Gus Malzahn
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| Gus Malzahn | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Title | Offensive coordinator | |
| College | Tulsa | |
| Sport | Football | |
| Conference | Conference USA | |
| Born | October 28, 1965 | |
| Place of birth |  Fort Smith, AR |
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| Career highlights | ||
| Playing career | ||
| 1984-1985 1987-1989 |
Arkansas Henderson State |
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| Position | WR | |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||
| 1991 1992-1995 1996-2000 2001-2005 2006 2007-present |
Hughes HS (DC) Hughes HS Shiloh Christian HS Springdale HS Arkansas (OC) Tulsa (OC) |
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Gus Malzahn (born October 28, 1965) is an American football coach and current offensive coordinator for the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. Malzahn is a high school coaching legend in the state of Arkansas and the former offensive coordinator at the University of Arkansas.
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[edit] Playing career
Malzahn graduated from Fort Smith Christian High School in Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1984 and was a walk-on receiver at Arkansas under then-head coach Ken Hatfield in 1984 and '85 before transferring to Henderson State University located in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where he was a two-year letterman (1988, '89) and earned his bachelor’s in physical education in 1990.
[edit] Coaching career
[edit] High school coaching career
Successful at every stop of his career, he actually got his start as the defensive coordinator at Hughes High School in 1991. He became head coach in 1992 and in 1994 Hughes reached the state championship game with an upset of Pine Bluff Dollarway. Hughes fell just short in the title game, losing to Lonoke on an interception in the final minute.
His success at Hughes and his wide-open attack landed Malzahn a head coaching position at Shiloh Christian in 1996. From 1996-2000, Malzahn transformed Shiloh Christian into one of the most dynamic offensive prep squads in the nation. In 1998, Shiloh Christian set a national record with 66 passing touchdowns for the season, while quarterback Josh Floyd nearly set an individual national record with 5,878 total yards (5,221 passing, 657 rushing).[1] Malzahn guided the Saints to back-to-back state championships in 1998 and 1999.
In 2001, Malzahn took over for legendary coach Jarrell Williams at Springdale High School. Malzahn continued the rich tradition of the Bulldogs’ program. He led the program to two state championship game appearances in the past four years, winning the title in 2005.
Malzahn led his squad to the state title game in only his second season in 2002. The Bulldogs lost a hard-fought 17-10 decision to Fort Smith Southside.
Springdale was on track for another state title game appearance in 2004 before Little Rock Central sidetracked the Bulldogs’ title hopes in the state semifinals. Springdale was upset by the eventual state champion, 31-20. The Bulldogs finished the season at 12-1.
His 2005 squad at Springdale went 14-0, easily won the state’s Class 5A championship, outscored its opponents 664-118, including a 54-20 victory over West Memphis in the state championship game, and was consistently ranked among the top 10 teams in the nation.[2]
Included on the championship team were prize recruits Mitch Mustain, Ben Cleveland, Andrew Norman, and Damian Williams who all eventually joined their coach at the University of Arkansas. Offensive tackle Bartley Webb decided to leave the state to play for the University of Notre Dame.
[edit] College coaching career
[edit] University of Arkansas
Malzahn joined Houston Nutt's staff on December 9, 2005, as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach,[3] following an impressive five-year run at Springdale High School capped by one of the most dominant seasons by any high school in 2005. Malzahn was part of the Razorbacks 2006 season in which they won the SEC Western Division championship. However, their season ended with three straight loses to LSU, Florida in the SEC Championship Game, and Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl to finish with a 10-4 record.
There was a widely reported tension between Houston Nutt's reliance on the ground game (which turned out to be one of the best running games in the nation in 2006) and Malzahn's philosophy of spreading the field with a no-huddle offense. The poor ending of the season only added stress to the already tense coaching relationship. In January, 2007, Malzahn received an offer from the University of Tulsa and his friend, newly named head coach, Todd Graham. Malzahn took the Tulsa job to be offensive coordinator and Assistant Head Coach. Damian Williams and Mitch Mustain, prize recruits and Malzahn's former players, also left the Razorback program.
[edit] University of Tulsa
Malzahn suddenly left the University of Arkansas coaching staff on January 16, 2007 to join his coaching friend and newly named Tulsa head coach Todd Graham.[4] During the 2007 season Malzahn emerged as one of the premier offensive coordinators in the nation, as Tulsa ranked 1st in the nation in total yards per game, ahead of Texas Tech and Hawaiʻi, and with a more balanced attack than both of these teams.[5]
In Malzahn's first season, Tulsa became the first team in NCAA history to have a 5,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and three 1,000-yard receivers.[6]
Malzahn interviewed for the open position at Arkansas once Nutt resigned in November 2007.[7]
[edit] Trivia
Coach Malzahn is known for his no-huddle offensive philosophy, he has produced an instructional video and book titled "Hurry Up No Huddle — An Offensive Philosophy."
Gus has also been a guest speaker and instructor at numerous coaching clinics around the nation.
Gus is known for his formation the "Wildcat", which became famous during his year at the Razorbacks, but is -- in reality -- merely a redress of the Single Wing or Wing T Offense. In Malzahn's copy, the redressed "Wildcat" lines up a running back at quarterback and sometimes a quarterback at receiver.[citation needed]
[edit] Further reading
- Voigt, Kurt (2007). Year of the Dog: One Year, One Team, One Goal. Las Vegas: Stephens Press. ISBN 978-1932173642.
[edit] References
- ^ NFLHS.com - News - Records
- ^ Official bio at Arkansas
- ^ Gus Malzahn Named as UA Offensive Coordinator
- ^ ESPN.com: Arkansas' Malzahn headed to Tulsa
- ^ Yahoo! Sports: Sortable Team Stats: Total Offense
- ^ John Zenor, Tulsa 63, Bowling Green 7, Associated Press, January 7, 2008.
- ^ Clemson’s Bowden apparent leader in UA coaching search
