With all due respect to Duder and Auburn nation in general, Coach Gus was the guy that brought his whole high school team (exaggerrating) to Arkansas with him before coming to Auburn. His Wildcat there had a little help from DMac - BTW, I understand the "wildcat" was actually developed by Pop Warner back in the day.
His no huddle/hurry up offense (which, btw I would NOT call a hurry up offense. It IS a no huddle, but a hurry-up is a fast tempo, fast to the line, fast snap type of offense. AU stands at the line for extended periods watching the flash cards), is VERY high school looking. It also requires a great deal of gimmicky action and at the end of the day is a jazzed up option run offense with the odd deep ball thrown in. Eventually, just as it was in the NFL, opposing DCs will figure it out and it will become much less effective. Also, there is not necessarily a Cam Newton to run it every year.
Cam Newton: Cam is a phenomenal athlete and possibly once a generation at this position. Of course, we were all saying that about Tebow as well who single-handedly beat us in 2008. Of course, we figured out how to manage him in 2009. (BTW for all the hype about how huge Cam is, he is listed at 6-6 and 250; Tebow was 6-3 and 245). Alot of Barners have been making alot of noise about how great the whole team is and that Cam is not the whole reason for the success. Granted there are 22 starters and Cam is only one guy. BUT, if we are being REALLY honest, Auburn - despite Dyer and Fairley - probably would have at least 3 if not 4 losses this year. Kentucky, Clemson, MSU, and USC. They probably would have lost to LSU as well.
It's all good b/c it is what it is, but my point is: What has Coach Gus proven yet that would warrant a head coaching gig? It's a high school offense but yet I read all these posts from our side wanting him gone. He's having a great year, but he's riding a one-man horse. As I recall from an article early in the season, AU is going to lose something like 22 seniors this year and for sure Cam is going pro. Wouldn't it make sense to see how AU does in 2011?
While at Tulsa his offense ranked in the top 5. I know, I know--it was Tulsa. He took Tulsa-caliber players, against Tulsa-caliber teams and turned that offense into a juggernaut. The fact that it was Tulsa is a moot point. It isn't like Boise State beating up on the little guys. Tulsa isn't exactly a football hot bed.
In 2009 at Auburn he took a team that had averaged 17.8 points per game the year before, and what felt like 18 yards per game the year before and had them averaging 33.3 points per game, 212/game on the ground and 219/game through the air. Not breath-taking numbers by any stretch but he took the same set of players from the previous year and turned them into a relatively formidable offense. We were within 50 yards of our averages against your defense, which many were calling one of the best in school history.
As for the cards and standing at the line, what you're seeing is the maturation of Malzahn's offense. In 2009 despite the fact the QB and skill players weren't 100% comfortable with the offense he ran the tempo fairly high consistently. It led to many stalled drives, three and outs, bad decisions, etc. He understands that Cam isn't yet comfortable running this offense so he's giving himself, and Cam, time to feel the play and understand what the defense is giving him. Call it gimmicky if you will--it seems to be working for the top two teams in the BCS at the moment.
I love people, mostly Bama fans, referring to Auburn's offense as a high school offense simply because it isn't a single-back, smashmouth style that you guys run. Oregon uses cards, hell they have pictures of Lee Corso on their play calling sheet. But that isn't an issue for you guys because you don't have to contend with Oregon annually. You're more than welcome to your opinion. The "gimmicky action" creates misdirection which opens running lanes, fairly successfully I might add. If it is a high school offense it seems to be a pretty damn effective high school offense. We didn't have a Cam Newton to run his offense last year and it was still pretty successful. You play the hand you're dealt. To say that DCs will eventually figure "it" out is a bit of an over-simplification of what is happening. Chris Todd didn't have a quarter of the foot speed or strength that Newton has and yet Malzahn found a way to run a solid offense last year. The offense would look very different if Barrett Trotter or Neil Caudle were running it. Would we be undefeated? Probably not but the offense would look worlds different and I'm sure would still be effective. I will use Nebraska's teams from the 90s as a point of reference--Tommie Frazier carried the hell out of the rock. If Nebraska didn't play him that year, their offense probably wouldn't work as well. If you have a player that is that gifted, wouldn't it be ridiculous to not play to your strengths?
As for Cam going pro, I find it odd that the lockout is a consideration for the Bama players but Cam is certainly gone. NFL scouts have him pegged as a second round pick at best right now. There isn't enough film on him to warrant leaving early. He's had exactly 8 starts as an FBS QB. He lacks the polish in the passing game that would propel him into the first round. He'd be stupid to go pro.
In re: TideAlum--As for "making excuses for Malzahn"--no excuses. Every coordinator should aspire to be a head coach and if he gets a good gig I'd be happy for him. I'm saying Colorado probably isn't the best fit for him.
Honestly, Gus probably isn't prepared to run a program. But as coordinators go, he has been successful at all of his stops. And yes, I am ignoring Arkansas at this point. He was there for one season and after USC drubbed them Houston Nutt took over that offense.
And BearFacts, I didn't mean he would literally go to Vanderbilt. I know they didn't open a search. My point was if he wanted to coach a perennial cellar-dweller he could've done so much closer to home.
