2019 Iron Bowl: It's that time of year again

Ahh, Thanksgiving. Turkey & fixin's on Thursday, a mad grab for material reward on Friday and the most uncivil civil war on Saturday. Then triage and hangover-nursing (for some) on Sunday.

Look at the history of the series. The average margin of victory is about 16 points. In the College Football Playoff era, the margin has been 17 but the BCS era was closer with a margin of 12.5. Alabama owns the only blowout victories in recent history, all in the Nick Saban era. There was a 36-0 shutout to end the Tommy Tuberville regime in 2008. Then 42-14 in 2011; then 49-0 in 2012 to end Gene Chizik's head coaching career and last year's 52-21 beatdown.

Rivalry games are always emotional. In a rivalry this heated, this bitter and this intense, the rivals’ adrenaline lasts a little longer than the first quarter.

A lot the players in this game are from the state of Alabama. They probably played against each other in high school and may have even played against each other in pee wee leagues. Their families know each other. They’ve gone to the same churches, the same schools and played on the same playgrounds. Sooner or later the two teams will settle in and just play football, but this game is always a little more intense than other rivalries.

Almost all of the fans in this state know each other. We work together. We live in the same neighborhoods. We worship together, shop together and share the road with each other. A big percentage of us all are related to one another, too. I have cousins and in-laws who have crossed over to the Dark Side, for some mysterious reason (I do pray for them; you should, too). Civil wars are always like this.

For most of the three months of college football's regular season, we kind of look at each other a little differently. For the other nine months we tolerate each other. For one holiday weekend, we hardly speak to one another and rarely about the Iron Bowl.

For about 3-1/2 hours on that Saturday afternoon, it's war.

The stakes for the 2019 installment are pretty high. Alabama still has a good chance to make its sixth straight appearance in the College Football Playoff. With three losses already, Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn is probably coaching for his job. Win this game and he probably comes back. Lose it, and he probably doesn't.

For us fans, there's just the Braggin' Rights thing and the schadenfreude pleasure of wearing the T-shirts, sporting the bumper stickers and sharing the memes on social media. Win or lose life will go on. We'll keep working together, worshipping together and living together because it's... just a football game.

Michael Dyer’s Waiver Request Denied, Must Sit 2012

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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Gus Malzahn spreads the billboard war to the state of Arkansas

Gus Malzahn and his Arkansas State Red Wolves want you to know that they are not fazed by the ongoing billboard hostilities in Mississippi.

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.

Gus Malzahn breaks down Bama defense, explains how to attack it

Former Auburn offensive coordinator joined ESPN’s Dari Nowkhah and gave his best shot at breaking down the Alabama defense and explaining different ways an innovative offensive coordinator might attack it.

You see very little of the 2011 Iron Bowl in this video. It’s mostly from the 2009 and 2010 games—two very close contests in which Auburn had decent talent and experience on the offensive side of the ball. The 2011 Iron Bowl was an unmitigated disaster for Malzahn’s offensive unit, which produced exactly zero points.

There is a four-page (currentl) thread on this over at Tidefans.com and well… hilarity has ensued.

But give Coach Malzahn credit. He goes out of his way to remark that the Crimson Tide defense is the best in the country, at one point saying that it’s the “best defense I’ve ever coached against in six years” of being a college offensive coordinator.

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He thinks LSU should feel good about winning the game if they’re able to score 21 points.

Bama fans hope the LSU braintrust try to “man up” and hammer it between the tackles.

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Flea Flicker: The Long Goodbye

Cartoons from The Flea Flicker™ appear on the right sidebar of this blog, but when a really good one comes up, it's worth promoting to a blog post. Here's the latest on Gene Chizik's farewell to Gus Malzahn.

Cartoon greatness.

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Follow the guys at Flea Flicker™ at @FFCartoon, @K1ngCrimson and @Banditref

Todd Graham is the new Dennis Franchione Award Winner

Yesterday’s press conference introducing Gus Malzahn as the new Arkansas State Red Wovles’ new head coach became the Feel Good Story of the Year involving the December Coaching Carousel.

