Guz Malzahn moving from Auburn to Arkansas State is now as official as it’s going to get prior to Wednesday afternoon’s press conference. What started as an odd and unconfirmed rumor has now been confirmed by the school.
Gus Malzahn To Arkansas State Official, School Confirms
Arkansas State posted a note on its Facebook site Tuesday evening saying that they would hold a press conference on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. to announce the new head coach. School officials issued another release on Wednesday morning confirming it was Malzahn they’d be announcing as the team’s new head coach.
Malzahn’s contract at Arkansas State has been reported at six years for $600,000, likely making him the highest paid coach in the Sun Belt Conference. It’ll still be a pay cut for him, according to reports, but SB Nation’s own Jason Kirk gave a bit of background on Tuesday night regarding that situation.
For many, the sticking point in all this ... how did Malzahn fall from turning down a $3 million-per-year offer with Vanderbilt to taking a pay cut just to land in Jonesboro, Arkansas, at a school that had never won six games in a year until 2011?
For one, we could be dealing with a man who values things beyond money. There are a few of those. He may also just really like the state. He’s 46 years old, and as far as I can tell, has spent just five years of his adult life based outside of Arkansas. He went to high school and college there and coached there until 2006.
Either way, Malzahn is officially the new head coach at Arkansas State and desrves all the praise and recognition that comes with that sort of job.
For more on the Arkansas State coaching job, stick the the 2011 Coaching Carousel Tracker.
See More:
