Auburn’s coach wants you to know that his objection to the proposed rule change about linemen blocking downfield is more than just about him. He’s doing it for the children high school coaches everywhere.
“That’s part of the creativity of the game,” Malzahn said. “I’m not into anything that takes the creativity out of the game. You know, you see a lot of coaches around the country, specifically high school coaches that are coaching in college, that’s very important to them.”
Isn’t that how life is sometimes? One minute, you’re pulling down $4 million a year and the next the Man has a boot on your throat.
Speaking of the Man, here’s the NFL knocking his system.
The divide between offensive philosophies in the NFL and college football is still very wide, especially when it comes to the quarterback position.
Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians was very critical of no-huddle offenses during last month’s NFL Combine.
“So many times, you’re evaluating a quarterback who has never called a play in the huddle, never used a snap count. They hold up a card on the sideline, he kicks his foot and throws the ball,” Arians said. “That ain’t playing quarterback. There’s no leadership involved there. There might be leadership on the bench, but when you get them and they have to use verbiage and they have to spit the verbiage out and change the snap count, they are light years behind.”
Gus strenuously objects to that.
As the innovator of the Hurry-Up, No-Huddle philosophy, which utilizes play cards and signals from the sidelines and an incredibly simple verbiage, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn stood by his system.
“I think every coach has their own opinion,” Malzahn said. “Obviously I like what we do, I agree with what we do. That’s where the game is going, regardless of anybody’s opinion. But we feel strongly with what we do.”
Obviously. And when quotes like Arians’ get thrown back in his face on the recruiting trail – it’s the SEC, so you know they will inevitably – what’s the rebuttal, especially when you see the pros looking at moving Nick Marshall to defensive back? Why, it’ll be to place the fault on the NFL.
“I know he can be a quarterback at the next level,” Malzahn said. “It needs to be the right system. You’re talking about a guy who’s probably one of the best zone-read quarterbacks in the history of college football.”
If only some owner would just go ahead, bite the bullet and hire a high school coach…