Steven Pearl reacts to Gus Malzahn retirement

On Monday, Florida State offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn announced his retirement. Malzahn was Auburn‘s head coach from 2013-20. During his time at Auburn, Malzahn developed a close friend with Bruce Pearl and his family.

Pearl was Auburn’s men’s basketball coach from 2014-2025 before retiring and handing the reins of the program over to his son, Steven Pearl. On Monday, Steven congratulated Malzahn on his retirement.

“Gus is a dear friend of mine, and I think the timing’s interesting because [Bruce Pearl] obviously, having just hung it up, I would imagine they’re going to play a ton of golf together now out at the lake,” Pearl joked. “So, I know Gus is really excited about that. He and Kristi are just such great friends of ours.”

“He and I have just stayed in constant communication throughout my career, and he’s been such a helpful resource in my journey to being a head coach. … I’m really happy for him because he’s done such a great job at every level of football, whether it’s in high school or collegiately. He deserves the time to spend with his family and look back on all the success that he’s had in this profession.”

In Malzahn’s eight seasons at the helm of Auburn, he led the program to a 68-35 overall record and a 39-27 mark in conference play. Malzahn led Auburn to an SEC title in 2013 and a national championship game appearance, where the Tigers lost to Florida State.

In 2017, Auburn appeared in the SEC Championship game, but was unable to win. Malzahn never had a losing season as Auburn’s head coach.

“One of the best offensive minds in the history of the game,” Bruce Pearl wrote on X. “I loved watching your running game schemes and learned so much about counters to a continuity! You won championships at Auburn and made history! Enjoy what’s next coach, you’ve earned it!”

Gus Malzahn was Florida State’s offensive coordinator last season. The Seminoles averaged 472.1 yards of total offense per game, the sixth most in college football.

Alas, due to a lackluster defense, Florida State finished the season with a 5-7 overall record and a 2-6 mark in conference play. Malzahn also served as head coach at UCF and Arkansas State.

He won numerous awards throughout his illustrious career, including the SEC Coach of the Year Award in 2013. Now retired, perhaps Malzahn can return to Auburn to cheer on Steven Pearl and the Tigers at a game in the near future.