Auburn Football: 5 Changes New Offensive Coordinator Scott Loeffler Should Make

The Auburn Tigers enter the season with a few changes, but none is more interesting than the hire of offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler. He will have the task of trying to replace a legend in Gus Malzahn, who decided that coaching for Arkansas State was the dream job.

Loeffler will also have his work cut out for him, considering this offense only scored 25.7 points per game last season. Although, the good news is that they do return eight starters on the offensive side of the ball, which should make things a tad bit easier. Loeffler has been coaching since 1996 and has done some great work, but this may be one of the biggest challenges yet in his career.

Here are five things that he should change to try and make this offense a little more efficient this season.

Develop a No. 2 Wide Receiver

Auburn wasn't exactly the best passing team in the country last season, as only two players caught more than 30 passes. We know that senior wide receiver Emory Blake is the No. 1 option in this offense, and Philip Lutzenkirchen is one of the better tight ends in the country, but that's not nearly enough to get away with. 

"Our objective, besides running the football, is to find out who our playmakers are. In a perfect world, I hope we have a lot of playmakers and can spread the ball effectively to a bunch of guys," Loeffler said.

Speedster Travante Stallworth could become that No. 2 option. Sophomore Trovon Reed has big playmaking ability, as he caught 21 passes his freshman year. Another option is redshirt freshman Sammie Coates, who has a great combination of speed and size at 6'2", 180 pounds. He has elite speed and would help stretch the field for this offense. 

Auburn lacked a solid receiving core last season. Loeffler has to discover his playmakers and change that this season.

Get Philip Lutzenkirchen the Ball More Than Ever

Sticking to the topic of receivers, there's no reason for Philip Lutzenkirchen to only have 44 receptions in three seasons. The guy is 6'4", 265 pounds, and he can make plays with the best of them. As you can see in the picture, not too many guys of his size can get up that high.

Lutzenkirchen is an athletic tight end who can make plays and is excellent at picking up chunks of yards after the catch. He's also as sure-handed as you're going to get from somebody as big as he is. Sure, he had seven touchdown receptions last season, but he should be used a lot more than just as primarily a red-zone target.

Auburn and this offense could be a lot more productive if they get Lutzenkirchen involved more.

Play Kiehl Frazier

Last season, Barrett Trotter and Clint Moseley handled the majority of the quarterback play, but things should change this season. Trotter is no longer on the roster, and Moseley didn't show nearly enough to automatically be named the starter heading into September.

Frazier may be a young player with little experience, but he would add a much-needed spark into an offense that averaged less than 26 points per contest. His playmaking ability would create headaches for opposing defenses and should work wonders on the scoreboard.

Loeffler has a great history working with quarterbacks in the past (Tom Brady, Brian Griese and Tim Tebow), and Frazier has too much talent to sit on the sidelines for another season.

Control That Clock

Loeffler is an old-school coach that loves to run the football, play great defense and control the time of possession to win football games. Those are three things that Auburn didn't do well last season, especially when it came to winning the time of possession battle.

Auburn kept the ball on average of 27 minutes and 57 seconds, which was good for 11th in the SEC and 108th in the country. That's simply not going to win many games, and it keeps the defense on the field way too long.

Loeffler must stick to the game plan and keep the clock moving when his offense has the football.

Improve Red-Zone Conversions

We know Auburn wasn't great offensively last season, and the red-zone conversions were a big part of the problem. When the Tigers got inside the 20-yard line, they only scored 83 percent of the time, and only 59 percent of the time was it a touchdown. The 59 percent was ranked 66th in the country, which is about average, but that's not good enough if you want to compete for titles in the SEC.

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"If you look at who's won in this league, it's the team that runs the football effectively and plays great defense. The formula hasn't changed in this league, it hasn't changed in the NFL. You have to be able to do that," Loeffler said.

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Auburn is now going to be a running football team that will look to eat the clock and move the chains. But if they can't punch the ball into the end zone and put six on the board, it's really not going to mean much at the end of the day.