There was a time when Auburn had a head coach who hired an offensive coordinator who ran an offensive scheme that was far removed from the Dye-esque, manly, three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust approach that Tiger fans were accustomed to. But the head coach had it all under control. Remember those heady days?
Many people see the spread as being a finesse offense, but not Mr. “You’ve got to run the ball in the SEC”:
The biggest difference, Tuberville said of Franklin, “is he’s going to set up the run by passing the ball. We’ve set up the pass by running the ball. I don’t doubt it’s going to work, but we’re still going to be a physical team. We’re going to run the ball more than we’re going to throw it.
Auburn will remain a physical offensive team.
“I’m a defensive coach and I know you have to be physical in practice to help your defense,” Tuberville said. “You can’t get better in games on defense. You have to practice hard and practice physical. We’ll have a lot of two-back in our offense next year.”
Exit Tuberville.
And now, Auburn fans have another head coach and another spread attack genius ready to boldly go where no Tiger offense has gone before.
… As far as new coaches, the hiring of Tulsa co-offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn might on the surface imply the Tigers are leaning toward an all-out spread passing attack, though Chizik is not so sure.
“Well, there are so many different versions of the spread and what that means,” said Chizik, who won the Frank Broyles Award as the country’s top assistant (defensive coordinator) when Auburn finished the 2004 season undefeated. “I really see us more of a run-the-football type of team, so I’m not sure what the appropriate name of the offense is. Obviously, we’ll do some one-back, two-back things of that nature. It’s still going to be a downhill, physical running game.”
Hey, that worked great last year. Just ask Mississippi State.
And Malzahn ought to be hearing those alarm bells going off right about now – he’s got experience with his head coach overriding his offensive scheme.
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UPDATE: Over at The Joe Cribbs Car Wash, Jerry is hopeful that history won’t repeat itself.
Get The Picture 
I think you’re right to ask how this is going to play out. I don’t really know. As I wrote on my site, Malzahn is as committed to his no-huddle as he is to any one set, so that leaves room for more of this power stuff than Franklin’s offense did.
But one complicating factor here is that it is well known that Malzahn is basically pass-happy: at Tulsa the reason he shared the OC duties was to help curtail his pass-all-the-time instincts. He’s a progressive guy and he probably knows he needs to rein it in (and he did that at Tulsa), but it’s something to watch. If he ever runs his own program, expect them to chuck it quite a bit.
For Tulsa highlights, check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au25CyIul28
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If Tulsa’s O will get Auburn to play like Tulsa on D I’m all for it. Defenses on throwing teams suck see Big 12, WAC, etc.
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