Gus Malzahn Named Head Coach For Arkansas State
Gus Malzahn, former Offensive Coordinator for Auburn University, has been hired to his first head coaching job, taking over at Arkansas State.
Malzahn, who also coached at Arkansas and Tulsa, will be the third coach for the Arkansas State Red Wolves in three years. He will take over for Robert Freeze, who led Arkansas State to a 10-2 season, but will be leaving to replace Houston Nutt as head coach at Ole Miss, according to UPI.com.
Freeze congratulated Malzahn, when the news was first reported by AStateNation.com on Tuesday night. Using, his twitter account, he said Malzahn was a great hire for the Red Wolf Nation.
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Steve Roberts coached at Arkansas State prior to Freeze but due to a 37-47 record in nine seasons, he was fired after the 2010 season, according to UPI.com.
A press conference is scheduled to be held at Arkansas State on Wednesday, where the news will be formally announced.
Gus Malzahn is well known in the Arkansas area. He was born in Fort Smith, Ark., and later became a high-school coaching legend in the state. In fourteen years, he led seven different teams to three state championships, according to the L.A. Times.
He spent two years as offensive coordinator for Tulsa, who finished first in the nation in total yards both years. In his sole season at Arkansas, he coached Heisman trophy finalist, Darren McFadden and produced the fourth best rushing offense in the nation.
Malzahn coached Auburn’s offense for three years, including its 2010 BCS National Championship season, when he won the Frank Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach.
He was responsible for an offense that featured 2010 Heisman winner, Cam Newton Jr. Under Malzahn, Newton orchestrated a prolific spread option offense that produced 42.7 points per game, 287.2 rushing yards per game and 497.7 total offensive yards per game.
Malzahn, who became the highest paid assistant coach in the nation last year, making $1.3 million a year, had his worst statistical year in 2011. Auburn’s offense struggled without Cam Newton Jr., ranking 82nd in the nation in scoring with just 24.25 points per game. They ranked 104th in total offense, producing 328.17 yards per game, according to oanow.com
The Auburn Tigers finished 2011 with a No. 25 ranking in the BCS polls, going 7-5, after winning every game in 2010. They will play Virginia on New Years Eve in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta.
