Auburn Tigers offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn has turned down the Vanderbilt Commodores head coaching job, a reported $3 million contract offer, according to AuburnSports.com (and confirmed by ESPN’s Chris Low). No official word yet.
If these reports are true, Vandy will likely turn to previously reported fallback plans Maryland Terrapins offensive coordinator James Franklin and Stanford Cardinal associate head coach Greg Roman. Failing to land one of the nation’s most coveted offensive minds would be a major disappointment for Vandy, but upon further review this really was the case of the brilliant nerd coming a little closer to landing the prom queen’s number than he should’ve.
Hey pretty lady:
Malzahn will get more head coaching offers, maybe even within the current national hiring flurry, and in the meantime a raise from Auburn for staying. Oh, and he’ll get to coach Cam Newton in the BCS National Championship Game. Vandy will hire a hard-working coach nobody’s ever heard of, who will trot out well-coached, overmanned players who will stay far out of trouble. You heard it here first.