Gus Malzahn hot seat talk was premature
Gus Malzahn enjoyed immediate success during his first season as Auburn’s head coach in 2013.
The Tigers, who went winless in conference games the previous season, finished with a 12-2 (8-1 SEC) record, won an SEC championship and were one score away from being the last team to win a BCS championship.
Naturally, Malzahn became one of the most revered coaches in the SEC. He was quickly considered among the best in the conference, including Alabama’s Nick Saban, LSU’s Les Miles, Georgia’s Mark Richt and South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier.
But the complexion of the SEC has changed so drastically since Malzahn’s first season. Of that elite coaching group, only Saban still holds his job, while Spurrier opted to retire due to his mistakes late in his run with the Gamecocks, and Miles and Richt were both fired for failing to live up to lofty expectations.
Malzahn looked to be facing a similar fate heading into 2016. The Tigers failed to win more games than the previous year in each of his last two seasons and were arguably the most disappointing team in college football in 2015.
After being selected as the favorite to win the SEC championship at SEC Media Days and being considered as a preseason favorite for the national championship, Auburn finished last in the SEC West with a 7-6 (2-6) record.
Malzahn’s hot seat turned up as the team faced a 1-2 start after its first three games. Ironically, Auburn’s win over LSU may have costed Miles his job but arguably saved Malzahn’s. Since then, the Tigers have won three consecutive games and earned a No. 23 overall ranking in the AP Poll.
Perhaps the talk of Malzahn’s demise was premature. In hindsight, Auburn has lost games to two top 10 teams, which included a 6-point loss to a Clemson team many expected to make another College Football Playoff appearance, and a Texas A&M team who enters its bye week at No. 6 overall.
Granted, there were a few questionable things surrounding Auburn early in the 2016 season. The quarterback roulette was unnecessary, especially with how well Sean White — who was named the starter prior to Week 1 — has played as of late. White has thrown for 677 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception and completion percentage of 77.0 in his last three games.
Also, the decision to let offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee call plays has paid off. Malzahn handed off play-calling duties to Lashlee during Auburn’s win over LSU, and the Tigers’ offense has looked consistent since. Prior to 2016, the coordinator called plays during Auburn’s 26-10 win at Texas A&M last season.
So maybe Malzahn had too much on his plate handling play calling and head coaching duties. Or perhaps this Auburn team is hitting its stride at the perfect time.
The Tigers have a bye in Week 7 before facing Arkansas, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Alabama A&M and Alabama during the remainder of their schedule. Only two of those six games should be considered comfortable wins, leaving Auburn’s final landing spot in the West standings very much up in the air for now.
Even if Auburn manages to finish somewhere near the top of the division, that should exceed expectations for a team coming off a seventh-place finish and help Malzahn keep his job.
At this point, the coach has done an excellent job at changing negative perception and should be back in the good graces of the fan base.
After all he’s faced, Malzahn has managed to lower the temperature on his proverbial throne and could extend his time with the program.