Auburn announces Gus Malzahn has been fired, interim coach named
Gus Malzhan has coached his final game at Auburn.
Despite beating Mississippi State on Saturday night, Auburn made the decision to fire Malzahn on Sunday. With Malzahn out, defensive coordinator Kevin Steele has been named interim head coach of the Tigers.
The Tigers finished the season with a 6-4 record after beating Mississippi State 24-10 in Starkville on Saturday.
Malzahn had been head coach at Auburn since 2013. During his time with the Tigers, Gus was 68-35 overall. Before landing the head coaching job on The Plains, Malzahn served one season at Arkansas State and was the offensive coordinator during Auburn’s run to the 2010 BCS National Championship.
Auburn AD Allen Greene issued the following 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.”
Here is the statement issued by Auburn to SDS on Sunday:
Auburn Director of Athletics Allen Greene announced Sunday a leadership change for Auburn football as Gus Malzahn will no longer direct the program. Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele will serve as interim head coach.
In eight years, Malzahn compiled a 68-35 record including a 39-27 mark in Southeastern Conference play. He led the program to an SEC Championship and BCS National Championship appearance in his first season and an SEC West title in 2017.
Greene recommended a change in the football team’s leadership to Auburn President Jay Gogue after a “thorough analysis” of the program. Gogue accepted Greene’s recommendation.
Malzahn will be paid the remainder of his contract. A national search for his replacement will begin immediately.
SDS will have much more on this developing story.
Dang!
Begs the question they haven’t done this one of the last 3-4 years.
Huge buyout. I guess it got low enough for the boosters to pony up. I think it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of $21 mil.
Yep! We wanted him gone after 2018 now it is finally doable.
Not just the buyout. That PLUS in the past, whenever Auburn would come close to firing Chizik, he would beat Alabama, giving him another year.
Also, we all predicted that the “all conference schedule” plus the havoc created by the rescheduling (no more “circle this date” on the calendar and spend your entire season building up to it) was going to expose certain teams. The most likely candidates were taken to be Auburn, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida and Texas A&M. While the latter two just barely made it – yes UF losing to LSU stinks they still got back to Atlanta and A&M gutted out close wins against UF, Auburn and this same LSU team – the first 3 were exposed to be what they always were.
It isn’t a big deal for Kentucky – who are what they are – or even Tennessee who everyone knows doesn’t have a QB and can’t compete (though next year will be his last chance to beat one of UF, UGA or Alabama) – but Chizik is in year 8 with the 5 star son of one of the most beloved QBs in recent Auburn history pulling the trigger. There was no room to claim that Auburn was ever going to be anything more than a middling program under Chizik.
Interesting, your comment about how the Aggies “just barely made it” this season. I’d argue that the upward trajectory of the A&M program makes some of the coaching hot seats a bit hotter as boosters fear getting left behind.
I think you meant malzahn and not Chizic. Chizic didn’t coach Bo Nix.
There is just way too much wrong in this… I wonder if you even know what sport you’re talking about.
Gene Chizik was at Auburn for four years and was fired in 2012. It’s 2020 and you’re still whining about Gene Chizik? Dude, get some professional help
Guess they didn’t line the locker room dance…
Like*
Guess not lol
Brought to AU by the best HC/OC ever – Club Dub created by none other than Chad Morris. Look it up from last year – his last ‘win’ at Arkansas
What was that thing up in Arky…the Dub Club?
I thought that buyout made him bullet-proof for at least another season. Maybe Saban will allow him to attend his Former Coach Rehabilitation Clinic. Auburn will foot the bill.
With Butch Jones leaving, Guss would be a nice replacement and Auburn would still be paying him to coach at Bama Priceless ‼️
Well that is a disappointment. I’d hoped he’d stay at Auburn forever.
Most non-Auburn fans hoped that too
That might be what he was dancing about last night.
That caught me off guard.
Will Hugh Freeze over on the Plains?
I would doubt that freeze would go to the school that just fired his good buddy
I would think this opening will interest him.
Mississippi State getting auburn head coaches fired
All jokes aside I’m glad the suits finally came to a conclusion. The program and the kids playing deserved better. Strung out way too long
I think Malzahn calling a 4 loss season “solid” might have had something to do with some minds changing.
Negotiating his ridiculous contract since the previous AD was removed. Auburn wasn’t going to fire Gus until they had a guy. That guy is Mario Cristobal. He will be our next coach
You think so? I think Cristobal would be a great fit. Great recruiter and a QB developer.
Mario isn’t leaving Nikeland.
