Auburn enters its fifth year under head coach Gus Malzahn looking to improve upon its 8-5 record from a year ago. The Tigers hope to build upon a promising defense that turned out to be the team's strength in 2016, and the offense has high expectations under first-year coordinator Chip Lindsey and his revamped scheme that will expand the passing game.

Which 10 members of the 2017 team will prove to be the difference between a successful season or a disappointing one? AL.com delves into the topic as it unveils Auburn's 10 MVPs for the 2017 season.

2. Chip Lindsey, offensive coordinator

One of the newest members of Auburn's team also happens to be one of the most important this season. Chip Lindsey was brought on as the Tigers' offensive coordinator in late January and is tasked with revamping the team's offense this fall, and it's the reason he checks in at No. 2 on our countdown.

Lindsey is familiar with Gus Malzahn's offensive scheme, having worked as an analyst under Malzahn in 2013 during Auburn's national runner-up season, so it won't be a total makeover on that side of the ball. Instead, Lindsey -- who spent last season at Arizona State and the previous two at Southern Miss as offensive coordinator -- will maintain Auburn's identity as a run-first team while expanding the Tigers' passing game, which has been lacking in each of the past two seasons.

"I think each game is probably different; if you look back in my career, that's what I've kind of tried to be balanced in that area," Lindsey said in May. "I think it's important for you to be able to throw the ball first down and not pigeonhole yourself to just third down. At the same time, we know we're pretty good running the football, we feel like so we want to run it."

Lindsey will have full control of the offense, as Malzahn has taken a step back and handed over the reins to his new right-hand man, retiring his clipboard in the process. So, the success of Auburn's offense lies in the hands of its new offensive coordinator, whose offensive philosophy was based on Air Raid concepts and has since evolved into an up-tempo scheme with a more even run/pass split while also incorporating RPOs.

The difference in the offense was evident during A-Day, despite Lindsey admitting that he kept things fairly vanilla from a play-calling standpoint.

On top of being tasked with rejuvenating Auburn's offense -- which saw improvements last season except in the passing game -- Lindsey will be responsible for developing the Tigers' quarterbacks. It's something the team has struggled with since Nick Marshall's departure, but also an area that Lindsey has built his name on during his young career.

With Jarrett Stidham the expected starter, Sean White waiting in the wings and true freshman Malik Willis coming along, getting the most out of that trio -- and improving Auburn's quarterback play this season -- will be squarely on Lindsey's shoulders.

"Bottom line is I was looking for the best person for this job that would give us the best chance at being successful," Malzahn said Jan. 21 during Lindsey's introductory press conference. "...I've actively seen him develop quarterbacks; he's very good at that. He's very good at evaluating quarterbacks. I feel very comfortable with Chip; I've got a lot of trust that he can do it. And then he fits within my philosophy. The thing withChip is he had his own offense that he's been very successful with.



"He understands -- he was with me a year and he understands the core philosophy. I'm very excited about him coming in and kind of spicing up our offense. But I got a lot of confidence in him and I'm very excited that Chip Lindsey's our offensive coordinator."

Coming Friday: The countdown wraps up with the new face of Auburn's offense.