Gus Malzahn recalls Alabama OC offer from Nick Saban early in Tide tenure
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Gus Malzahn actually held his own against Nick Saban during his head coaching tenure at Auburn from 2013-20. While Saban was punching nearly everybody in the mouth during his dynastic crusade in Tuscaloosa, Malzahn did OK during all those Iron Bowl showdowns.
With Malzahn announcing his retirement earlier this week after 35 years in coaching, the 60-year-old was able to go down memory lane and reflect during an exclusive interview with On3’s Chris Low.
While Malzahn spoke about all of the success he had as the head man at Auburn and as an assistant there, it was one memory of his that proved how every choice you make in a career will have some effect, whether big or small. In this special case, it was the revelation by Malzahn that Saban actually called him regarding the Alabama offensive coordinator job as Saban was heading into his 2nd season in Tuscaloosa in 2008.
Malzahn hadn’t even arrived on the Plains as an assistant yet, much less the head coach. He had just finished his first season as assistant head coach and co-offensive coordinator at Tulsa, and things were going great. Still, this was Saban and Alabama that had come calling, and even though the Crimson Tide hadn’t started rattling off national titles yet under Saban, it was a huge opportunity.
So, why didn’t Malzahn jump at the chance?
“I don’t know,” was his blunt, honest answer in the On3 interview. “That’s a great question. I’d just come from Arkansas, which was my first year in college coaching and had only been at Tulsa for a year. I guess I wanted to do my own thing.”
Ironically, after just one more season at Tulsa, Malzahn ended up at Auburn as the offensive coordinator and then eventually as the head coach, so he would be going up against Saban for years to come after that one curious decision prevented him from being on the same sideline.
Things turned out just fine for Malzahn during his long coaching career, but it’ll always be a mystery of what would’ve happened to him had he said “yes” to Saban in 2008.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
