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Arkansas State: I'm in disbelief even typing this; but Gus Malzahn has agreed to become head coach at A-State.

http://www.footballscoop.com/the-scoop

I guess Gus can warm up there for a year or 2 and then go to a BCS school. SMU?

So does Houston go after Chad Morris?

Holy ****, he turned down 3 mil. from Vanderbilt for Arkie State?

Comet wrote:Holy ****, he turned down 3 mil. from Vanderbilt for Arkie State?

The 3 mil offer from Vandy was probably overinflated. Supposedly Auburn matched Vandy's offer (1.3 mil range)

Isn't he from Arkansas?

Will be a guy worth making a run at post June assuming he adjust well from OC to HC while at Ark St.

SMU Football Blog wrote:Isn't he from Arkansas?

Yes, used to coach at Springdale HS

Comet wrote:Holy ****, he turned down 3 mil. from Vanderbilt for Arkie State?

The offer from Vandy was last year.

He also turned down the HC job at Maryland. Vandy's base was 1.25M, but with incentives it could have gone as high as 3.

There are two different takes on what is going on here.

One is that he is going home for a while, positioning himself at a school where he can win and be ready for the next upper-echelon SEC job or maybe Big XII job that becomes available - Arky, Mizzou, Georgia, Okie State or wherever. Vandy and Memphis weren't going to offer him the chance to win long term and move up, so he took a job he thought he could be successful at.

The other is that the stuff is about to hit the fan at Auburn over old Cam Newton junk and he can't wait any longer to jump ship. The D Coordinator is not being brought back apparently and the NCAA is about to go after the Tigers.

It will be interesting to see what happens.

At, Memph or Vandy he would get a large check for probably three years, but never a chance to succeed or move the school to the big time. Guess he sees Ark St as committed enough so that he can refine his skills further and move to a big time program with a chance to succeed, make more money than he would ever get at Vandy, and potentially last more than three years.

Uh. Did y'all see his crazy wife?

Raplh has some of it right. Crazy wife plays a big role. Also, speculation, and that is all it is here in Arkansas because nobody can really believe it, is two things. First, he and Chizik apparently clash egos big time and one had to go. Second, some believe he is going to try to elevate Arkie State to a level that Arkansas has to relent and play them head up and make it a true 2 D1 state. However, those in the know say that it will be many, many, many years before that ever happens. Too many big dollar donors for UA that do not want the rivalry.

My opinion falls in line with the stepping stone theory that he wants to learn the ropes in a quiet setting and then take on the big job when he feels comfortable.