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Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn won the annual Broyles Award given to the nation's top college assistant coach on Monday.
Malzahn is also the quarterbacks coach for the top-ranked Tigers, who will play for the national championship next month against Oregon.
''I feel like this is an award that all of the offensive coaches had a part in winning,'' Malzahn said. ''The coaches and the players have worked very hard this season and they all share in this award.''
Malzahn is the 15th winner of the award named in honor of former Arkansas coach Frank Broyles. The 45-year-old Arkansas native began his college coaching career under Broyles, then the athletic director, at Arkansas during the 2006 season after a successful high school coaching career in the state.
''Coach Broyles gave me my first job as a college coach,'' Malzahn said. ''I grew up in Arkansas and it has just made all of this very special to me.''
He began his high school coaching career at Hughes before winning two state championships at Shiloh Christian in Springdale. He later took over at Springdale High in the state's largest classification, going 14-0 in 2005 and winning the state championship while finishing in the top five in most national high school polls.
That team featured star players such as current USC quarterback Mitch Mustain and Tennessee Titans receiver Damian Williams.
Malzahn brought Mustain and Williams with him to Arkansas when he was hired as the offensive coordinator at Arkansas under then coach Houston Nutt. After a season filled with conflict with Nutt behind the scenes, one that led to the transfers of Mustain and Williams, Malzahn left for the same position at Tulsa.
The Golden Hurricane had one of the nation's top offenses for two seasons under Malzahn, who was hired at Auburn prior to last season. This season, the Tigers and quarterback Cam Newton led the Southeastern Conference in offense and scoring.
Other finalists this year were Stanford offensive coordinator Greg Roman, Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, Wisconsin defensive coordinator Paul Chryst and TCU defensive coordinator Dick Bumpas.
