Scarbinsky: Gus Malzahn's first hot-button Auburn decision is enlisting or discharging Trooper Taylor
By Kevin Scarbinsky | kscarbinsky@al.com
on December 06, 2012 at 8:49 PM, updated December 06, 2012 at 8:50 PM
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Trooper Taylor fires up the Auburn football team during the second half of its 26-19 loss to Clemson on Sept. 1, 2012, in the Georgia Dome. (Birmingham News/Hal Yeager)Kevin Scarbinsky | kscarbinsky@al.com
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Arshad “A.J.†Jackson is a three-star tight end from Lovejoy High School in Hampton, Ga. He committed to Auburn in May.
How did Jackson react Tuesday when his high school coach called him to say that Auburn had just hired Gus Malzahn?
“At first,†Jackson said, “I didn’t know who he was.â€
That’ll change, but, um, wow.
Who knew that, among the many challenges Malzahn faces, one of them would be name recognition?
Jackson said he was disappointed when Auburn fired Gene Chizik but was looking forward to meeting Malzahn. He said he was still committed to Auburn but planned to visit Mississippi State and Florida State to keep his options open. He said there was one thing that would guarantee he would stick with the Tigers.
If Trooper Taylor stayed.
In that case, Jackson said, “it’s 100 percent that I really will be at Auburn.â€
He’s not the only player to feel that way about the most dynamic and divisive assistant coach this state has ever known.
It’s part of the reason Taylor probably has to go.
No assistant should be bigger than the head coach. No player should be confused about who’s the boss. Those lines were blurred under Chizik as Taylor became the most visible Auburn coach on game day and the most famous or infamous coach on the recruiting trail, winning the hearts and minds of top prospects while earning the wrath and suspicion of rival coaches and fan bases.
While the NCAA separates fact from fancy about Auburn’s recruiting in general, it’s critical that Malzahn establish his authority from the start, and the simplest way to do that is to start fresh with a new crop of assistant coaches rather than ask his old colleagues to adjust to him as the boss.
It remains to be seen whether Malzahn will clean house completely, but after two days on the job, it appears he’s turned his hurry-up no-huddle offensive philosophy into an overall program-building approach.
Call it Hurry Up, No Prisoners.
Defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, strength coach Kevin Yoxall and director of football operations Wayne Bolt - in order, a Chizik hire, a Tommy Tuberville hire and a Pat Dye guy - will not be back.
Ellis Johnson, a pro’s pro, is the new defensive coordinator. His hire’s a positive sign that Malzahn values SEC experience over Auburn ties.
Does he also value the good of the program over personal relationships? The rest of his staffing decisions will provide some clues.
None of those decisions will generate more passionate discussion than the one involving Taylor, Fairly or not, he became the personification of the best and worst of the Chizik era.
When Cam Newton was smiling and Auburn was rolling toward a national championship, Taylor’s towel-waving and chest-bumping seemed refreshing, and Auburn positioned itself as a family alternative to Nick Saban and his NFL-like organization.
When Auburn started losing, and wide receivers such as Trovon Reed and DeAngelo Benton failed to play up to their recruiting rankings, and arrests and suspensions started to climb, Taylor’s buddy-buddy approach seemed the opposite of what a program with discipline issues needed.
Taylor probably got too much credit for three straight top-10 recruiting classes. He likely got too much blame for the attrition and lack of player development that made those rankings a mirage.
Either way, there’s no disputing the bonds he developed with players. When a roster has too many players that are more loyal to an assistant than to the head coach, something has to change.
Malzahn knows what Taylor’s all about behind the towel and without the hat, having worked with him for three years. He knows where he can help the program and where he might hurt. That’s an advantage in making a career decision.
And in taking the heat that’s sure to follow whichever way he goes.
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