2017 Will Give Auburn’s Gus Malzahn a Fresh Start and a Chance to Redefine His Legacy
By Keith Prater
With the hiring of Chip Lindsey to take over the offense, Auburn football‘s Gus Malzahn has a chance to redefine his legacy similar to that of another familiar head coach in the state of Alabama.
Make no mistake, Alabama head coach Nick Saban is in the thick of the argument to be called the greatest college football coach of all time. “The process,” as he refers to often, is a standard that his program has thrived off of to build his Alabama football program into one of the most dominant dynasties in sports history. The only comparison that come to mind at the moment is John Wooden’s dominance at UCLA from the 1960’s through the mid 1970’s.
Let me be clear, it’s not a matter of Gus Malzahn simply trying to adopt an internal system similar to that of Nick Saban’s, but rather adopt an internal system of greatness to produce a consistent contender in, not just the SEC, but in the nation.
With the hiring of Chip Lindsey as Auburn’s new offensive coordinator, Malzahn has presented an opportunity for himself to turn a corner in his coaching career. If he can truly relinquish play-calling, and truly develop a process within his system, then we may be witnessing a new chapter in the amazing story of Auburn football.
I am in support of Malzahn choosing Lindsey to take over the offense, and I believe he’s taken one of the first steps in redefining his career at Auburn. Time doesn’t appear to be on Malzahn’s side at the moment as Auburn fans have grown impatient at the sputtering offense of late. But what else has to happen?
First of all, Chip Lindsey has to have uncontested total control of the offense. Lindsey has a reputation as a quarterback guru. He coached former Georgia QB Hutson Mason in high school, while Mason set state passing records in passing yards and touchdowns. In 2010, he was the quarterbacks coach at Troy as he tutored redshirt freshman quarterback Corey Robinson, who finished ninth in the FBS in total passing yards with 3,726. And in 2015, as the offensive coordinator at Southern Miss, Lindsey’s offense set five school records and finished ranked seventh nationally in points scored. By now we’ve read every statistic, and all of the accolades, but what does this mean for Auburn’s offense?
Auburn returns a dynamic backfield with Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson toting the rock. How will they factor in Lindsey’s dynamic air raid offense? Auburn’s backfield compliments what Lindsey is trying to achieve very well, and the biggest difference will be the amount of explosive plays downfield. Defenses can’t back up and forget about the rushing attack because Lindsey is seasoned enough to know how to use these powerful backs. Auburn will have a 1,000 yard rusher in 2017, but expect more fireworks downfield from projected starter Jarrett Stidham, to receivers Kyle Davis and Nate Craig-Meyers. If Malzahn can show patience with Lindsey as Auburn’s downfield passing attack develops, everyone will benefit.
Finally, perhaps just as important as the product he puts on the field, Gus Malzahn must be completely honest with the Auburn family going forward.
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We’ve all heard it, “the future is bright.” We’ve had it pounded in our heads and quite frankly, it’s gotten old. The “future” has seen declining production at a nauseating rate since Auburn appeared in the BCS title game in 2013. The future is now and it’s unwritten. In 2016, Auburn fans were constantly fed confusing, vague, and sometimes what felt like dishonest responses in regards to injury concerns, and internal differences. Gus has a chance to turn the bus around, and this should include adopting policies to not discuss certain issues with the media.
2017 should excite Auburn fans. The schedule plays out in Auburn’s favor with home games against Georgia and Alabama. Auburn has brought in a dynamic quarterback, and finally, a dynamic quarterbacks coach to complement him. With a few culture changes around the football complex, Gus Malzahn could have the Gus bus running on cruise control again.