Gus Malzahn

Gus Malzahn, Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn will be the new football coach at Arkansas State.

Sports information director Jerry Scott told The Associated Press that Malzahn will be introduced as the new coach during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s pretty incredible, it should be a great ride,” Scott said.

Malzahn will return to the state where he was a successful high school coach before leaving for college football. Before that, though, he will coach Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Dec. 31.

Auburn head coach Gene Chizik released the following statement Wednesday morning:

“I’m very happy for Gus and the opportunity that awaits him at Arkansas State. Gus has always had the strong desire to become a head coach and the chance for him to return to his home state that he is so familiar with, will be very beneficial. He’s meant a tremendous amount to our program the past three years, helping our offense and our program achieve unprecedented heights, winning a BCS National Championship and setting countless offensive records. Gus has experienced success in each stop of his coaching career and I have no doubt that he will have similar results at Arkansas State. We look forward to having Gus stay with us through the bowl game and hope to send him out with a victory.”

Former Red Wolves coach Hugh Freeze left the school last week to become the new coach at Mississippi.

Arkansas State (10-2) will play Northern Illinois in the Godaddy.com Bowl on Jan. 8.

The 46-year-old Malzahn has served as Auburn’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for three seasons, helping the Tigers win the national championship last season.

He won the Broyles Award last season, recognizing college football’s top assistant coach, and helped Auburn and quarterback Cam Newton set nine school records in 2010 – including points per game (41.2) and total offense (499.2).

Malzahn began his coaching career in northeast Arkansas at Hughes High School, eventually moving on and winning two state championships at the private school Shiloh Christian in Springdale, Ark.

Cliff Lee

Cliff Lee, (AP) – The Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington had a premonition about Cliff Lee. “Let him be here,” he said Saturday. The Rangers and the Yankees are awaiting a decision on offering the 32-year-old left-hander will accept. They are the two known bidders for the pitcher and 100 million more, although there may be others. “I think everything that needs to be done was done. … We just have to wait,” said Washington. The Yankees offered Lee a seven-year contract Thursday after having made a proposal to open six years to 137.5 million from $ $ 140 million. Ranger’s owner Chuck Greenberg went to Arkansas on Thursday to personally present Lee with multiple offers. “They had a good visit, and now we expect a certain type of decision,” he said Saturday in Washington at a luncheon where he was inducted into the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame. Washington has not had conversations with Lee and did not think anything is needed. He knows the outcome is crucial for the Rangers and Yankees. “It would be great just because you have a No. 1 starter,” said Washington. “Since we had for 2 ½ months, we know what he brings. We would like to see that in the long run a full season. Once again, he returned to wait over Cliff Lee and his family, and they must decide what to do. It is difficult to speculate because you do not know. I told you what my stomach said. ”

The decision might not come until Monday or later in the week. “I can wait until they decide what they want,” said Washington. “When a decision is, it will be yes or no. There’s nothing more you can do subject. I have no idea when he will make a decision. I do not think he should do one until the opening day of spring training. ”

Copyright © 2010 the Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Gus Malzahn Vanderbilt

Gus Malzahn Vanderbilt, Cam Newton part, the titles of the weekend of college football mean great news for football coaches of elite college assistant. Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp became the coach of Florida, accepting one of the most coveted jobs in sport. And Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn would be mulling an offer of care at Vanderbilt, The Washington Post quoted a source, says he will take the post. If Malzahn will take over the Commodores’ program, three of seven new recruits to the BCS automatic qualifying conference schools have been focal points in their last job. Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson has taken the position Indiana last week.

Although Louisiana-Lafayette is not a school QA, he joined a coordinator of the BCS – Mississippi State offensive coordinator Mark Hudspeth – to fill its opening. North Texas also considered a high-level assistant Dan McCarney, who held the title of assistant head coach at Florida.

This ratio is unusually high, according to a Sporting News coaching changes over the past five years. Last season, coordinators filled the vacancies in schools QA three of 11. Two of these, the State of Florida Jimbo Fisher and Joker Phillips, Kentucky, were waiting coaches who came. After the 2006 season, the coordinators have taken three of the 12 available positions at this level.

Why the increase? Here are three important factors: 1. See the upper profile. Assistant coaches can rise to stardom in many ways, all of which are easy to identify thanks to the media more and better communication across the college sports.

Some recruiters are ace, a title Muschamp seems to cherish. They may be linked to an exceptional regime, as the no-huddle attack Wilson in Oklahoma in 2008. And they can be commended for turning individual players in the stars – Darren McFadden Malzahn helped develop the Arkansas and helped Newton Heisman Trophy this year. The growing popularity of the Broyles Award, given to the assistant coach of the nation from above, also contributed.

All this adds up to more assistants, at most larger schools, collecting more projects much faster.

“It is the only person we met, and the only person we offered the position,” Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said of the man for the first time Muschamp head.

2. Coaching trees. In his introductory press conference, Wilson often referred to former bosses Randy Walker and Bob Stoops as major influences in his career. Links to the head coaching success no doubt add value to a candidate, especially guys who have never worked as a head coach before.

Rental Muschamp Florida opposes him and the Seminoles Fisher each Thanksgiving weekend. The two men acquired a reputation as a coordinator under Nick Saban at LSU, where they won the national championship in 2003.

“Background speaks for itself,” former Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis said Saturday evening. “In his time at LSU with Nick for the Dolphins, Texas, he developed a system for himself.”

3. Cost reduction. Wilson will make $ 1.2 million per year for seven seasons at IU. This is a bargain at automatic qualification, where some coaches earn three times that salary. Sitting head coaches, or imports of success in the NFL, often ask for more money.

The exception here is Malzahn, if he accepts the concert Vanderbilt. Reports have pinned Malzahn potential deal at 3 million per year and an apparent need to attract Auburn.