Per AStateNation.com, former Auburn running back Michael Dyer—who transferred to Arkansas State—has had his eligibility waiver request denied and must sit out the 2012 football season.
Dyer left Auburn after his former offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn took the Red Wolves head coaching job.
UPDATE: Press release via AStateNation.
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Via Chris Bahn at ArkansasSports360.com we have this chilling report:
Gus Malzahn wants increased visibility for the Arkansas State football program.
Recruiting well and winning big will help. And the Red Wolves have something else in mind too.
Billboards positioned above some of the busiest roadways in Arkansas have been unveiled featuring Malzahn and the Red Wolves. It is another facet of an aggressive media and marketing push by ASU as Malzahn begins his first season as coach.
Advertisements have been erected featuring the slogan “Game On” with the “stAte” logo and words “2012 | Red Wolves.” Locations include Stadium Drive in Jonesboro, the 1-40/1-55 split in West Memphis, the Highway 67/I-40 split in Little Rock and the I-30 bridge in Little Rock. Fort Smith and Texarkana are also targeted for ads.
Your move, Bobby Petrino.
We were shocked to learn that Fiesta Bowl executives plundered their non-profit organization for riches beyond belief. We got tired of reading about once-respected coaches losing their jobs after lying about their players’ receipt of improper benefits. We reeled in disgust when reading of a rogue booster paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to players, buying them drugs and booze, hiring prostitutes and arranging abortions. We saw a parade of schools go before the NCAA Committee on Infractions and get handed stiff penalties for rules violations. Last month, the entire nation recoiled in horror as the once-revered Joe Paterno was forced out at Penn State amid allegations of decades of child sexual abuse by one of his assistants, enabled and covered up by one of the most storied programs in the country.
The story of Arkansas State knocking down the home run hire of Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn doesn’t erase the 2011 pain, but at least it lets us end the season on a high note and celebrate what’s great about college football. Sometimes, it’s not about money, power and prestige. Sometimes, it’s recognizing that home, family and doing good work in the right place is more important and more rewarding than taking the next big step up. Every now and then, somebody does something for the good of the game. This is one of those times.
What’s not to love about this story, if you’re a college football fan and you have any hope for the future of the sport? When the rumblings of a possible deal first became public, the cynicism born of the 2011 scandals caused many people to scoff. No way the could tiny, low-budget Arkansas State Red Wolves lure the nation’s highest paid assistant to Jonesboro to take over a Sun Belt Conference school that had paid its previous coach the lowest salary in FBS. No way would Gus Malzahn take such a huge cut in pay to coach such a lowly program with no automatic qualifying bid to a BCS bowl. No way would he go into a program in a state dominated by SEC West power Arkansas and try to compete for recruits with Bobby Petrino.
While the cynicism is certainly understandable, these lines of reasoning also ignored all of the reasons why the deal was all but done at the moment of first contact. First of all, there’s not as much of a cut in pay as one might think. The new contract is reportedly worth $5.1 million over six years, pretty close to the current $1.3 million, four years remaining deal he’s under now. Financially, it’s not that big of a drop-off.
Second, people underestimated Malzahn’s desire to be a head coach at the right program. There’s probably not a better fit anywhere in FBS than the Red Wolves. Their high-octane offense lit up the league in 2010 and 2011 and schematically, adjusting to Malzahn’s style of play won’t take two or three years.
Third, this says absolutely nothing about Auburn or Gene Chizik. This isn’t about Auburn at all. It’s not about philosophical differences or management styles or pending doom or any of that other nonsense you’re going to see floated around in the next few days. This is not about you, Auburn. This is about a guy realizing where he needs to be and going there.
Last of all—and here’s the part of this that makes me smile broadly—the cynics completely ignored the Malzahns’ desire as a family to “come home.” Both Gus and his wife are Arkansas natives. You don’t spend so many years of your lives together in a small, southern state like Arkansas and not have deep roots there. Usually, the only obstacles preventing successful people like Malzahn from returning are financial. The Arkansas State program crunched the numbers and found a way to get close.
And so, a Frank Broyles Award winning assistant coach who is already a legend in the state is coming home. The coach who designed an offense that won a BCS National Championship and Cam Newton the Heisman Trophy is moving to Jonesboro. The small town boy who made the big time didn’t forget where he came from, and rather than holding out for allegedly “better” jobs at places like Arizona State, Houston or possibly Southern Miss, Malzahn decided to return to his roots and play on a smaller stage for a while.
Instead of being regarded as a high dollar hired gun, Gus Malzahn will be treated like a hometown hero.
These are the kinds of stories that give us hope, and this is the feel good story of the year. After the season we’ve had, Lord knows we needed one.
Two separate reports are out indicating that Arkansas State has made an offer to Gus Malzahn for the Auburn offensive coordinator to become their head coach. The interest between the Red Wolves program and Malzahn was first reported here yesterday.
According to Pete Roussell’s Coaching Search Ticker, the program has offered a six-year, $600,000 deal.
AuburnUndercover.com had a similar report earlier this morning, but without specifics on the deal being put on the table.
Most observers believe it’s a long shot for Arkansas State to lure the native son back to the state of Arkansas, and the obstacles are most likely financial. Malzahn is one of the nation’s highest paid assistants, earning $1.3 million a year at Auburn. Arkansas State’s former head coach Hugh Freeze earned less than $300,000 before he bolted to take the Ole Miss job last week.
That said, it’s hard to underestimate the desire to be a head coach at a program with a philosophical fit, even if it is for significantly less money. It’s also hard to underestimate the desire to live and work in your home state while you develop your head coaching acumen, especially if your long term ambitions include a head coaching gig at a big time program.
If Arkansas State does successfully lure Malzahn to Jonesboro, it will probably be one of the few genuine “feel good” stories of the 2011 college football season. A native son returns to his home state, takes a cut in pay and takes over a small but growing football program. I’m not holding my breath, but I’d really like to do a blog post on good news this season.
Extra Point: When this blog broke the story yesterday, I cited sources close to the Sun Belt and “other reliable sources.” Those individuals explained to me in brief, face-to-face conversations that the interest was there and that ASU would make the push. I have had absolutely not contact whatsoever with Malzahn’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, and neither have any of the individuals I spoke with yesterday. Sexton isn’t behind this story. Arkansas State is driving it.
The current Auburn offensive coordinator is an Arkansas native and is said to be a front runner to take over Freeze’s spot. Freeze’s offense at Arkansas State has been built around a high-octane spread attack similar to Malzahn’s hurry-up-no-huddle offense. Arkansas state led the Sun Belt conference in scoring and total offense, going undefeated in the league and winning the conference title.
Malzahn also enjoys the advantage of having coached high school programs in the state, and would certainly exploit his contacts in the state’s high school coaching fraternity in recruiting.
There is no indication that Malzahn has interviewed for the position. Auburn is currently preparing for their Chick Fil-A Bowl appearance vs. Virginia.
