Why a return to the SEC could be intriguing for Gus Malzahn

Two SEC programs have opened up the coaching carousel, with Mississippi State moving on from Zach Arnett and Texas A&M doing the same Jimbo Fisher. There could be more on the way, with Sam Pittman‘s job at Arkansas potentially being in danger. Either way, hot boards are being fired up across the conference at the moment.

A name that could pop up for a couple of SEC schools is current UCF head coach Gus Malzahn. He has taken the Knights into the Big 12 from the AAC but does have a track record in the SEC. In fact, he has been quite successful and did good things while at Auburn.

Paul Jones of On3’s Maroon and White Daily believes if Malzahn is looking to make a coaching move, one school stands out more than the others.

“Just being completely honest here — I think if he does get back in the SEC, Arkansas would probably be the more likely scenario,” Jones said via Tuesday’s episode of Andy Staples On3. “Obviously, they had some talks with Gus before they hired Sam Pittman and that was a situation where he didn’t want to make a move then. But things can change by now.”

Malzahn has plenty of connections to the state of Arkansas, dating back to his playing days. He played for the Razorbacks before finishing his career at Henderson State, a DII school. Once moving into the coaching world, Arkansas High School Football was where Malzahn got his feet wet.

Houston Nutt hired Malzahn as the Arkansas OC back in the 2006 season, giving him coaching experience inside of the program. Malzahn also eventually was the head coach at Arkansas State for one season, giving him even more in-state experience.

The Arkansas job was last open before the 2020 season. At the time, Malzahn was still at Auburn — a place where he went 68-35 and appeared in a national championship game. Malzahn talked with Arkansas but decided to stay at Auburn but was fired just a year later.

UCF has struggled this season, currently sitting at 5-5 with a 2-5 record in the Big 12. Moving into a power conference and having success will take time, no matter who the head coach is. Maybe Malzahn sees the opportunity to jump back into SEC-land.

Arkansas has not officially fired Pittman, meaning they are not a viable option at the moment. Jones does have Malzahn listed as a candidate for Mississippi State on his Hot Borad 1.0 over on Maroon and White Daily.

Options could be there for Malzahn if he decides to make the jump this offseason.