I'd like to add -
It's not that I really think Gus is a bad coach. He's not Gene Chizik. I just don't think this is the right time and place for him. Our football is bad. Really bad.
We don't have a quarterback. Our running backs aren't that good. I like Tre Mason's work ethic, and I think he has some skills, but he's not going to win us games. He's half the running back Dyer was.
Our receivers are putrid. Emory Blake is gone. Our tight ends don't block. They don't catch very well.
Our defensive line is soft. Softer than a pillow. Have been since 2011.
We don't have any linebackers. Kris Frost? Cass McKinzy? Who? I mean, those guys filled in and impressed us as fans, but we lost those games. They impressed us because they weren't Jake Holland. I doubt they would start on any other SEC team.
Our secondary is swiss cheese. Has been since 2009.
Gus Malzahn has the task of rebuilding an ENTIRE football team. From top to bottom. He has to change the culture. The attitude. The expectations. The talent. The logistics. The reputation.
Everything. Gene Chizik created a total mess. The only positive is that many of these players had potential coming out of high school.
And what makes it even more difficult is that Gus Malzahn helped cultivate this culture. He helped create this mess. The current players that played under Malzahn remember him as a coach that was part of Gene Chizik's style of coaching.
Good luck, Gus. I hope you have endurance because it's going to take a monumental effort 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for most likely a few years to truly resuscitate this program.