The news of Todd Graham abandoning the Pitt Panthers to become the new Arizona State Sun Devils’ coach reminded us all why we need stories like Malzahn’s.

Graham left Pitt after just one forgettable 6-6 season and takes over a program left behind by fired coach Dennis Erickson, who ironically just finished a forgettable 6-6 season.

This isn’t Graham’s first one-and-done stint with a program. He was named head coach of the Rice Owls on January 1, 2006, coached the team to a 7-5 record and an appearance in the New Orleans Bowl where it was soundly whipped 41-17 by Troy. Graham was named Conference USA Coach of the Year, received a raise and signed a contract extension. But on January 12, 2007, he bolted to take over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

So, why the Dennis Franchione reference? Well, Wikipedia says: (click the image for a zoomed version)

And we all know that if Wikipedia says it, it must be true.

Dennis Franchione was hired by the Alabama Crimson Tide in January 2001, taking over a program hit with the NCAA investigation into the Albert Means recruiting scandal and a monumental 2000 season collapse under former coach Mike Dubose. After two seasons of telling team members, fans and media to “hold the rope;” that he was in Tuscaloosa for the long term, Franchione bolted for Texas A&M.

Franchione didn’t have the spine to tell his players face-to-face that he was leaving them holding the rope. No, he did it via teleconference. Todd Graham took the spinelessness to a whole new technological level—he told the Pitt Panther players of his departure via text message.

Congratulations “Coach Graham” on being named the winner of the Dennis Franchione Award for Shameless Job Hopping.

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Malzahn to Arkansas State is feel good story of the year

It’s been a difficult year to follow college football. The 2011 season has been riddled with stories most people don’t want to have associated with the best and most exciting sport in the country. It was enough for many fans to grow cold and cynical, writing off college football as another reflection of a society consumed with greed, instant gratification and total disregard for the rules of decent behavior.

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.

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Sources: Arkansas State offers Gus Malzahn

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.

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Auburn’s Gus Malzahn is early favorite for Arkansas State job

Sun Belt Conference and other reliable sources indicate to IBCR that Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn has emerged as an early favorite to take over the Arkansas State Red Wolves head coaching position. Former Red Wolves head coach Hugh Freeze left the program last week after accepting the Ole Miss head coaching position.

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.

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What happens to the Auburn offense when Gus Malzahn moves on?

Scroll down for an update.

It might happen in January 2012. It might happen in January 2013, but sooner or later it’s going to happen—Auburn Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn will become a head coach at a major Football Bowl Subdivision school.

Last year, Auburn made Malzahn one of the highest paid assistant coaches in the country by upping his salary to $1.3 million. Malzahn was said to be the leading candidate in a number of jobs that opened in the offseason, including Vanderbilt. Vandy reportedly had a $3 million offer on the table but Malzahn chose to stay put.

Several very lucrative jobs will be open following the 2011 season. These include Arizona, North Carolina and likely UCLA. Penn State and Ohio State will also be open and those two programs will likely go after bigger names who are already head coaches, opening up two more potentially nice gigs (forget about Ole Miss and Tulane—Gus is too smart to take dead end roads).

Auburn’s dilemma is this—do they find another spread offense guru to come in and continue Malzahn’s wide open attack, or do they look for a more traditional pro set coach? Asking the question another way—why would a successful offensive guru take the Auburn offensive coordinator position? If he’s got the coaching chops, why not try to make the leap to a head coaching gig of your own?

Auburn’s offensive recruiting has targeted athletes geared towards running Malzahn’s offense. Kiehl Frazier is not a pocket passing, game managing quarterback. He’s a zone read guy, through and through. The offensive line is recruited and coached to play Malzahn’s zone read attack. They’re not road graders built or developed to pave the way for a 230 lb bowling ball like Trent Richardson, Knile Davis or Marcus Lattimore. Mike Dyer is a talented tailback, but he’s not built for a ground and pound play action attack. That’s just not what the Auburn offense does.

