Hours after Auburn fired coach Gus Malzahn after eight seasons, Alabama coach Nick Saban called Malzahn an “outstanding coach” and wondered why the move was made.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Gus,” Saban said. “He was difficult to play against when he was the offensive coordinator. He’s always been difficult to play against as a head coach. Their teams always played hard. Their team is always well-coached on both sides of the ball and special teams. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Gus.
“Sometimes you wonder why people do what they do. But I don’t know what the reasons are. I certainly think he’s an outstanding coach and has been a tough adversary for us to have to play against in the Iron Bowl every year. I have a lot of respect for Gus and the job he’s done.”
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Malzahn’s teams beat Alabama three times in the Iron Bowl -- in 2013, 2017 and 2019. Saban said Sunday that Malzahn’s offense had an influence on the Tide adapting from a power run-based offensive style.
“I don’t think there’s any question about it,” Saban said. “Gus’ style of play -- he’s not the only one. The whole sort of Baylor influence. Hugh Freeze. Those guys have all sort of come I think from the same roots in terms of some of the innovations they’ve made and tempo offenses, RPOs, really changing the game.
“I think Gus has been one of the -- at the forefront of all that. I guess playing against those guys, you almost at least get to the point where you say, ‘If you can’t beat ‘em, you might as well join ‘em.’ I guess that’s why we changed some of the things that we do around here.”
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Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.
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