Malzahn reassesses program

HOOVER, Ala. -- Gus Malzahn nearly won a national championship in his first season as Auburn's head coach.

Now, entering his fourth season on the Plains, Malzahn is making hot-seat lists.

Malzahn (27-13 in three seasons) went 8-5 with the Tigers in 2014 and 7-6 last year after going 12-2 and winning the SEC Championship in 2013.

A strong bout of self evaluation has followed.

"It was humbling to go through an experience like that," said Malzahn, the first coach to meet with reporters at SEC Media Days on Monday. "It was good for me to sit back and evaluate everything."

Malzahn, originally from Fort Smith, has five new assistant coaches, including former Auburn player and Fort Smith Northside quarterback Kodi Burns as receivers coach and Kevin Steele as the program's fifth defensive coordinator in the past six years.

"I'm very excited about our staff," Malzahn said. "Our defense, Kevin Steele ... is doing a great jelling our staff together. Our philosophies are exactly the same. I think that's very important."

Auburn receiver Marcus Davis said he didn't buy the "hot seat" chatter about Malzahn.

"Coach Malzahn's resume speaks for itself," Davis said. "He's a guy that can win games. So it's all about everybody buying into what he's got planned for us."

Tigers defensive end Carl Lawson said hot seats are simply constructions of the media.

"That's what the media put up there," Lawson said. "Coach Malzahn didn't put his name up there."

Malzahn cited the Tigers' performance in close games -- a 3-4 record in games decided by eight points or less -- and a lower level of offensive effectiveness as contributors to Auburn's drop off last year.

"From an offensive standpoint, it really was the first time since I've been coaching that we didn't execute at what I say is a high level consistently, and that goes back on me," Malzahn said.

Malzahn said he also plans to be a more hands-on coach this time around.

"At the end of the day, I'm a football coach and that's my strength," he said. "One thing that really hit me pretty hard is I've got to be more active with the daily Xs and Os and the coaching that goes with that. I'm looking forward to getting back into the middle of things."

Davis said he's eager to see what comes from Malzahn's different approach.

"Being the head coach, sometimes head coaches sit back and watch things happening, but now I think he's taking more charge and being more involved and more vocal, not just to the players, but to the coaches as well," Davis said. "I'm pretty excited to see how everything goes. I'm used to him sitting back, but now that I see something different, I'm excited to see where it goes."

Auburn ranked in the bottom half of the SEC in most offensive categories last year, including 12th in passing, with 174 yards per game, and eighth in scoring (27.5). Many of the Tigers problems can be traced to unproductive quarterback play. Jeremy Johnson threw six interceptions in the first three games, then came freshman Sean White, who protected the ball better but threw one touchdown pass in 143 attempts.

Junior-college transfer John Franklin III has emerged as a potential favorite to win the three-way quarterback battle.

"We've got to find our starting quarterback," Malzahn said. "The positive is we have three guys that we feel like can execute our offense."

Malzahn said Franklin has earned the respect of his teammates since his arrival from East Mississippi Community College. Plus, Malzahn said Johnson and White are in a much better place now than at this time last year.

"Once we identify who our starter is, it gives us our best chance of winning," Malzahn said. "You will see us tweak our offense to build around their strengths. We're always going to have the same philosophy and core beliefs with our offense, but once we make that call on who that guy is, we will tweak and try to build around their strengths and try not to ask them to do things that are maybe not their strengths."

Davis said he has been impressed with Franklin.

"His skill set is unique," Davis said. "He's really, really fast. He most definitely can throw, and the thing that a lot of people might not know about him is he's a very strong leader. He brings guys with him."

Steele will have six starters back for a defense that ranked 13th in the SEC and No. 71 nationally last year under coordinator Will Muschamp, who is now the head coach at South Carolina.

The early schedule is tough, but Tigers play away from home only once before Oct. 29.

The Sept. 3 opener is against Clemson, which lost to Alabama in the College Football Playoff title game, and that game kicks off five consecutive home games, including Arkansas State on Sept. 10 and conference games against SEC West opponents Texas A&M and LSU.

Auburn's first road game is at Mississippi State on Oct. 8, but the Tigers have an open date before hosting Arkansas.

"We've got a real schedule starting out," Malzahn said. "I would probably put our schedule up against anybody in college football, especially early. ... We've got our work cut out for us, but we're definitely happy we're playing the first five at home."

Sports on 07/12/2016