelt message to Auburn on Twitter

Gus Malzahn took to Twitter on Monday to thank the entire Auburn family for all the support during his eight years as head coach.

After eight seasons, Gus Malzahn is no longer the head coach at Auburn after being let go from the position on Sunday following a 6-4 record this season.

On Monday, he posted a heartfelt message on Twitter thanking the Auburn family.

Twitter reacts as Auburn fires head coach Gus Malzahn

The Auburn Tigers fired head coach Gus Malzahn following Saturday’s win against Mississippi State. Malzahn went 68-35 for the Tigers.

The SEC has had multiple coach firings before the end of the regular season. Auburn is the latest SEC school to say goodbye to its head coach. The Tigers fired Gus Malzahn following Saturday’s win against Mississippi State.

Overall, Auburn went 6-4 on the season, but didn’t get any big-time wins over elite competition. Malzahn coached at Auburn for eight seasons and amassed a 68-35 record for the Tigers. He helped the Tigers make the 2013 national championship, where they fell to the Florida State Seminoles in a last-minute defeat.

Auburn pulled off some miraculous, unforgettable wins (especially against Alabama) during Malzahn’s tenure. Now, the Tigers are looking for a new coaching staff and will foot a massive bill to pay for Malzahn’s buyout.

Auburn recently extended Malzahn on a seven-year, $49 million deal. Now, it will be faced with paying a buyout of nearly $40 million for Malzahn and his assistants.

The Tigers are coming off a 9-4 season, but Malzahn was on the hot seat. Auburn’s chief rivals Alabama, LSU and Georgia are having great success, and it has been making Auburn fans squirm. Now, a couple days before signing day, Auburn will seek a new head coach.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to the news of Malzahn’s dismissal:

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The Gus Malzahn era had faults but his integrity wasn’t one

While you can question Gus Malzahn’s coaching and choices during his Auburn tenure, you can’t question his integrity.

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Since news broke on Sunday afternoon that Gus Malzahn had been fired by Auburn, I’ve been floating around in my head what his ultimate legacy will be 10, 20 years from now when his name is brought up on the Plains.

For a coach who spent just eight seasons on the job, there are somehow a myriad of ways he can and will be remembered. Yes, there is the magical 2013 debut season in which the Tigers took the sport by storm and it seemed Malzahn would become one of the rulers of the game.

There’s the lack of development at quarterback. His waffling on offensive coordinators and whether or not he would be the one calling plays. The departure of talented players, including the top four recruiting in the 2018 class. The transformation from high-energy, hurry-up offense to whatever concoction we currently see on the field. His ability to do what a lot of SEC coaches couldn’t and beat Nick Saban on a regular basis.

So many different ways for someone to be remembered yet as an Auburn alumnus and fan, Malzahn’s class and integrity always stood out to me the most.

Yes, I have been extremely critical of the coach during parts of his tenure including this past couple of weeks when the proverbial bus seemed to have nothing but flat tires. His quote on how a four-loss season would be solid in most seasons after the loss to Texas A&M didn’t exactly do him any favors with Auburn fans and the powers that run the program.

Yet the one thing we didn’t have to worry about with Malzahn was him embarrassing the university. That says a lot especially in a time when every move by a head coach at a major college is scrutinized and on record. His calm temperament even when things were going wrong was assuring. Not once did he lose his cool on a reporter or lecture someone on why he’s a football coach and they are not.

His players seemed to genuinely care for him as well. That was evident from the postgame video from Saturday night of him, in one of the rare moments he let loose, dancing while the players cheered him on. One has to wonder if he knew this was his last game in charge as he brought back the sweater vest and visor. Was that for sentimental reasons?

I don’t pretend to know Malzahn as well as the rest of the reporters that cover Auburn. I have only met him a number of times and it was usually in a professional setting, but I can say this: he was always cordial, friendly and approachable. That is rare for a man in his position.

There was never a doubt on whether he cared about his players, coaching staff and Auburn as a whole. He invested into the program and soon, a football-only facility that he helped fund will be erected on campus. He was a great ambassador for the university.

Quite certainly there were times when he wanted to blow his fuse, call his doubters out and release some frustration with a fan base that really never warmed up to him. Somehow, he didn’t. He was all class all the time.

