AUBURN, Ala. -- There's one word to describe the relationship between Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn and his offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee. Unique.

The two can be seen on the sideline talking, sometimes arguing, before every Auburn drive. Malzahn, a former offensive coordinator himself, still calls the majority of the plays for the Tigers, but he looks to Lashlee for advice on certain calls or certain situations, using him as a sounding board throughout the game.

Tigers offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee (left) high-fives QB Jeremy Johnson after a TD as head coach Gus Malzahn celebrates in the background. Shanna Lockwood/USA TODAY Sports

"I feel like when we're in the huddle -- when we do huddle on the sideline right before we go out -- they're just back and forth," Auburn tight end C.J. Uzomah said. "'All right, we're going to run this play, then we're going to run this play, then we're going to pace.'

"Honestly some of the times, us as players, we just kind of tune them out until they tell us what to run because they're going back and forth like it's nobody's business."

The relationship began in 1999 when Lashlee was a sophomore quarterback at Shiloh Christian High School, and his head coach was none other than Malzahn. Together they won back-to-back state championships before Malzahn left for another job.

After a shoulder injury cut Lashlee's playing career short in college, he reunited with his former coach at Springdale High School and followed him as a graduate assistant to Arkansas in 2006 and Auburn in 2009. When Malzahn got his first head coaching job at Arkansas State prior to the 2012 season, he hired Lashlee to be his offensive coordinator.

"From my standpoint, he's my coach," Lashlee said. "He was my coach in high school, and you never lose that player-coach respect that you have for your former coaches.

"At the same time, the last five years or so I've had to really branch away from that player-coach relationship to some degree because now it's more like head coach to assistant coach. There's a little bit different relationship there that took a while for me to get used to."

On the field, it's worked out. Since Malzahn arrived at Auburn last year and brought Lashlee with him, the Tigers have had one of the top offenses in all of college football. They led the nation in rushing a season ago, and they're in the top 10 again this year. They have averaged 39 points per game over the past two seasons.

Malzahn gets most of the credit for the high-powered attack, but the Auburn coach also understands how important his offensive coordinator is to that success.

"I thought he was one of the best in the business last year," Malzahn said. "I've felt that way for a long time. He's very good at what he does, and I feel the same way this year."

Lashlee has taken on even more responsibility in 2014, a by-product of working together and growing comfortable with each other over the years.

"We've been together for a long time and know each other very well," Lashlee said. "I know what he wants. I know how he ticks. I know what he expects. I think that helps me hopefully do a better job for him."

That doesn't mean the two coaches are always on the same page, though. Former Auburn running back Tre Mason, who is now in the NFL, remembers more than one occasion when the two didn't see eye to eye.

"[Malzahn] would say, 'Rhett, what are you thinking?' Rhett would give him a play, and Coach Malzahn would go with something completely opposite," Mason recalled. "It was pretty funny watching those things before we stepped out on the field."

It won't be long before Lashlee, who was a Broyles Award finalist last year, will start getting calls to become a head coach. And like any young, up-and-coming assistant coach, he wants that opportunity one day, just not today. Today he's focused on Auburn.

"I don't have any urgency or drive to skip steps or to get somewhere I don't need to be," Lashlee said. "I'm blessed to be at Auburn in a really good place.

"I've just always believed that you need to appreciate where you're at and enjoy the moment, and those other things will take care of themselves. I've seen how hard our level is. I know one thing -- you want to be in a good situation, whether you're a head coach or an assistant coach."

"[Lashlee] is a great coach, but those two guys together, I don't see them splitting up," Mason said. "They cause havoc."