One of the more accomplished offensive minds in college football over the past 20 years is calling it a career.
Florida State offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn — who previously served as the head coach at Auburn, UCF and Arkansas State — is retiring, the university announced on Monday, Feb. 2.
The 60-year-old Malzahn just completed his first year as the Seminoles’ play-caller.
Florida State head coach Mike Norvell has promoted co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Tim Harris Jr. to fill the vacancy.
“After 35 years, it’s time for me to step away from coaching,” Malzahn said in a statement. “I am excited to spend more time with my family and focus on the next chapter of my life. I want to thank Coach Norvell for giving me the opportunity to coach at such a prestigious program. I will continue to follow Florida State, and I believe great things are ahead for the program under Coach Norvell’s leadership and for the offense under Tim Harris.”
Though the Seminoles struggled as a team in Malzahn’s lone season in Tallahassee, finishing 5-7 after a 3-0 start, most of their problems weren’t on offense. Under Malzahn’s watch, the Seminoles averaged 33 points per game, the 22nd-best mark among 136 FBS teams. Unsurprisingly for a Malzahn unit, Florida State excelled on the ground. Its 472.1 yards per game were the sixth-most in the country and its 218.7 rushing yards per game were the program’s most in a season since 1995.
Malzahn is most known in the sport for his eight seasons as the head coach at Auburn, where he went 68-35. The highlight of that run came in his first season in 2013, when he led the Tigers to an SEC championship and a berth in the BCS national championship game, where they lost 34-31 to (oddly enough) Florida State.
Malzahn had previously been the offensive coordinator for the Cam Newton-led Auburn team in 2010 that won the national title.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why is Gus Malzahn retiring? FSU OC says ‘it’s time for me to step away’
