Gus Malzahn new offensive coordinator [Archive]

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Hogfan

12-09-2005, 11:33 AM

jbuzbee

12-09-2005, 12:03 PM

Not a chance. Nutt will still be the de facto offensive coordinator. Thats one of the reasons why we hired an guy who has never coached at the college level...so that Nutt can dominate him while still getting the fans off his back for not having an OC. Do you think guys like Crowton and Cignetti would tolerate Nutt saying they aren't going to run that play? Not a chance...these guys are established and Crowton has been head coach at major division one schools (BYU and La Tech). The other reason for hiring Malzahn, however, is that we want Damian Williams and Mitch Mustain to come.....this likely will accomplish that given the amount of respect they have for him.

Malzahn is a great offensive mind and he has written several books on his offensive schemes and taught other coaches the scheme...including college coaches. He is one of the most respected high school coaches in the country. He will be a good offensive coordinator....I just hope he can't get past the learning curve. Given the amount of talent we have...there will be no excuses for Nutt next year if we don't win at least 7 games.

jbuzbee

12-09-2005, 12:04 PM

PRESS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCED FOR 1:00 ON 103.7 THE BUZZ (IN LITTLE ROCK; i DON'T KNOW WHAT THE STATION IS EVERYWHERE ELSE IN THE STATE). NUMEROUS COACHING CHANGES EXPECTED TO BE ANNOUNCED.

uscrebel

12-09-2005, 12:06 PM

for the Hogs. Id bet he has total control on the offense which is better then Nutt having anything to do with it. The only thing is he is a high school coach with no college experience.. I hope this dont bite us.. the offense will be revamped though I bet thats for sure. What do ya'll think?

Well, it makes me feel a little better about our OC search at this point. If the best we can come up with is a high school guy...I don't care how good the HS is...I will start my www.firepeteboone.com site.

EDIT Ooops. Apparently someone beat me to it.

jbuzbee

12-09-2005, 12:08 PM

Well, it makes me feel a little better about our OC search at this point. If the best we can come up with is a high school guy...I don't care how good the HS is...I will start my www.firepeteboone.com site.

EDIT Ooops. Apparently someone beat me to it.

What if it meant you got the #1 player in the Nation and the most talented receiver in the south?

Hogfan

12-09-2005, 12:09 PM

Supposedly Channel 7 will be airing it on tv. I hope so. And good point on that... Nutt definitely wouldnt bend to the names you listed. I hope these changes are the right ones... I would love to see Mustain and Williams come with the addition of Malzahn.

Cianne

12-09-2005, 12:10 PM

Well, it makes me feel a little better about our OC search at this point. If the best we can come up with is a high school guy...I don't care how good the HS is...I will start my www.firepeteboone.com site.

EDIT Ooops. Apparently someone beat me to it.

Orgeron offered Thomas Woods, the coach of South Panola, a job on the staff but he turned it down. Not that it applies to what you're saying, but I thought it was still interesting.

Cianne

12-09-2005, 12:11 PM

What if it meant you got the #1 player in the Nation and the most talented receiver in the south?

The Briarcrest Christian coach in Memphis is now on the Ole Miss staff, and I'm sure that was part of getting Michael Oher to Ole Miss.

WooHawg

12-09-2005, 12:15 PM

I'll be listening and hoping for some good news!!!!

fernandomike

12-09-2005, 12:31 PM

What if it meant you got the #1 player in the Nation and the most talented receiver in the south?

I am not very comfortable with jobs for coaches of top high-school players. It just seems a bit sleazy to me. As a coach, you should not use your studs to gain a job that you are not qualified for. Please don't think that I am picking on Arkansas as I have great respect for Nutt and your program. Obviously, UT is a cesspool and many other schools have and would do the same as Arkansas.
Compounding the problem is his immediate ascension to offensive coordinator. I honestly have never heard of a high-school coach rising that fast. I don't mind Mustain staying home. I'd just would have rather seen Arkansas take the high road in landing him.

WooHawg

12-09-2005, 12:39 PM

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2253723

Hogfan

12-09-2005, 12:39 PM

Arkansas replaces quarterbacks coach Wittke
Associated Press

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The Morning News newspaper of Springdale said in a report on its Web site Friday that Springdale High School coach Gus Malzahn would be hired as Arkansas offensive coordinator.

Another official at the high school confirmed separately that Malzahn would join the Razorbacks.

"Nothing was totally official until 11:30 last night," Malzahn told Springdale players Friday, according to The Morning News. "... I am going to be the offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks next year, and I just wanted to let you guys know that."

Quarterbacks coach Roy Wittke will not coach next year for the Razorbacks, coming off back-to-back losing seasons for the first time under head coach Houston Nutt.

Nutt announced a number of coaching changes Friday and scheduled a news conference for Friday afternoon to further discuss the Razorbacks' program.

The Razorbacks used two quarterbacks this season -- Robert Johnson and Casey Dick -- and finished the year 4-7. The school did not say who would replace Wittke, but called a news conference for 1 p.m. Friday amid speculation that it would hire Malzahn. Malzahn has a high school record of 144-36-1 at three schools, with three state titles.

Malzahn this year coached Springdale to a 14-0 record and an Arkansas Class AAAAA state championship. His quarterback was Mitch Mustain, the Gatorade national player of the year who has said he would attend Arkansas. Mustain's mother said this week that the quarterback might reconsider.

Nutt said that, after considering Arkansas' football future, he had decided to take the Razorbacks in a new direction without Wittke.

"It wasn't an easy decision to make because of the quality of the individual involved. I'm grateful to Roy for his contributions to our program in his tenure," Nutt said.

Nutt on Thursday thanked fans for the patience in a tough season.

"I know that over the past two weeks there has been a lot of discussion about what changes may or may not take place in the Razorback football program," Nutt said. "While I know that announcements have not come as soon as some expected, I can assure you that we have been working diligently to make the right decisions for our football program.

"I am confident that when decisions are announced in the next few days, Razorback fans will share my optimism for the future of Razorback football."

Arkansas has had back-to-back losing records for the first time under Nutt. The Razorbacks' coach took over before the 1998 season.

Assistants Chris Vaughn, Clifton Ealy and James Shibest will take on new duties.

Vaughn will move from safeties coach and recruiting coordinator to director of on-campus recruiting; Ealy will move from tight end coach to director of high school relations; Shibest will coach tight ends and special teams.

Wittke had coached at Arkansas for three years.

Hogfan

12-09-2005, 12:41 PM

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2253723

Beat me to it lol

WooHawg

12-09-2005, 12:55 PM

Beat me to it lol

lol appears we posted at the same time. 4 minutes to the press conference, Woo Pig Sooie!

uscrebel

12-09-2005, 12:55 PM

Orgeron offered Thomas Woods, the coach of South Panola, a job on the staff but he turned it down. Not that it applies to what you're saying, but I thought it was still interesting.

Hiring high school coaches as position coaches or directors of football operations or asst. coaches to get their kids is done all the time. Plucking a guy to be OC is something else all together.

Since I am not a "Hawg-Hater" I hope this works out for the Razorbacks

jbuzbee

12-09-2005, 12:59 PM

I am not very comfortable with jobs for coaches of top high-school players. It just seems a bit sleazy to me. As a coach, you should not use your studs to gain a job that you are not qualified for. Please don't think that I am picking on Arkansas as I have great respect for Nutt and your program. Obviously, UT is a cesspool and many other schools have and would do the same as Arkansas.
Compounding the problem is his immediate ascension to offensive coordinator. I honestly have never heard of a high-school coach rising that fast. I don't mind Mustain staying home. I'd just would have rather seen Arkansas take the high road in landing him.

Good post Fernando....I feel the same way about getting a coach just to get players or a coach using his players to get a job. The only difference I see here is that Malzahn, potentially, would be a good addition without the players. The man teaches seminars to college coaches and writes books on this new wrinkle of the spread offense that he has developed. You have to start somewhere...don't you? Regardless, I don't think anyone would argue that he doesn't have a better offensive mind than Nutt.....hell, Reggie Herring has a better offensive mind than Nutt!!

Lets not forget either...Hog fans....that former Razorback killer the great Darrell Royal (of Texas) became offensive coordinator...for Mississippi State (I think) directly out of a high school coaching job....that worked out pretty well for him.

Hogfan

12-09-2005, 01:04 PM

Never saw anything on TV... must have been only on radio

Nevermind its on KATV channel 7 right now

jbuzbee

12-09-2005, 01:11 PM

Think of the guys the Nutt mentioned that were High School coaches: Larry Coker, Jimmy Johnson, Wilson Matthews....

jbuzbee

12-09-2005, 01:12 PM

No quaterbacks coach announced? Wonder who that will be?

blues_cap

12-09-2005, 01:21 PM

Well, it makes me feel a little better about our OC search at this point. If the best we can come up with is a high school guy...I don't care how good the HS is...I will start my www.firepeteboone.com site.

EDIT Ooops. Apparently someone beat me to it.

rebel, on that same note, what do you think about the job of boone and kayak at ole miss? i dont follow as closely as i used to, mainly b/c i dont get the clarion ledger anymore, but from what my dad tells me and what he reads, some ole miss alumni are getting tired of the boone/kayak act(and i think we both know how much pull alumni have at ole miss). he, for one, was irate about the fact they fired cutcliffe and from what i hear, rick cleveland and a couple of other guys have been on ole miss, coach o, and ole miss administration pretty hard this year.

not flaming ole miss by any means, just wondered what you guys thought?

Hogfan

12-09-2005, 01:23 PM

No quaterbacks coach announced? Wonder who that will be?

I was wondering the same thing.

Cianne

12-09-2005, 01:26 PM

First, his name is Khayat. He's the chancellor, not a boat.

Second, Khayat is doing what he's supposed to in running the school, and he is doing a hell of a job doing it. You can just look at all the renovations to the buildings, etc and see what he has brought in along with all the academic accolades. With Boone, frankly, people are always going to be on his act about the whole Colonel Reb thing. They whined about the Confederate flags and stopped, and this whole bit about the mascot will blow over as well provided they get something on the field.

And now in regards to Rick Cleveland, don't listen to a word he says. He not only is the Sports Editor for one of the worst papers on the planet. He's a self-righteous and bias Southern Miss grad that likes to stick it to the man (Ole Miss and State) when he gets the chance.

blues_cap

12-09-2005, 01:32 PM

tomato, tomato.

i understand he is the chancellor, but he still has a say in the overall operations of the athletic dept.

aw man, i used to love to read cleveland when i read the cl. he is the only one worth reading. as far as sticking it to the man, i have heard he has been quite nice to msu, as i guess those are toes he doesnt even want to step on?

fernandomike

12-09-2005, 01:38 PM

Good post Fernando....I feel the same way about getting a coach just to get players or a coach using his players to get a job. The only difference I see here is that Malzahn, potentially, would be a good addition without the players.

Well, you guys know a lot more about him than I do. The whole thing just makes me uncomfortable. I don't like to see eighteen-year-olds bought and sold. Granted, that might not be the case here. As you mention, the question is whether or not Malzahn is SEC offensive coordinator worthy on his own merits. If his resume gets even a slight bump because he can deliver Mustain, then that's just not right. It does sound like he is much more qualified than the typical high-school coach, but all the way to coordinator? A hire that is "potentially" a good addition makes little sense in the absence of a search for the best available candidate. It just seems like a pretty big coincidence that the best offensive mind that they could find just so happened to be the coach of a high-school team stocked with D1 recruits and the national player of the year.

supergenius

12-09-2005, 01:41 PM

Well, you guys know a lot more about him than I do. The whole thing just makes me uncomfortable. I don't like to see eighteen-year-olds bought and sold. Granted, that might not be the case here. As you mention, the question is whether or not Malzahn is SEC offensive coordinator worthy on his own merits. If his resume gets even a slight bump because he can deliver Mustain, then that's just not right. It does sound like he is much more qualified than the typical high-school coach, but all the way to coordinator? A hire that is "potentially" a good addition makes little sense in the absence of a search for the best available candidate. It just seems like a pretty big coincidence that the best offensive mind that they could find just so happened to be the coach of a high-school team stocked with D1 recruits and the national player of the year.
I was talking to Wade Houston about this issue and he agrees with Nando. :D RTR

Cianne

12-09-2005, 01:49 PM

tomato, tomato.

Tomatoe and tomato would have been the proper word choices for that analogy there right? :p

fernandomike

12-09-2005, 01:55 PM

I was talking to Wade Houston about this issue and he agrees with Nando. :D RTR

Oh, I didn't know that we hired Houston right out of high-school! I thought that he was assistant head coach for Denny Crum at Louisville. Granted, he couldn't coach his way out of a wet paper bag, but nobody knew that at the time of his hiring, except maybe Denny Crum. :) Well, SuperGenius, maybe you too knew that the top assistant for one of the top programs was destined to fail. I damn sure wish you would have told someone. Oh yeah, thanks for highjacking the thread and taking us back into the last millenium to demonstrate my hyprocrisy. :D

Jordan

12-09-2005, 01:56 PM

fernandomike

12-09-2005, 02:05 PM

Don't forget that Charlie Weis also started out at the high-school level.... and you see the paths that has led to for him. Everyone has to start out somewhere, and its a lot more fulfilling for yourself if you work your way up from the bottom. With what he's done over at Springdale, it will be interesting to see how he transitions over to the college game.