I don’t buy the Cristobal rumor for one second. That just screams of Sexton getting his client a salary bump.
Be careful what u wish for. If it’s not freeze i don’t know if any of those other name’s sound so attractive. Another article mentioned Kiffin. Do you think he would bailout on Ole Miss. I know he did that to UT. If it’s not Sark, Freeze or Kiffin i might be a little concerned. What would be the chance they gave Kevin Steel the job?
Steele is old and had zero success at his only head coaching shot. AU needs a proven head coach from some level that can over see the whole program and recruit. Steele is not a personality that can turn around a program by infusing it with high school talent.
What will really hurt the Tigers is if Steele leaves after new coach is hired. His Def has carried Auburn for more than just this year. He’s had solid squads at Bama and LSU as well. We’ll take him back in a heartbeat. Maybe Vols wil hire Gus, it would be an upgrade. Lmao
I’m not opposed to this move, but who out there is an obvious better choice? Asking for a friend….
Drinkwitz is off limits, just fyi.
Keep the nerd
Promote Chad Morris.
We will keep him thank you
I dont think you have to worry about that…at all.
mario cristobal
Wouldn’t be a bad choice.
From what I’ve heard it’s a done deal they are ready for a swift transition
Nope, Cristobal isn’t leaving the Oregon money train for an SEC West schedule. I’m not sold on him being a good coach either. Great recruiter, but he couldn’t even beat Gus with a Freshman Nix. No thanks.
Sure, hire the guy who couldn’t beat him just last year. the same guy who had the qb who’s likely to win offensive rookie of the year in the nfl.
the jeff jacobs in the middle of the night pursuit of petrino while tubberville was still on staff makes more sense
Not sure but we were really a .500 team this year that got bailed out by the refs in the arky game. Not exactly a high bar considering the talent on the field. (Or not on the field because of Gus….see Malik Willis)
Malik Willis said in an interview that he didn’t put in the work and expected to be handed the job after Stidham left. He had work ethic issues that seem to now be remedied.
And this is something that should not have been recognized and addressed by the head coach? Just sayin.
He did recognize it. That’s why Willis transferred.
Not trying to make you feel worse but UK and Ole Miss would like to talk to you about the officiating as well.
Fair enough but neither of those definitely effected the outcome of the game the way the arky call did. In the uk game there was a pick 6 called back for au on q questionable call as well.
And btw this doesn’t make me feel bad at all lol.
Chizik is available
Hard no.
Hard no? More like let me just kill myself if that happens.
Yeah.
Pat Dye’s secret clone.
There is no such thing as an obvious better choice, but schools have to make some choice if they want to be considered a major player. Gus had run out his string.
Finally!
Gus to Arky state with Anderson taking over at USU.
State just hired Butch out of the Saban Rehab Clinic.
I bet they wish they waited now!
Butch Jones already got that job as HC
Gus wont go back to Astate. Besides the fact that they just hired Butch, he left Astate his first year there right before a bowl game when he got the HC job with Auburn.
I’m heartbroken.
Dang, that’s sudden. I did not see this coming and am not sure I agree with it unless Auburn can get someone better. Who’s out there? Hugh Freeze? Is he even worth it? Yes, this team was a disappointment, but it could easily have gone 7-3 in league play if the South Carolina debacle hadn’t happened (and yes, I realize the Arkansas game kind of cancels that out). I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but it better be good to make an expensive gamble like this.
It was out there. I said it was going to happen Friday. You also can not get someone better until you first try. As for the 7-3 in league play, you are correct, just as they easily could have gone 4-6 in league play if replay had actually made the correct calls.
That is precisely correctTideFan8x5. Also, if Bigsby had not gotten cranked up against MSST in the second half, we could possibly have been 3-7 with a loss against them and without the blown ref calls.
I bet Chad Morris would love to step up to the HC position. Might even hire Gus as his OC.
Steele is HC now.
Let’s hope he stays on as dc no matter who the new hc is. He has said he has no desire to be a hc in the past. We shall see.
Do you think Gus will take that voodoo magic at JHS away with him?
Few head coaches that you are going to want, are going to keep coordinators from past staffs. It happens occasionally, but usually they want their guy in there. Steele is not the easiest to get along with either. Not that he is a bad guy but he just does not have a rosey personality and he wants no interference with HIS defense.
With Gus at Auburn, the program went to two national championships, split them and almost won both, went to three SEC championship games (split 2-3), and had some of the most memorable games in recent history (the Camback, Prayer in Jordan-Hare, the Kick-Six, the beatdowns of Bama and UGA in 2017, the crazy Iron Bowl win last year, etc.). It was a good run, but I understand this is a business. War Eagle, Coach Malzahn. Thank you for all you’ve done for the program and looking for even better years to come!
