Auburn Football: 5 Fixes for make-or-break 2019 for Gus Malzahn

Auburn Football crumbled under the weight of expectations, putting Gus Malzahn squarely on the hot seat. What must be done for him to maintain his post?

Auburn captured the SEC West in 2017 with wins over two rivals ranked No. 1 at the time of the matchups — Georgia and Alabama. The SEC West crown led to a 7-year, $49-million contract extension for Malzahn, despite a three-touchdown loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game the next week and a subsequent loss to UCF in the Peach Bowl.

The two game losing streak to end the season did little to quell the expectations that the Tigers were going to be a legitimate threat to Alabama in the West again, potentially breaking through to the College Football Playoff for the first time.

Auburn opened the season ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll and earned a Top-10 victory in Atlanta over eventual PAC-12 Champion Washington. The five-point win over the Huskies revealed some flaws that would haunt Auburn the rest of the season.

Two weeks later Cole Tracy kicked a game-winner for LSU to beat Auburn at Jordan-Hare, putting them behind the eight-ball in the SEC West after their conference opener.

Their hopes were officially ended with back-to-back listless performances in losses at Mississippi State and at home against Tennessee. They were blown out by Georgia and Alabama in November to finish the regular season at 7-5 and among the nation’s most disappointing teams.

Rumors swirled after the conclusion of the regular season that Malzahn’s job may not be safe despite the large buyout that was agreed to with his contract extension last year. Malzahn bet on himself, agreeing to a reduced buyout in order to return to the Auburn sideline in 2019.

Most considered the move foolish, with the Auburn administration positioning themselves to save a lot of money if they pull the trigger on Malzahn’s dismissal after next season.

And they will, unless Malzahn leads Auburn to a big bounce back in 2019. The 63-14 Music City Bowl beatdown of Purdue flashed the potential that the Tigers could have a big rebound next season.

If they don’t, a whole new regime will be moving in on the Plains.

Here are five fixes for Auburn in 2019 as they look for a big bounce back season that secures Malzahn’s spot on the sideline for years to come: