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I guess we know why Gus took the bus out of Auburn
Published: 10/9/2012 6:05 PM
Last Modified: 10/9/2012 6:05 PM

One of the surprising coaching changes of last offseason was the move of former Tulsa assistant coach Gus Malzahn from Auburn to Arkansas State.

Thought to be a can't miss, big-time coaching prospect rumored to be involved with every hot job opening, Malzahn landed in the Sun Belt Conference.

He landed with a team that has lost fewer than six games just twice since 1988. He landed in Jonesboro, Ark., and he got there, by most accounts, with less money in his pocket than he was making at Auburn.

So what caused one of college football's hottest prospects, two years removed from a national championship and a year removed from reportedly turning down $3 million a year to coach Vanderbilt, to fall that far?

Possible reasons were endless. Did his wife's less than flattering speaking engagement doom his chances? Was the NCAA about to hammer Auburn's program? Was the Arkansas high school product and long-time Arkansas high school head coach just loyal to the state?

Well, after watching a little bit of the Auburn-Arkansas game Saturday, I think I have a pretty good idea why Malzahn took the first job he could find.

Auburn is terrible, so bad it scored just seven points at home against an Arkansas team that had quit on the season two weeks ago.

The Tigers' only win is at home, in overtime against Louisiana-Monroe. Young players are pointing fingers, saying the upper classmen aren't leaders.

Malzahn couldn't help but see the handwriting on the wall. And he may have even become a casualty had he stayed, with Auburn coach Gene Chizik needing to make changes to keep his seat from getting too warm.

Perhaps Chizik is more the coach that went 5-19 at Iowa State then the one who led the Tigers to a national title.

It sure looks that way.

And nothing derails a can't miss coaching prospect quite like a season of double-digit losses and a firing.

As for Malzahn, his ASU team is kicking around at 3-3 heading into this week's game against South Alabama.

That .500 mark isn't pretty, but it must look like a perfect 10 compared to Auburn.

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The Editor's Desk

Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters has nearly 20 years of daily newspaper experience. A 1993 graduate of Texas A&M, he worked at papers in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, and Galveston, Texas, before joining the Houston Chronicle as High School Sports Editor in 2008. While in Houston, he coordinated coverage of the 2008 Texas Class 5A state football championships and the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four.

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