And maybe that is what his ultimate legacy should be: a coach that had some major highs, some lows, but always had the best interest of the people around him at the forefront. Things sometimes don’t work out the way you would want or expect and for Malzahn, his eight seasons on the Plains have come to an end with no major controversies, no major probation and no major embarrassment for the school or athletic program.

When you take that into account, Auburn was lucky to have him.

Auburn fires head coach Gus Malzahn

Auburn University parted ways with head coach Gus Malzahn. Who are some names to watch for the position?

On Saturday night Auburn defeated Mississippi State, leading to a viral video of head coach Gus Malzahn dancing with his team in the locker room after the win.

On Sunday, Malzahn was dancing his way to a new job.

Auburn Athletic Director Allen Greene issued a statement on the decision:

After evaluating the state of the Auburn football program, we’ve decided that it was time to make a change in leadership. We appreciate everything that Gus did for the program over the last eight seasons. We will begin a search immediately for a coach that can help the Auburn program consistently compete at the highest level.

Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele will serve as the interim head coach:

With its status in the SEC and a pipeline to some of the best recruiting spots in the nation, Auburn remains a very attractive job on the college football landscape. The school and Greene should have no shortage of interesting candidates to interview. Names to watch include Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mike Elko, USC offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze, Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal and West Virginia head coach Neal Brown.

Auburn quiets Mississippi State but questions about future linger

Auburn won a hard-fought game against Mississippi State on Saturday but the questions of Gus Malzahn’s future still lingers.

For much of the game on Saturday night in Starkville, it looked as if it would be a replay of the 2008 3-2 game in which Tommy Tuberville’s Auburn team somehow outlasted Sylvester Croom and Mississippi State.

Thanks to the Auburn defense and some big plays from Bo Nix, Seth Williams and Tank Bigsby in the fourth quarter, fans weren’t subjected to that again.

Kevin Steele, who saw his defense in back-to-back games get shredded, dialed up the perfect game plan against the Air Raid attack and a true freshman quarterback in Will Rogers that is still learning the game. The coverage was excellent, the pressure in the most important times got to Rogers and the Tigers were set on making the State offense move the ball down the field in bunches.

That wasn’t going to work tonight and, with a 9-3 lead in the fourth quarter and backed up against the opponent’s end zone, Nix to Williams came through big once again as the Auburn quarterback found his favorite wide receiver for a 25-yard gain. A few plays later, the combo hit again for a 32-yard touchdown.

It wasn’t the most impressive performance from Auburn. In fact, it was far from it. The Bulldogs scored quickly after the Williams touchdown catch to cut the score to 16-10 but once again Bigsby, who rushed for 192 yards, did his work and then Nix completed the job that faked out the same defender twice.

The only question is where do the Tigers go from here. With so much talk about the future of Malzahn at Auburn and whether or not the powers that are will pay his buyout and who they will bring in instead, this isn’t the type of win that the eighth-year head coach needed to convince people he is still the man for the job.

This is not a good Mississippi State team and the fact that the Tigers had a problem putting them away wasn’t exactly a promising sign.

I have said before what I think about the future of Auburn under Malzahn and that is I just don’t think the program is heading in the right direction with him in power. With his job probably on line — if it hasn’t already been decided — Malzahn brought out the old combination of sweater vest and visor and then, in a move out of the gutsy coach we used to know, went for it on a 4th down in the first quarter. He acted like a coach who knew his days were numbered.

It was a win and nothing else. We can feel good for everyone involved while also questioning which direction this program should go in. It will be an interesting few days on the Plains.

5 worst Auburn losses during the Gus Malzahn era

Auburn has had some bad losses during the eight season under Gus Malzahn. Here are the five worst for the Tigers since 2013.

Gus Malzahn is about to finish his eighth season in charge of the Auburn football program and during that time the Tigers have seen some majors ups and some downs.

His tenure on the Plains started out with a bang as he led the Tigers to the 2013 BCS National Championship Game after the magical “Miracle at Jordan-Hare” and “Kick Six” was followed by a win in the SEC title game.

That season was followed by seven seasons in which the Tigers failed to lose less than four games including this season in which they stand 5-4 going into the finale against Mississippi State on Saturday.

Yesterday, we took a look at the best victories during the Malzahn era. Today, we are reviewing the worst defeats under his watch.