Sugar Bowl: Auburn vs. Oklahoma

Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn and director of football operations Jamie Croley. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

(Julie Bennett)

Two of Auburn's top football administrators and Gus Malzahn's closest confidants have resigned and one is helping the Malzahn's start a charitable foundation.

Director of football operations Jamie Croley, who handled a variety of responsibilities directly for Malzahn and the football program at large, and assistant athletic director David Gunn, who served as lead administrator for the football program, both resigned from their positions on Monday effective immediately.

Croley, said he's going to help Gus and Kristi Malzahn, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, start a charitable foundation based in Auburn.

"I want to help this foundation get started," Croley said. "I still get to work with family, both Gus and Kristi now. ... It's an opportunity that I feel like to give back to people. The goal is to get that thing up and running."

Croley traveled with Gus Malzahn to Tampa for the first stop of his Ambush speaking tour last Thursday and said they first discussed a change in Croley's role on Friday.

A nationally certified athletic trainer, Croley worked with Malzahn dating back to his high school coaching days in Arkansas as well as DFO at Arkansas State in 2012. Croley said "the door has been left open" to return to the DFO role in the future but will take time to be away from football directly or indirectly as he has been for the past 20 years.

"At this point it was a good time for me to step out and kind of recharge my battery," Croley said. "I've got a goal, I've got a vision, I've got something that I attain. At the end of the day, you know you're helping somebody."

Gunn was among those who came with Malzahn from Arkansas State in 2012, where he served as the defensive backs coach and interim head coach in the GoDaddy.com Bowl after Malzahn resigned to take the Auburn job.

Croley indicated Gunn was considering his future options but that him joining the Malzahn's foundation had not been discussed to this point.

An Auburn spokesman did not immediately have a comment on the personnel changes, which were first reported by AuburnUndercover.com..