The issue isn't where he started out, its where he jumped to. Throw in the timing of the whole situation and I don't see how you can keep from being a bit suspicious. I would imagine that excellent high-school coaches go to their graves without ever getting this kind of an opportunity.

blues_cap

12-09-2005, 02:31 PM

Tomatoe and tomato would have been the proper word choices for that analogy there right? :p

i was wondering that myself. i actually thought the difference would be where an accent mark was placed, but i do not know for sure. english help, aisle 5.

btw, is there not supposed to be a comma (there, right?) at the end of that sentence? ;)

WooHawg

12-09-2005, 02:35 PM

I was hoping that Houston would get fired. But at this point.....after all the rumors and speculation, I am pleased to just have an OC. I am anxious to see the press conference this year. I agree as well, Malzahn has to start somewhere and I am glad that he is getting that shot with Arkansas. Some other changes have been made and others are to follow from what I understand. Hogfan, nice McFadden pic!

supergenius

12-09-2005, 02:36 PM

Oh, I didn't know that we hired Houston right out of high-school! I thought that he was assistant head coach for Denny Crum at Louisville. Granted, he couldn't coach his way out of a wet paper bag, but nobody knew that at the time of his hiring, except maybe Denny Crum. :) Well, SuperGenius, maybe you too knew that the top assistant for one of the top programs was destined to fail. I damn sure wish you would have told someone. Oh yeah, thanks for highjacking the thread and taking us back into the last millenium to demonstrate my hyprocrisy. :D
There is no need to use abusive language! :eek: Gerry Faust said hi. RTR

WooHawg

12-09-2005, 02:38 PM

Here is a link to Malzahn's comments:

http://www.5newsonline.com/

Hogfan

12-09-2005, 02:44 PM

WooHawg

12-09-2005, 06:18 PM

Thanks I got the pic off the thread SEC All Freshman Team link started by JerryBeeds, I have been looking for a good pic. I wonder if Malzahn will also be the QB coach?

Listening to the interview with Malzahn on DTS a bit ago, he said he would be comfortable coaching QB's or WR's. Not sure if its his choice on whichever he wants to coach but they will be hiring another coach to fill the last position.

WooHawg

12-09-2005, 06:29 PM

Here is a link to the PC.

http://www.fox16.com/Default.aspx

jbuzbee

12-09-2005, 07:29 PM

The issue isn't where he started out, its where he jumped to. Throw in the timing of the whole situation and I don't see how you can keep from being a bit suspicious. I would imagine that excellent high-school coaches go to their graves without ever getting this kind of an opportunity.

I see your point, but...It is well known in Arkansas that Malzahn was the first choice to step in as "passing coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach" three years ago when Roy Wittke was hired. Thats one reason why I think the added recruitment benefit that Malzahn will bring is just a bonus....we wanted him before there was such a thing as the "Springdale 5". Wittke took the position and was fired today. I believe that Malzahn didn't want a position like "passing coordinator" that, as Wittke discovered, involves lots of work and responsibility and all the critisism---no praise. You see, Wittke took the blame for our lack of a passing attack that was likely Nutt's fault....he would call a pass play and be overruled by Nutt and the offensive line coach/co-coordinator, Mike Markuson. Now we are to assume, because Nutt and Malzahn said so, that the new OC position will have the normal amount of play calling oversight that most OC's have. I hope (and believe) so.

fernandomike

12-09-2005, 08:29 PM

I see your point, but...It is well known in Arkansas that Malzahn was the first choice to step in as "passing coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach" three years ago when Roy Wittke was hired. Thats one reason why I think the added recruitment benefit that Malzahn will bring is just a bonus....we wanted him before there was such a thing as the "Springdale 5". Wittke took the position and was fired today. I believe that Malzahn didn't want a position like "passing coordinator" that, as Wittke discovered, involves lots of work and responsibility and all the critisism---no praise. You see, Wittke took the blame for our lack of a passing attack that was likely Nutt's fault....he would call a pass play and be overruled by Nutt and the offensive line coach/co-coordinator, Mike Markuson. Now we are to assume, because Nutt and Malzahn said so, that the new OC position will have the normal amount of play calling oversight that most OC's have. I hope (and believe) so.

Good Job, Buzz. You are making me feel a little better about the situation. I like Nutt, especially as a person and would love to think that he would not do what it first appeared that he did. As much as I would like to have Mustain, I would be just as uncomfortable, if not moreso, if it appeared that Fulmer had done the same. I did watch the press conference and Nutt did seem very excited about what Malzahn can bring to the table.