ADOB: Help from above

AUBURN | Gus Malzahn and Herb Hand couldn't be much different when it comes to their personalities.

Still, they'll be on the same wavelength this fall.

Malzahn on Tuesday said Hand, who served as his co-coordinator at University of Tulsa in 2007 and 2008, will work from the press box on Saturdays this fall. That means Malzahn and Hand will be in each other's ears as the Tigers' games unfold, which has a chance to be one of the offense's most important developments.

Hand isn't just another assistant. At Tulsa, he helped Malzahn tweak the ground-game operations that have guided Auburn to remarkable heights during the past six seasons. Malzahn trusts Hand perhaps more than any coach alive -- and that could help keep Malzahn The Playcaller elude the same pifalls that befell him last fall.

"It worked pretty well back then," Malzahn said. "Our personalities complement each other. He’s got a good feel for things, so we just figured we’d carry that over like we did in Tulsa. I think it’ll be a real good thing."

Hand spent six seasons coaching at West Virginia for Rich Rodriguez, who was one of the first Bowl Subdivision coaches to push the hurry-up, no-huddle idea on a full-time basis. The Mountaineers implemented some zone read concepts in 2004 and those concepts became a major part of the team's offense a year later as Mobile native Pat White rose to fame.

When Hand and Malzahn concurrently arrived at Tulsa ahead of the 2007 season, they immediately hit it off. They both appreciated the benefits of tempo and Malzahn's affinity for the run game -- at that point based largely on Tubby Raymond's Delaware Wing-T and spread-formation ideas from a Texas high school coach named Art Briles -- fit neatly into Hand's area of expertise. Hand soon sold Malzahn on the idea of adding some zone-read running (and other zone-blocking concepts) to the Golden Hurricane's attack.

The result? Tulsa led the nation in offense in both 20o7 and '08.

Malzahn arrived at Auburn in 2009 with an offensive system that was refined and consolidated during those two seasons at Tulsa. Though Hand stayed at Tulsa after Malzahn left and subsequently spent time at Vanderbilt and Penn State, he remained one of Malzahn's only professional confidants.

"We came together and it was kind of a perfect storm of circumstances that really led to us being successful (at Tulsa)," Hand said earlier this year. "We just checked our egos at the door and said: Hey, what do we have to do to put this offense together to give Tulsa the best opportunity for success? Not me sitting there beating my chest and saying this is how we did it at West Virginia or Gus beating his chest and saying this is how we did it at Arkansas. What do we need to do to give our kids the best chance to be successful?"

Hand was hired away from Penn State in January, which was the defining step in Malzahn's push to fill the coaching staff with his most trusted associates. Hand is a perpetually calm guy, counter to Malzahn's fiery demeanor along the sideline, and is able to communicate rationally with the head coach even when he's supremely vexed by officials.

Hand is the voice of reason. And his is a voice that Malzahn will heed even in pressure-packed situations.

That Hand will work from the Jordan-Hare Stadium mezzanine adds another level of intrigue to this already intriguing dynamic. That vantage point will allow Hand to see defensive behaviors that are difficult to discern from field level.

He helped engineer this offense, too. Hand understands how Malzahn thinks, what options are available to counter specific tendencies -- both from the defense and from Auburn's own attack. If the Tigers are becoming too predictable, Hand will have the authority to suggest adjustments that have worked in the past.

Malzahn will have the final say, of course, but Hand's opinions and Malzahn's opinions of those opinions could change the way Auburn attacks this fall.

"We kind of think alike as far as football goes even though we are completely different people," Malzahn said. "I think we complement each other very well. Herb is a very smart guy and he can work under pressure. He's been a very good addition to our staff."