I’ve personally been very skeptical that Malzahn will be interested in the Arkansas job. After all, he has a better job now and I think there is a portion of the fanbase that is opposed to him.
I remain skeptical…but a bit less so. There is an insider on another site that posted that the people that are trying to engineer the ouster of Long are doing so in part because they want Malzahn hired and Long is resistant to it. Additionally, I listened to Auburn beat writer Brandon Marcelo on Finebaum say on Friday that Gus resented being forced to turn over play calling and the relationship with the administration is strained and there is talk down there about him wanting out and having interest in Arkansas. I listened to Finebaum on another podcast today - recorded after the Auburn Georgia game - and he said after talking with several people he thinks the win yesterday has gotten Gus off the hot seat but he thinks he may still want out and there is a lot of chatter down there about him coming home to Arkansas.
I’d be curious to get your thoughts. If there is an opening do you think Gus would be a serious candidate and if so have you heard anything to make you think there are either boosters trying to make this happen?
Again, I’m skeptical but a little less so the more I hear.
But you can just about bet the house that there are some folks pushing for it. I think that have a lot of pull. According to Mike Irwin, Gus’s wife, Christy really wants to be moved back closer to her parents also. Mike did a whole segment on bo Mattinglys show about the inner workings going in to get Gus back to the hill. He’s a respectable guy too, he wouldn’t spark it up for no reason, I believe when he says he’s heard from very reliable folks that the push is being made.
I like the idea of Gus, he’s probably the most accomplished coach we could get for those who don’t want an Up-and comer. I’ve never been mad at him, people like to say he used the U of A to boost his career and that he’s not loyal. The way I see it is the man doesn’t owe anybody anything especially fans, so go after your career.
I’d be glad for him to come here as head coach. He’s one of the better coaches in the country. He is an Arkansas boy who would do a very good job, I believe. He is a little quirky with that vest and visor, but I can live with that. I don’t ever see him here though. Our fan base is so crazy we wouldn’t even want Nick Saban here because he is such a hard ass. He wouldn’t be sensitive enough. We might take him if he would agree to go thru sensitivity training.
As you can tell…I am no insider. Sorry, but Gus would be a really nice hire.
Putting aside any questions about his coaching ability or whether he’d be divisive, I simply don’t like the idea of a small clique of Springdale boosters running the UA athletic dept. Whether or not it’s his fault, there’s a cult surrounding him & it all seems to center in Springdale. I thought it had died down 4-5 years ago. Apparently I thought wrong.
I like his offense better now that it has morphed into a power running with spread passing offense rather than just the “rinky dink hurry up and snap before they are ready confuse them with tricks dink and dunk passing sand lot football” he started out with. Arkansas needs the best coach we can get and he may be it. I did not want him when Bielema was available and will gladly admit that was a mistake if he can come in and “right the ship.”
My big worry is can he be successful away from an institution that brings him elite players without him earning them on his own? Shiloh, when he was there, was a 2A school producing D-1 recruits at a higher rate than many of Texas’ largest high schools. Players were coming from Kansas, McGehee, Fayetteville, etc. to play at Shiloh. The AAA took some steps to stop that sophisticated of a recruiting system and they have been just good, not great ever since with Malzahn proteges coaching them in the same system. From Cam Newton’s $200,000 pay day to the “special for visiting recruits only” slot machines at Auburn booster controlled casinos, Auburn has stocked his teams with elite athletes. The fact that he can “look the other way” and “wash his hands of all that like Pontius Pilate” makes me worry he may be another Hugh Freeze playing the God Card in public and who knows what behind the scenes.
He has a rep, some rings, and some credibility to recruit with so he probably will recruit better than Bielema did. I don’t think there is any way that he will recruit as well as he did at Auburn, but I was wrong five years ago, maybe I am wrong now. I am getting desperate enough that I am willing to take a chance. JMVVVVVHO
Will it work here without all the star players he can get at AU?
I would bet if he leaves AU he will not come here. Where is the positives for him to come here?
Arkansas native, former (for two years) Razorback, he got dissed bigtime by Nutt’s fans when he coached on the hill for one year, said little, and now gets to come back and take charge. He has lots of family and friends in Arkansas and they are very (sometimes too much so in the past) loyal to him. He might think he would enjoy showing Auburn they made a mistake not appreciating him as well. It won’t be easy but he has lots of “room for improvement” before he has to match his record at Auburn.
Gus Malzahn issue have been kicked around last few days. I will rehash my thoughts in brief: We all have seen his handy work at high School and college. He also knows talent and can recruit even here. I like to have him to coach AR. But in my opinion it ain’t happening. If there are other jobs besides AR, which there are, he’ll take them over AR. Why? divided fan base (Petrino & Nutt nuts) who will be hovering overhead and looking for any chance to pick him to the bone, and better recruiting other places. Even if it happens, I predict that will not work out well for us and him. It’s best to bring someone with no past history, maybe we all can get behind the neutral coach and see what happens.
Bringing back Gus would be like bringing back Petrino or Nutt. They’ve been successful andt they have fans in Arkansas. However, their detractors would make it miserable for them and the program.
Why in the world would Gus want to trade Auburn for Arkansas? The hardest job in college coaching is recruiting.
At Auburn, Gus can just mail it in and have a top ten recruiting class, whereas at Arkansas he would have to scrap and claw just to get in the top 25.
Auburn is very well located for recruiting. The state of Alabama produces ten times as many recruits as Arkansas. It’s two hours from Atlanta, two hours from Florida. It’s right in the middle of a hotbed of recruits.
Auburn has great tradition, and the facilities there are second to none. Don’t believe it-take a tour. Arkansas can’t compare.
I dislike Gus. I’ve even said that I’d give up my season tickets if he were HC. I’ve heard others say the same.
I think he deserted the Razorbacks and his QB. If you’ll recall, Gus ran off to Tulsa before Mustain decided to transfer. Gus, just one year from being a HS coach, couldn’t understand that his boss might want some say in what he was doing. Mustain’s only QB coach had been Gus since HS. Mustain wasn’t making progress. HDN had a chance to bring in Mike Lee, who Tony Romo credited for his progress, only Lee wouldn’t come in as just a position coach; so, he made them co-offensive coordinators. Gus had a fit, grabbed his ball and ran off to Tulsa.
Plus, I really don’t think that Gus would do better here with top-20 talent than he has at Auburn with top-10 talent.
That all said, I’ve had a change of heart. If Gus makes the playoffs, and decides to come here after the season, I’ll support it. Leaving Auburn for Arkansas after that, and he might be able to bring in a top-10 recruiting class here. I’ll give him that chance. If it doesn’t work out, at least we’ll have a talented team for the next HC.
Why would Hog fans be mad at Gus?? He was brought in by Houston Nutt, to establish a spread offense. But as soon as Nutt had possible the best QB and the 2 best receivers from Springdale signed, Nutt turned his back on Gus, the spread offense was never established and Nutt went back to his smash mouth attempt at winning games. Gus went on to Tulsa and made them a powerhouse team and then the bigger schools started trying to hire Gus. So Gus ends up at Auburn. Auburn would be crazy to let Gus go and if they do, I guarantee there will be a lot of teams trying to hire Gus.
I suspect that BB is gone after this season and also suspect that the Hogs will end up with a 2nd rate coach. But if thats the case, maybe that new coach can do just as good or better than BB