LITTLE ROCK — The carousel carrying football coaches to high profile college jobs is cranking up as the regular-season winds down, but Arkansas State’s Gus Malzahn isn’t discussing if he’s along for the ride - or whether he wants to be.
“I’m very happy at Arkansas State,” Malzahn told members of the the Little Rock Touchdown Club on Monday at the Embassy Suites hotel. “We’ve got big goals and big dreams, and I’m looking forward to seeing that through.”
Speculation surrounding Malzahn, the first-year Red Wolves coach, being a candidate for SEC vacancies at Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas is unsettling in northeast Arkansas after ASU endured the sudden success and departure of Hugh Freeze in 2011.
But Malzahn’s performance in Jonesboro, leading ASU (8-3, 6-1) to six consecutive victories, one victory away from a second consecutive outright Sun Belt Conference championship, has him being mentioned on many media lists.
Arkansas State officials are not surprised.
“I always say, ‘I’d rather have a coach people want than one no one is talking about,’ ” ASU System President Charles Welch said. “We fully expect for other teams to potentially have interest in Coach Malzahn because of the success he’s had.”
Malzahn, 47, who earns roughly $850,000 annually, surprised many when he left his $1 million-a-year job as Auburn’s offensive coordinator last Decemberr for ASU after being a leading candidate at BCS programs such as Vanderbilt, Maryland, North Carolina and Kansas.
Malzahn replaced Freeze, who bolted from Jonesboro on Dec. 5, two days after completing a 10-2 regular season for Oxford, Miss., where he was introduced as Houston Nutt’s replacement at Ole Miss. The Red Wolves, with a makeshift coaching staff, lost to Northern Illinois 38-20 in the GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile. Ala.
Malzahn said he won’t address his status with the Red Wolves, who have one regular season game remaining, Dec. 1 against Middle Tennessee (7-3, 5-1) at Liberty Bank Stadium.
“You’re trying to win a championship,” Malzahn said. “That’s the only focus we think about. That’s the only thing we talk about and going one game at a time. I’m really blessed to be their coach right now.”
Malzahn said Monday he’s confident the Red Wolves are on the path to being a “top-25 type” program, but long-term consistency will determine if they get there. In the most recent coaches’ poll, ASU picked up two votes, and it had four in the Harris Interactive Poll.
“We’re on the verge,” Malzahn said. “Our guys have bought into what we’re doing, and we’ve got a chance if we can finish this thing to break into it.”
Malzahn hit on the familiar theme of growing the Red Wolves into a “statewide” program, represented largely by beefing up recruiting and marketing efforts in central Arkansas
“We’re trying to increase our fan base,” Malzahn said. “We really think there are a lot of people that are really close,if we can engage, interested in Arkansas State.”
ASU has committed to giving Malzahn an opportunity to improve the ASU program, announcing plans in early September for a $22 million indoor practice facility and football operations center at the north end of Liberty Bank Stadium.
Welch said he is confident that Malzahn wants to remain at ASU.
“We’ve all talked to Coach Malzahn on a regular basis,” Welch said. “He loves this state and believes in building something special. He’s committed to the players. He’s committed to the fans. He’s a man of character.”
Of course, the state’s other FBS head coaching job wasn’t available when Malzahn took the ASU job.
Bobby Petrino was firmly entrenched at Arkansas after back-to-back 11-victory seasons, receiving a seven-year contract extension that included an $18-million buyout clause for the first two seasons.
Petrino’s sudden April ouster led to John L. Smith being brought in as Arkansas’ interim coach, but Malzahn has never wavered.
“I’m the head coach here and not worried about anything else,” Malzahn said at the time, more than four months before coaching his first game at ASU. “I’m committed to being here.”
Malzahn, who served as Arkansas’ offensive coordinator in 2006, has not been one of the top names mentioned for the Arkansas job, nor has he been highly touted for the openings at Kentucky and Tennessee.
But he would be a natural name to mention if Auburn, where he served three years as offensive coordinator, severs ties with Coach Gene Chizik at the end of the season. Auburn is 3-8 heading into Saturday’s season finale with Alabama.
Sports, Pages 17 on 11/20/2012