Posts Tagged ‘jay jacobs’

Gus Malzahn's first words as the head coach at Auburn were the only words they could be, "War Eagle!"

Malzahn came across confident and ready to take the reins of the Auburn press conference on Tuesday night, gripping the podium like he was watching a 3rd-and-goal. Malzahn leaves behind a 9-3 Arkansas State team headed to the GoDaddy.com Bowl. He said he had not yet spoken with the Arkansas State adminstration but added, "I'm 100 percent committed to Auburn and getting this thing going as soon as possible."

The credentials Malzahn brings to the job are unique. On one hand, he had a very successful run as the offensive coordinator at Auburn that ended less than 365 days ago. On the other hand, he takes over a BCS program just seven years after breaking into college football for the first time.

Malzahn thinks he is ready for the high stakes that come with the Auburn job, saying that his time at the high school level prepared him for the task of being a head coach on game day. "For college football, it's the off the field that you've got to get used to," said Malzahn. "Being a head football coach is very natural to me."

Malzhan very quickly laid out his vision for how Auburn will be constructed under his watch. "We will have a up tempo, fast-paced offense," he said. "We will run the ball, that will be our staple. We will be attacking in all areas. We will be multiple up front. I think you've got to do both, odd and even. That's what gives offenses trouble."

Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs stated that Malzahn will receive a five-year, $11.5 million contract. 

It strikes me that $2.3 M salary for Gus allows a good bit of room for assistants...

— FootballScoop Staff (@footballscoop) December 5, 2012

Who exactly will assist him is an issue Malzahn will be patient on. "I'm going to take my time find the right person, wherever he is," Malzahn explained. "I'm going to get the best fit for Auburn. No matter if it's guys that are here, guys that were (at Arkansas State), or guys elsewhere."

Malzahn's familiarity with the roster, he recruited all of the upperclassmen, will certainly allow him to hit the ground running. "I think it's a huge advantage," Malzahn said of his working knowledge with the roster. "Not only the offensive guys but the defensive guys, I'm very familiar with them."

Malzahn is very familiar with Auburn, its resources and, most importantly, its expectations. Like everything else he does in coaching, Malzahn attacked those expectations aggressively, stating, "My goal is to get Auburn back to a championship level." 

After four seasons on the Plains, Auburn head coach Gene Chizik was fired on Sunday. The Tigers lost to Alabama 49-0 on Saturday, concluding their 2012 season with a 3-9 overall mark and an 0-8 SEC record, a first in school history. 

According to the Associated Press, Auburn will pay in excess of $11 million to buyout the contracts of Chizik and his assistants. Chizik's buyout states that he will be paid more than $156,000 per month through the life of his contract, which runs through 2015-16. The rest of the staff will be paid through June 2013, except for Scot Loeffler, Brian VanGorder and Trooper Taylor, who will be paid through June 2014. 

Auburn AD Jay Jacobs announced in his official statement that he, Mac Crawford, Bo Jackson and Pat Sullivan will serve as the search committee for finding the next head coach. 

As always, we'll keep you posted on The Scoop with anything you need to know. 

Chizik released this statement following the announcement. 

"I am very grateful for the opportunity that I had during the last four seasons to serve as the head football coach at Auburn University," he said. I’m extremely disappointed with the way this season turned out and I apologize to the Auburn family and our team for what they have had to endure.

"In my 27 years of coaching, I have gained an understanding of the high expectations in this profession. When expectations are not met, I understand changes must be made.

"While we experienced a tremendous low in 2012, I will always be proud of the incredible highs that we achieved, including three bowl victories, an SEC championship and a national championship.

"I want to thank Dr. Gogue and Jay Jacobs for the great opportunity they gave me. I’m confident in their leadership ability to continue to move this football program forward.

"I feel blessed to have been surrounded with so many great coaches, players and administrators that have worked relentlessly and dedicated themselves to this institution. I will miss not being able to continue to mentor these players on a daily basis. I’m confident these young men will continue to excel both on and off the field. They are a great group and I wish them nothing but the best.

"I’ve been fortunate to spend seven years of my coaching career at Auburn, which is an incredible place to work and live. My family and I have been blessed to call Auburn home and look forward to remaining in the Auburn community. "I have said this many times, but the Auburn fans are the best in college football. They have an incredible passion and love for their school and I want to thank them for their support in good times and in bad times.

"As I said four years ago when I arrived, Auburn was great way before we got here and it will remain great long after we leave. My sentiments about Auburn have not and will not change. I wish the next football coach all the best and I anticipate a smooth transition.

"I encourage the Auburn family to continue to be ‘All In’ and support this great university and its athletics programs. War Eagle!"

After a meeting with the board of trustees today, Auburn president Jay Gogue offered up his first public statements on the state of the Auburn football program, and overall athletic department in quite a while.

Here are a few relevant nuggets from his comments to reporters.

Throughout the interview, Gogue remained firm on his stance to not make a decision until after the season, and reiterated time and time again that the team had not performed up to expectations all season long. 

Gogue stated that he will address any potential changes to the football program at the end of the season (no surprise there) and that the decision will ultimately come down to him, not the board, and he will certainly listen to recommendations from athletic director Jay Jacobs.

Word has also been recently circulating that Jacobs will be evaluated at seasons end. Gogue said that they'll look at five key areas when assessing the performance of the athletic director.

"We look at how well our kids are doing academically, graduation rates, APR numbers, graduation success rates. If you look at those data, Auburn athletes only have five out of 580 that have below a 2.0. You have to feel very good about the academic performance of the kids. The average GPA of all athletes is a little over 3.0 So we look at the academic part. That’s critical."

"No. 2, we look at how well we’re complying with the rules of the SEC and the NCAA. Do we have major violations? Have we had any? Those are the areas you look at. The third area we look at, and it relates to some of the questions you asked earlier, how is the gameday experience? That means parking, that means concessions, that means a whole host of things.

"How well does the band do on that day, does the eagle fly good, a variety of things go into that gameday situation. We look at whether you’re living within your budget. We look in the financial aspects of that."

"Finally, we look at how well you play competitively. Those are the five values we look at." Gogue added.

Auburn hosts Alabama A&M (SWAC) this weekend and then closes it out at Alabama a week from Saturday. Alabama A&M has lost 3 of its last 4. Conventional wisdom would say that Auburn should win this one handily. For the staff's sake, let's hope that's the case. 

"News" broke earlier this afternoon that Auburn president Jay Gogue has told AU Board of Trustees members that he is possibly planning to dismiss head coach Gene Chizik, according to AuburnUndercover.com. According to the report, Gogue has contacted board members about forming a search committee to name a new head coach "within days after the end of the season", should he decide to make a change. 

The report also stated the athletics director Jay Jacobs would be retained and that executive associate athletics director Tim Jackson, who oversees football, would be reassigned. 

Chizik's buyout presently stands at $10 million but drops to $7.5 million on December 1, according to AL.com.

For a full summary of the report, please click here. 

To be clear, Chizik has not been let go. 

In the meantime, Auburn hosts Georgia on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The Tigers are 2-7 on the season and 0-6 in SEC play.