That is part of the problem. All the big wins came on the backs of miracle fluke plays.
Not all of them, and you seem to forget that the games had to be close to even be in a situation for that to happen. Auburn has had some really good teams under Gus, but he couldn’t get it done consistently, especially down the stretch.
Somehow I can’t help but think of Les Miles…
Yeah they were close, but they plays were still “prayers” not something you can coach a team to do. They were 2 fluke plays from being a 4 loss team in 2013. As for a beat down of Alabama, could you define beatdown? AU has not beaten Bama by 14 points in 51 years.
You seem to forget that Auburn and Bama were tied before the Kick6, and Auburn had all the momentum had it gone into OT. The prayer in JH was only needed, because the refs screwed Auburn on the previous UGA TD (Murray still hasn’t crossed the line).
I hate it for Gus but love it for the program. This is what needed to be done. I’m sure Gus was disappointed and sad to hear the news but on the bright side, he’s still getting 3 years worth of money from Auburn and he’ll get a great job somewhere else where he can rebuild.
As for coaching replacements… Mario Cristobal, PJ Fleck, Hugh Freeze, Kevin Steele, Bob Stoops, Steve Sarkisian, Brent Venables, Matt Campbell, and Billy Napier are some contenders.
Stoops is really interesting. With the talent/recruiting advantages he would have at au as opposed to UK that would make a huge difference. My main question would be how he meshed with Steele. Stoops is an ex dc.
YES! Hire him and leave him alone to let him do his Thang!!!
@AU Tville. I think you’re thinking of Mark Stoops. Bob Stoops was never at Kentucky.
My bad.
But Bob was a DC at UF so I stand by my statement. Just hoping the new hc can hang onto Steele.
I was thinking about Mark Stoops myself. It would be an upgrade for both programs. I think he would be a good one. I don’t think it would be a good fit for Fleck, he is more northern and may be in line for Michigan, Steele was a failure as a HC and does not really have the personality to bring in the recruits, Freeze would be a huge risk, but you never know, I think Sark would pass, Venables would require a pretty large contract for a 1st time HC. Cristobal, Campbell, and Napier would be pretty good choices I think.
Leave Sark alone. He’s doing mighty fine as OC.
Is Fleck an improvement over Gus?
Probably not.
That boat hasn’t “rowed” this season. It sunk like the Titantic.
Lol.
Fleck will be waiting for a call from Michigan. I havent heard but I did read something about Michigan meeting with Harbaugh about an extension tho.
Michigan is insisting on a contract reduction. Ego may keep that from getting done.
With Harbaugh’s performance lately he ought to be working for peanuts.
Harbaugh’s college career is as bad as Saban’s pro career. He’s a dud, come on guys, who can’t recruit with the Wolverines?
CHAD MORRIS!!!
I wouldn’t be excited about many of the names on this list, so I hope that’s not who they’re firing Gus over. lol
AU may hire Bo Nick’s Dad he moved just down the road from Auburn
BYE FELICIA!! WAR EAGLE!!!!
We have an absolutely amazing DC they can hire… Hate to see him go, but gotta do what best for the team, I mean him.
LOL
He won’t be on the short list and neither will the other gata dc that carolina just fired. :-)
Your move, Fulmer
Hugh Freeze is on the clock.
This may sound like a hater post, but this firing feels a little bit like the Fulmer firing back in the day. The fan base is frustrated with being good, but not great, so they decide to move on. Sometimes that works out well, sometimes it blows up in your face.
Thinking the same thing. Gus has led Auburn to some pretty impressive highs, and he’s never had a losing season. With many players returning on both sides of the ball and this being a crazy year to begin with, I don’t understand why the powers-that-be didn’t give him one more year. They must think they already have the perfect candidate. Let’s hope they’re right.
Gus was not paid that much money to be good. If you want to be just good, there are plenty of coaches out there that would do it for less. You also can not call yourself a football power if you are satisfied with 4 or more losses.
Gus retired after he got his big contract and became a grandfather. He no longer has that drive to get back to a championship. I’m happy for him that he’s found his life balance, but that’s not what he was being paid $7 million per year for. He’s a great person and Auburn will always be grateful for 2013 and how clean of a program he ran. Now it’s time to get someone to infuse some hope and energy into the program.
Top 5 that I’d want to have.
