After going through the worst season in school history, Auburn has hired Gus Malzahn as the head coach of their football program.
The team won a national title in 2010 with quarterback Cam Newton and Malzahn as the offensive coordinator, but has fallen on hard times in the past two years. The Tigers finished with a 3-9 record in 2012 and fired head coach Gene Chizik, who was previously Malzahn's boss.
Malzahn left Auburn in 2011 to take the head-coaching job at Arkansas State. He led to the team to a 9-3 record and won the Sun Belt Conference title this season.
"I'm grateful for the opportunity to become the head football coach at Auburn University. It's an outstanding institution with a storied football program that I had the pleasure of experiencing first-hand for three years," Malzahn said in a statement released by Auburn, according to USA Today. This is a homecoming for me and I look forward to being reunited with the Auburn family."
He thanked school representatives for their confidence "in my ability to turn this program around and to bring Auburn back to national prominence.
Malzahn started his college-coaching career at Arkansas where he served as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach before moving to the University of Tulsa for two seasons. He ran one of the highest-scoring and explosive offenses in the country, ranking second in the nation in scoring and averaging over 550 yards per game.
Auburn hired Malzahn for the 2008 season after brining in new head coach Gene Chizik. Malzahn helped make the Tigers into one of the most efficient offenses in the nation and directed Cam Newton to the Heisman trophy in 2010 and Auburn to 14-0 season and a national championship.
"We are tremendously excited that Gus Malzahn will be our next head football coach," athletic director Jay Jacobs said, according to the Associated Press.. "Coach Malzahn was the clear unanimous choice of our search committee, and I am pleased that Dr. (Jay) Gogue has accepted our recommendation. This is a great day for Auburn football and Auburn University."
According to ESPN.com, "the search committee was comprised of Jacobs, Auburn Heisman Trophy winners Pat Sullivan and Bo Jackson and former Tigers player Mac Crawford."
Newton had 2,854 yards with 30 touchdowns and rushed for an SEC-high 1,473 yards and 20 touchdowns under Malzahn, which set an all-time conference record. That record was broken this year by Heisman frontrunner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M.
Malzahn will be paid $2.3 million per year over five years and returns to a familiar place and a familiar team.
"I recruited a lot of them and have very good relationships," Malzahn said, according to the Associated Press. "I just told them our expectations are to win championships. Whatever happened last year happened last year. It's a new day. We're going to put a good brand of football on the field and we're going to have fun doing it."
Malzahn also had an impressive high school coaching career before joining the college ranks, coaching such high-profile prospects such as Mitch Mustain and Damian Williams at Springdale High School. The team went undefeated in 2005 and was one of the most dominant teams in the nation.
"Gus Malzahn is a proven winner," Jacobs said. "He is without question one of the brightest minds in college football and he has won everywhere he has been. Coach Malzahn knows what it takes to build a championship program in the Southeastern Conference. He knows our state and region and he understands what it will take to turn our program around. Coach Malzahn will also be an outstanding ambassador for Auburn University, and that was important to the committee."
The 47-year-old coach will help bring some explosiveness back to the Tigers.
Auburn was one of the worst offenses in the country this season, ranking 114th in scoring with only an average of 18 points per game. The passing attack was ranked 116th, while the rushing attack was a little better, ranking 80th with 148 yards per game.
"We will be a fast-paced, attacking-style offense and defense," Malzahn said. "In this day and age, I believe you have to."
Auburn was embarrassed multiple times this season, including in shutout losses to SEC-rivals Georgia and Alabama. The Bulldogs defeated the Tigers 38-0 on Nov. 10 and Alabama defeated Auburn 49-0 two weeks later to end the season.
Malzahn's offense at Arkansas State was as impressive as the teams at his other coaching stops. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Red Wolves averaged 481.8 yards per game this season and has scored 437 points this season, 19 shy of the school record. The team also "is currently 40 yards shy of tying the school record for total yards in a season (currently at 5,782)."
Chizik was dismissed following Auburn's final game, a 49-0 loss to Alabama, just two years after completing a historic undefeated season. The Tigers were the worst team in the SEC in 2012, going 0-10 in the conference.
According to the Associated Press, "The Tigers endured the worst slide within two years of winning a national championship of any team since the Associated Press poll started in 1936 and hadn't lost this many games since going 0-10 in 1950."
During his four seasons with Auburn, Chizik was 33-19 and 15-17 in SEC games and lost his final three league games by a combined 150-21.
According to ESPN.com, "Auburn owes more than $11 million in buyouts to Chizik and his coaching staff. Malzahn's contract and salary information was not immediately known."
HERE is the full schedule of college bowl games for the 2012 season.
