Fresh off beating No. 1 Alabama, Gus Malzahn has his No. 2 ranked Auburn Tigers in the SEC Championship game against a Georgia team they've already beaten, and a College Football Playoff spot could be soon on the way.
It's been a tremendous year for Malzahn at Auburn, a season in which he really needed to once again prove his worth down on the plains, but according to Arkansas Insider Mike Irwin, one vacant coaching job in the world of college football could end up being enough of a draw to pull the coach away from Auburn.
In fact, Irwin considers this to be a "moment of truth" for Malzahn. Sure, he has a championship-level program at Auburn, but the insider has spoken to friends of the head coach who believe that he's a "Razorback at heart" and if Arkansas was to come calling, Malzahn would accept the dream job:
Malzahn to Arkansas has been a hot rumor as of late and it would make sense that Arkansas would consider him a top target in the wake of firing Bret Bielema. Malzahn has proven to be one of the top offensive minds in college football, he's a good recruiter and he clearly can take a program from zero to hero real fast. Remember, he took Auburn to the BCS National Championship in his first year as head coach. This, after Gene Chizik went 3-9 in his final season with the Tigers.
If Arkansas was to offer Malzahn and the head coach were to accept the change, it's worth noting that he'd have a homecoming of sorts by teaming up with the Razorbacks. He went to high school in Arkansas and started his coaching career as a top high school football coach in the state for multiple years. He was the offensive coordinator at Arkansas in 2006 and coached one season as head coach for Arkansas State, leading the Red Wolves to a 9-3 record.
(H/T Saturday Down South)