Anonymous SEC coach reveals ‘real’ reason Gus Malzahn was fired: ‘Is a guy from Boise going to fix that?’
By Keith Farner
Published:
In the wake of Gus Malzahn’s firing at Auburn last season, there were several explanations for why, and chief among them was his record against the top rivals: Alabama, LSU and Georgia.
According to an anonymous coach, who gave a candid opinion to Athlon Sports, that was only part of the picture.
“The real reason Gus is out isn’t because Auburn fell behind Alabama, it’s because they fell behind Clemson and Georgia and Florida,” the coach said. “Is a guy from Boise going to fix that?”
While Malzahn had the most success against Alabama’s Nick Saban as any active coach last year in the SEC, he left Auburn with 3-5 records against Alabama and LSU, and a 2-7 record against Georgia.
Also in the piece, an anonymous coach suggests that new coach Bryan Harsin is trying a complete shift from anything resembling Malzahn’s program.
“So far we hear that it is a total culture change,” the coach said. “He’s (new head coach Bryan Harsin) a grinder. Detail-oriented, first-year stuff where he thinks everything should change. Wants to kill off any of that image that Gus’ (Malzahn) teams had and make it about running the ball and blue-collar and all that. But does he have a clue about recruiting? That’s the single biggest question right now in the league.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
