Auburn's Gus Malzahn wins Eddie Robinson Coach of Year award

USA TODAY Sports

The accolades keep coming for Auburn's Gus Malzahn, who led Auburn to a 12-1 season and a spot in the Jan. 6 national championship game against Florida State.

Malzahn became the third first-year head coach to win the FWAA/Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.

"This is a huge honor, and I'm very humbled to be named the recipient of the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award," Malzahn said in a statement Monday. "I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Robinson and looked up to him as a coach and as an individual. I accept this award on behalf of our entire coaching staff and players, which have done an outstanding job this year getting our program turned around."

Auburn was 3-9 — 0-8 in the SEC — in 2012, and the Tigers' year-to-year improvement is the best in FBS history. Malzahn is only the second first-year, major-college coach to lead his new team to the national title game.

Auburn leads the nation in rushing with 335.7 yards a game.

Malzahn, who was Auburn's offensive coordinator from 2009-11, claimed the Frank Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach on Auburn's 2010 national title team. Malzahn went to Arkansas State in 2012 as the head coach, where he led that school to the Sun Belt Conference title before returning to Auburn.

"Certainly, the job Coach Malzahn has done this year warrants this award," said FWAA President Chris Dufresne of the Los Angeles Times. "It is one of the best turnarounds in college football history and to do it in the first year at a school even adds to the accomplishment."

"In his first season at the helm at Auburn, Gus Malzahn authored one of the great turnarounds in college football history," said Robert Shelton, the executive director of the Fiesta Bowl, which sponsors the award. "It takes a special coach to lead a team to the BCS championship game one year after it failed to win a conference game. Coach Malzahn is a fitting recipient of the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award."

Ralph Friedgen of Maryland in 2001 and Tom Cahill of Army in 1966 also were first-year coaches who won the FWAA Coaching Award.

The seven other finalists were Baylor's Art Briles, Duke's David Cutcliffe, Michigan State's Mark Dantonio, Florida State's Jimbo Fisher, Central Florida's George O'Leary, Missouri's Gary Pinkel and Stanford's David Shaw.