1. Cristobal
2. Sark
3. Napier
4. Freeze
5. Venables
On a side note, wondering if Dan Quinn would be any good. Probably not.
One could argue that gus beat cristobal with an inferior team…..just last year. having difficulty in seeing the upgrade, especially with him singled out as your #1 choice
That’s my thought as well. Don’t get the Cristobal love fest.
Everyone wants to pick from the Saban tree.
Given the success rate of former Saban assistants, (O-fer), I’d leave his “tree” alone if I had to play him each year.
Don’t know why Cristobal would leave a cushy gig in Eugene where he can dominate for the pressure cooker of the SEC West?
Sark and Freeze would be solid hires IMO. Does Venables have any HC experience? Pretty high profile gig for a guy who hasn’t led a major program. It’ll be interesting to see who you guys get.
I don’t think Venables wants a coaching job. He’s fine in Dabo’s shadow.
I’d love to see TCU’s head man on the Plains. I think he has the experience and would be a fantastic fit.
Patterson turns 61 in a couple of months. Kind of old to be switching jobs.
About time.
Whoa
I hear Kevin Sumlin is available
That he is….
Say what you may about Kevin, but he always had solid teams at A&M. Just another championship or bust scenario in the SEC, Jimbo hasn’t done much better. Still late for the Prom.
Wow! Bizarre move given his buyout and this being a Pandemic year. Maybe they feared he beat the Tide at home next year making it impossible to move on? Wonder who they will bring in?
AU isn’t short of cash.
Can I get a loan? Only 1M.
Aw, Dawg Crap! I was hoping he’d stay another couple years.
Big Play Bob on the Plains . . . That would be interesting! It would take a truckload of money to get him, but apparently they’ve got some deep pocketed supporters. It’d be a home run hire.
Agreed provided he can work with Kevin Steele.
I don’t see making a huge hire in Sttops and telling him “Oh, but you have to keep the previous DC.” Do you think Bama would have put restrictions like that on Saban when he was hired? Hire the right guy for the job and let him do his job!
I don’t see Bob taking another HC gig in college football.
Joe Brady former LSU QB’s/asst OC? Kendall Briles Arky OC?
I’m shocked. I would not have made that decision this season if I was the Auburn AD. I don’t think Gus is a great coach, but he’s still a good one and the top name on the market now.
How is he top name?
He has accomplished more than any one out there available now.
Aren’t you the knucklehead that believes Coach O is the best thing since spliced bread?
Just what has he accomplished in the last 7 years?
Just hold your breath for all of those HC offers for Gus to start rolling in.
If I was Miss St. I wouldn’t talk about coaching hires since Dan left. Looks like Clark Griswald riding his sled down the snow bank. Weeeee…
This is interesting timing. Something tells me Auburn has someone waiting on the back burner
That, or the worst case scenario…Gus pushed for an answer before telling recruits whether he was going to be around or not. If Auburn is sitting around in a month still looking for a coach, someone screwed the pooch.
Absolutely brutal.
Well now….who is in line for a late season Freeze? I was expecting Tennessee. This throws a twist into this question.
To the remark about going to Arkansas State. Even if A State hadnt hired Butch Jones, I dont think they want to be another stepping stone. Malzahn played State just like he did Arkansas and is not a welcome figure in that state.
I just clicked here to see if Chad Morris had a chance to be the next HC at Auburn. Hey, we can have dreams cant we? I think they should just pull the trigger and hire “left lane hammer down” Morris.
I guess a new direction had to happen but I hate it for Gus, he was a class guy. At least it can be said of him he never had a losing season. Not many coaches can say that.
This isn’t the wrong decision, but it certainly came at the wrong time. Who is even available to coach for Auburn currently that is better than Gus? It’s not easy to sell a good coach that intends on winning a title at some point in their career a yearly matchup against Alabama and Nick Saban. Napier? Fleck? Freeze? Those are the guys Auburn decided were worth getting over a proven good coach in Malzahn who has had success against not only Alabama, but the SEC? I think Auburn needed to move on too, but this year has been crazy, and Auburn should be returning a pretty good team next year. They should have waited until next year to pull the trigger because I don’t see who they could hire and immediately improve with.
I don’t think they wanted to give Gus an opportunity to have a “good” season next year. And by “good”, I mean going 9-3. It’s much easier to can a coach for going 6-4.
Chad Morris was the last nail in Gus’ coffin. I was never a Gus fan but he still pulled out alot of games. This could start a landslide like Hawgs had after firing Petrino. Always that chance.
Any of you Auburn fans going to Waffle House to celebrate?