Gene Chizik explains challenges of Gus Malzahn taking over once again as Auburn’s play-caller
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Auburn hired a new OC recently in Kenny Dillingham, but head coach Gus Malzahn will be calling the plays in 2019.
This has been seen by many as a last-ditch attempt by Malzahn to try to save his job, as he’ll enter the 2019 season on a very hot seat.
Former Auburn coach Gene Chizik spoke on Wednesday on ESPN 106.7’s The Lunch Break, detailing the challenges of being a play-caller and a head coach (via OANow.com):
“I’m in a meeting right now and we’re finishing up a third down gameplan, but Freddie is on the phone, who’s a five-star, and him and his parents want to talk to you for an hour — and if you don’t talk to him right now, then you may not get him,” Chizik detailed. “Right? And you’ve got to battle Georgia and Alabama and everybody else.
“I could go on and on and on with a list of things that pulls a head coach away from his laser focus on game-planning and calling plays. And it’s real. It’s a real challenge,” Chizik went on.
“When Gus is locked and loaded in, he’s as good a game planner, he’s as thorough as anybody out there, and he’s a great game day play-caller. For whatever the reasons, he felt like he had to give that up and got away from it. He apparently feels like he’s going to get back to it.
“We’ll see how it unfolds.”
Indeed we will see how it unfolds. Malzahn is going to need to do much better than 7-5 next year if he wants to save his job.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
