Gus Malzahn, Auburn Agree on New Contract: Latest Comments and Reaction

Auburn Tigers head football coach Gus Malzahn reportedly received a contract extension last year.

"The university [on Monday] released an amendment to Malzahn's contract, which extends the coach through Dec. 31, 2020," according to Dana Sulonen of OANow.com. "The amended contract began on Jan. 1, 2016."

Sulonen noted Malzahn's old contract ran through Dec. 31, 2019, and that there weren't any changes made to his $4.725 million annual salary.

According to USA Today, Malzahn was the nation's 13th-highest-paid coach in 2015. Alabama's Nick Saban ($7,087,481), Michigan's Jim Harbaugh ($7,004,000) and Ohio State's Urban Meyer ($5,860,000) made up the top three.

Malzahn coached Arkansas State to the Sun Belt championship in 2012 before taking the Auburn job. He sports a 36-16 overall record and a 27-13 mark during his three seasons with the Tigers.

His most notable performance came in 2013, when Auburn finished 12-2 and reached the BCS National Championship Game before losing to Jameis Winston and the Florida State Seminoles in a 34-31 nail-biter. Malzahn won the Associated Press, Eddie Robinson, Home Depot, Paul "Bear" Bryant and SEC Coach of the Year awards for his efforts on the sideline that season.

Since then, however, his won-loss records have taken a turn for the worse:

Season	School	Record
2012	Arkansas State	9-3
2013	Auburn	12-2
2014	Auburn	8-5
2015	Auburn	7-6

What's more, Malzahn is only 1-2 against in-state rival Alabama—and the one win came thanks to Chris Davis returning a missed field goal 100 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the Iron Bowl in 2013. It is important to note, however, that Auburn was a dismal 3-9 the year before Malzahn took over.

The coach—who uses an uptempo offensive attack—seemingly has the program trending in the right direction. The Tigers landed the No. 9 recruiting class in the nation in the 2016 cycle, per 247Sports' composite team rankings, after finishing eighth and sixth in 2015 and 2014.

If Malzahn can parlay that success on the recruiting trail into more wins on the field, Auburn could be a contender in the SEC West—like it was during his first season.