Gus Malzahn, attired in a dark business suit, entered the conference room accompanied by his wife Kristie and assorted executives from Arkansas State. I rose to shake his hand, desperate to come across as a cool advertising professional and not a fan-boy alum of a university that had suddenly seen its national profile elevated.

For his part, Coach Malzahn was both eager to participate in the process of marketing and distant in confronting its dull details. Sometimes, Kristie would chime in with a thought or proposal, to which Coach Malzahn would nod in agreement. He became his most animated when discussion turned to the phrase, “Gus Bus.”

“Please,” said The Malzahn’s in matrimonial unison, “no ‘Gus Bus.’ We’re done with Gus Bus.”

It was too late. Red Wolves fans had hopped aboard The Gus Bus the moment his hire was announced, a coup orchestrated by acting athletic director Dr. Dean Lee and ASU System President Chuck Welch. The Red Wolves had just enjoyed its most successful season in modern times, a 10-2 SBC Championship season that launched one-and-done head football coach Hugh Freeze to Ole Miss. Fans’ dismay for losing Freeze evaporated instantly with Malzahn’s surprise hire.

Malzahn was something of a legend in Arkansas, having coached high school ball at Springdale before taking offensive coordinator gigs with Arkansas, Tulsa, and finally at Auburn before arriving to Jonesboro. His offensive schemes were the stuff of ESPN highlight reels. Malzahn recruited Cam Newton to Auburn, transforming him into one of the greatest QBs in SEC history. In 2010, he won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant. In 2011, his offense took Auburn to the 2011 BCS National Championship Game against Oregon. Through him, all things seemed possible.

As Freeze was getting acquainted with his new friends in Oxford, Malzahn served as Red Wolves’ guest of honor in Mobile during the first of many trips to the GoDaddy Bowl. What followed next was a kind of fever dream, from recruiting stud running back Michael Dyer to Jonesboro to demanding a Spring Game crowd of 10,000. Dyer never ran a play for A-State, and the Spring Game (though well attended) didn’t quite attract 10,000 fans, but astronomical levels of expectations were set nonetheless.

When the Red Wolves opened the season on ESPN against Oregon and unknown freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota, it was predetermined by many (including myself) that not only would Arkansas State compete, but the team actually had a chance to win. I hosted a party comprised mostly of Razorbacks fans so that they might bear witness to a new age of glory for Arkanass State. The Ducks scored almost instantly on its opening possession, and added an unnecessary layer of humility by punching it in for for two. My party ended early.

The Red Wolves would stagger out of Eugene with a 57-34 defeat, rebound with a win over Memphis, then get thumped 42-13 in Nebraska. A 26-13 loss to Western Kentucky to open conference play seemed to usher a grim reality for Red Wolves fans, but teeth were prematurely gnashed. Arkansas State wouldn’t lose another game for the rest of the year, concluding the regular season with a storied 45-0 destruction of Middle Tennessee – a game that didn’t see the Blue Raiders cross the fifty yard line.

The season bore a surreal quality. Suddenly, the Red Wolves were the premiere football program in the state of Arkansas, with the Razorbacks stumbling to a shockingly bad 4-8 record under John L. Smith. For me, Malzahn’s season at Arkansas State squeezed every emotion into a blender. My deep chagrin that followed the Oregon loss was balanced nearly perfectly by my joy for trouncing Middle Tennessee and winning another SBC title. My eldest son and I joined the Red Wolves faithful in storming the field – a first for me after having long endured nothing but disappointing seasons.

Two days after accepting a another bid to the GoDaddy Bowl to face #25 Kent State, Coach Malzahn announced his intentions to accept the job at Auburn. It was a blow I took too personally. What seemed like an informal dismissal from Freeze felt like cold betrayal from Malzahn, who weeks earlier had insisted that he was not interested in coaching anybody but Arkansas State. The upward trajectory – one that had Top 25 hopes pinned to its wagon – left with Malzhan. We had glory for a moment, but the moment was gone.

But unlike Freeze, who never worked to pit his new teams against A-State, Malzahn was gracious enough to offer A-State not one but two high-profile games against Auburn. Freeze may have pulled Arkansas State out of mediocrity’s orbit, but it was Malzahn who elevated the Red Wolves to its greatest potential, even if the program never quite reached it. He delivered an dynamic offense that has yet to be duplicated, and a coaching staff that featured future P4 head coaches Eliah Drinkwitz and Rhett Lashlee. Malzahn’s season served as the apex of Arkansas State football, a peak too far to even approach today.

Godspeed in your retirement, Gus Malzahn, and the Bus you rode in on.

FEATURED IMAGE: a gross AI amalgamation of a photo from A-State Athletics