Gus Malzahn will remain in charge of calling plays for Auburn during the Outback Bowl against Minnesota, but that could change next season under new offensive coordinator Chad Morris.

“I’m going to call the plays in the bowl game,” Malzahn said Thursday during an Outback Bowl event in Tampa, Fla., according to the Tampa Bay Times. “He’s going to assist me. He’ll kind of learn our guys and everything that goes with it. Next year, we’re still working through some things about how it’s going to go down, but he’ll have a lot of influence.”

Malzahn hired Morris, the former Arkansas coach who is one of his longtime friends in the coaching business, to take over as Auburn’s offensive coordinator on Tuesday following the departure of Kenny Dillingham after one season. Dillingham left Auburn to reunite with his mentor, Mike Norvell, at Florida State.

Malzahn needed just 27 hours to find Dillingham’s replacement, immediately targeting Morris, who was fired after less than two seasons as head coach at Arkansas, for the position.

“First of all, I’m blessed to have a chance to hire Chad Morris,” Malzahn said. "We go way back. He’s one of the best offensive minds I’ve been around. His track record’s proven. He’s the one that really got the thing going at Clemson. He beat me on Deshaun Watson. We came in second. I was disappointed. But I’m glad he’s on our team. He’s going to do a super job. He’s a great person. He’s a great recruiter and really develops great relationships with his players.”

Who call plays at Auburn has been a topic of contention in recent years during Malzahn’s tenure. The seventh-year head coach called plays for his first three-plus seasons before handing over responsibilities to then-offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee during the 2016 season. When Lashlee left for the same position at UConn and Malzahn hired Chip Lindsey as his successor before the 2017 season, Malzahn said he was retiring his playsheet and giving full control of the offense to Lindsey while he took on more of a CEO role.

Lindsey departed Auburn after two seasons, first making a brief stop as offensive coordinator at Kansas before being named head coach at Troy, and Malzahn tabbed Dillingham -- then Memphis’ offensive coordinator under Norvell -- to join his staff as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Upon hiring Dillingham last December, however, Malzahn took back the reins of the offense and decided it was best for him to call plays once again. It was familiar territory for both Malzahn, who made his name as a play-caller and offensive mastermind, and Dillingham, who did not call plays during his one season as offensive coordinator at Memphis but was integral to game-planning during the week.

Malzahn said at SEC Media Days in July that the decision to ever give up play-calling at Auburn was a “mistake,” conceding he took some wrong advice while ceding full control of his offense. Earlier this season, Malzahn also admitted he “got bored the last couple of years” while not calling plays.

With Malzahn back at the helm of Auburn’s offense this season, the Tigers made some noticeable improvements from 2018 despite some notable struggles. Auburn went from 389.9 yards per game (79th nationally) and 30.9 points per game (43rd) to 421.1 yards (53rd) and 34 points per game (27th) this season. Malzahn’s opening-game scripts were also generally successful, while the Auburn coach also earned praise from his players for his second-half adjustments.

In hiring Morris, Malzahn brings on board one of his closest friends and most trusted confidants. The two have known each other for more than 15 years, with their career arcs somewhat mirroring each other over the years. Morris rose to prominence as a high school coach in Texas after multiple visits to see Malzahn in Arkansas, where Malzahn made a name for himself with his Hurry Up, No Huddle offense. Morris adopted some of those concepts and adapted them to his own offensive scheme throughout the years -- though his offenses have traditionally been more pass-heavy than Malzahn’s run-centric scheme -- while rising through the coaching ranks. After winning multiple state championships at the high school level in Texas, Morris went on to become offensive coordinator at Tulsa in 2010 before a four-year stint in the same role at Clemson, with Malzahn helping him get both of those jobs. Morris then got his first college head coaching gig in 2015 at SMU, where he spent three seasons before Arkansas hired him after the 2017 season to take over the Razorbacks’ program.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.