I’m not sure that Auburn can find and hire a guy with Malzahn’s uncanny ability to design and call plays that surprise and frustrate defenses the way his does. Auburn’s had some problems moving the ball and scoring this year, but little to none of the blame for that falls on offensive strategy or in-game tactics. They have six wins and are bowl eligible because of Malzahn’s coaching, not in spite of it. The program is rebuilding from last year’s senior and talent laden National Championship team and suffering the effects of two bad recruiting years in 2007 and 2008. The 2009 and 2010 recruiting classes were outstanding and the team has plenty of talent—it’s just still very young.

It’s also geared towards running Malzahn’s offense, and I don’t know of any other Gus Malzahn’s out there. I’m sure Auburn can attract a quality replacement for Gus. There’s too much money available to not attract a very good candidate.

Is Auburn prepared to deal with a 2012 retooling season as the players adjust to a completely new system? Is Auburn prepared to deal with that knowing that including 2011, the last three years have been Auburn’s worst in a generation for points allowed by the defense? That likely means subpar offensive production again in 2012 combined with a defense that gives up points like fat guys give up diet bars. Auburn likely finishes 7-5 this season. That would be a hard feat to repeat in 2012 with no Gus and Ted Roof’s leaky defense.

If Gus Malzahn stays at Auburn, none of these painful questions have to be answered. At least not until next year, when a whole new round of lucrative coaching jobs open up. But sooner or later, it’s going to happen and Auburn will have a dilemma on its hands.

Driving the Narrative Update: A mere couple of hours after this entry was posted, Auburn Coach Gene Chizik was asked about the subject of replacing Malzahn. And, in today’s print editions of the state’s three major daily newspapers, you’ll find this story on a highly regarded Malzahn protégé. Interesting timing, huh?

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I’m the Ole Miss coaching search committee, and I’m trimming the “short list”

I’m Archie Manning, FedEx Vice President Mike Glenn, and an as-yet-to be named committee of Ole Miss Yes Men. I haven’t met yet, but I’ve already put together this list of coaches I’m going after. I’ve also put together a list of coaches that have no chance of moving to Oxford.

Here are the coaches that WILL NOT be on the “short list” to take over the Ole Miss Rebels at the end of the season.

Mike Leach. Sure, he’s interested. He did something with almost nothing in the middle of nowhere (nee, Lubbock) Texas. He’s coached and recruited in the SEC and his wide open offense was exciting to watch. But Coach Arrgghh is involved in a bitter contract dispute with his former employer and is also suing ESPN for defamation of character. ESPN pours billions in the the SEC and what conservative, business-oriented members of a search committee want to interview a guy who sues his former employers?

Rich Rodriguez. Another offensive guru with a history of litigation with former employers. There’s a reason why this guy hasn’t been seriously considered as a legitimate candidate for other profiled coaching jobs since being dismissed from Michigan. But the real knock on RichRod is that in his last football game, Mississippi State shellacked him 52-14. Wouldn’t you rather have somebody who’s at least beaten your in-state rival?

Gus Malzahn. Here’s a candidate that the search committee is drooling over. But alas, we recognize that there are other, much better opportunities for a hot name assistant coach than Ole Miss. Name one? Ok. North Carolina. More populous state. More fertile recruiting territory. Less brutal competition than the SEC West. Deeper pockets and less pressure.

Kirby Smart. See the entry for Gus Malzahn. If Malzahn inexplicably turns down the North Carolina opportunity, Smart is the next best option on the table and, being that he’s at least as smart as Malzie, he sees a better opportunity at Carolina, too.

Urban Meyer. I’m a very deliberate, very intelligent search committee. I’m going to make this process last a little bit longer than the last one did, and I’m going to be reasonably sure I’m getting the best guy I can afford. Which means I’m not wasting the going after a $3.0 to $5.0 million man after paying millions to buy out Houston Nutt.

Bill Cowher, Tony Dungy or Jon Gruden. Name one successful NFL head coach who transitioned down to the college ranks and succeeded in recruiting and managing a college program. Name one who was financially set for life, repeatedly said he was happy doing what he was doing, and made the move anyway.

Names missing from this cut sheet are Houston’s Kevin Summerlin, Texas DC Manny Diaz, Southern Miss’ Larry Fedora and former Clemson coach Tommy Bowden.

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Kirby Smart, or Gus Malzahn?

A caller on WNSP 105.5’s Sports Drive yesterday afternoon had an interesting question for show hosts Pat Greenwood and Randy Kennedy. The basis for the question was the assumption that the Georgia Bulldogs have a subpar season (again) in 2011, leading to the departure of Mark Richt and a coveted opening at one of the big schools of the SEC.

It’s just as likely that Ole Miss lays an egg in 2011 and the Right Reverend Houston Nutt is shown the door. I didn’t hear whether Greenwood and Kennedy addressed a possible opening at Ole Miss, but even before these two teams face stiff nonconference opponents—BYU visits Oxford and Boise State travels to Atlanta—I see the odds at better than even that at least one of them will be in the market for a new head coach about four months from now.

The question: If you’re an SEC school looking for a head coach, do you hire an up-and-coming assistant and if so, which of the two most talked about assistants in the SEC do you go after: Alabama’s Kirby Smart, or Auburn’s Gus Malzahn?

For me, the answer is Gus Malzahn and it’s not even close.

Bulldog fans would likely stage a partial revolt if Athletics Director Greg McGarity tapped Malzahn over Smart, a Georgia alumnus and Broyles Award winning assistant coach. But if you’re looking to add excitement and pizzazz to what’s been a moribund football program over the last several seasons, Malzahn is the no-brainer.

Bama’s Kirby Smart is ready to be a head coach, too. His career includes stops at Georgia, Valdosta State, Florida State, LSU, the Miami Dolphins and Alabama. The LSU, Dolphins and Bama stints have all been with Nick Saban, arguably the best head coach in college football today. Saban has disciples coaching at Florida, Florida State and Tennessee in the SEC and Michigan State in the Big Ten. Clearly, Smart’s resume is right and he’ll be a solid head coach wherever he decides to plant his flag. But he’ll be a first-timer in the corner office.

Malzahn has been a head coach, and while it was at the high school level, he transformed programs from also-rans to offensive powerhouses. He knows how to run an organization. He’s won everywhere he’s been when he’s allowed free rein over the team’s offense. He took a woefully thin, talent-starved 5-7 2008 Auburn team and transformed it into one of the most productive attacks in the SEC. In 2009, Auburn won eight games and had undefeated Alabama on the ropes until the fourth quarter in the Iron Bowl. Few people can make chicken salad out of chicken scat like Malzahn did that year. And 14-0 last year wasn’t bad either, was it?

Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated called Malzahn “one of the sport's most innovative offensive minds, not just in the college ranks, but in all of football.” Mandel wrote that line in October 2009, getting on the Malzie bandwagon before it was trendy.

Both Malzahn and Smart are recruiting machines. Both are disciplined, experienced coaches who have won at the highest level in college football. Smart’s implementation of the Saban school of defense is crisp, physical and absolutely ferocious. But Malzahn’s offense is his offense.

Auburn faces an absolutely brutal schedule in 2011. They have away games at Clemson, South Carolina, Arkansas, LSU and Georgia. They will likely be underdogs in every one of them, and are likely underdogs hosting both Florida and Alabama. They have a wealth of young talent but a dearth of experience and senior leadership. If they can fashion an eight- or nine-win season out of that slate, it will be because Malzahn worked his magic on the offensive side of the ball and his stock will be sky high.

Smart would be a good choice for almost any program. But if Gus Malzahn is available and I’m shopping for a coach, I’m going with the wizard.

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