JONESBORO — Arkansas State is expected to announce today that Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn has been named the Red Wolves’ head coach.
A press conference has been scheduled for 3:30 p.m. today at the A-State Convocation Center. The conference is open to the public.
The website al.com and Jonesboro station KAIT-TV reported that Malzahn, 46, who started his head coaching career just a drive away from A-State at Hughes High School, was named the successor to Hugh Freeze, who was named head coach at Ole Miss on Dec. 5. Former Watson Chapel assistant coach David Gunn, the Red Wolves’ running backs coach since 2002, will serve as interim coach for the team in the Jan. 8 GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Ala., against Northern Illinois.
Malzahn was offensive coordinator at Auburn for the past three seasons, tutoring quarterback Cam Newton during his 2010 Heisman Trophy campaign and helping the Tigers win the national championship. He was a head coach at Hughes from 1992-95 and made stops at Shiloh Christian and Springdale before joining Houston Nutt’s staff at the University of Arkansas as an offensive coordinator in 2006. He also was co-offensive coordinator at Tulsa from 2007-08.