AUBURN | It may take some time for some of you, others are already there.

But when we look back on Gus Malzahn’s era at Auburn it will be with affection. If you were paying attention you could feel the love and warmth on social media throughout Sunday as his former players expressed their support and appreciation of a coach they described as always putting them first.

They showed that every game by playing hard for him on the field and we saw the joy in their faces as he took his last dance as their coach after Saturday night’s win at Mississippi State.

If that was all there was to Malzahn, that he was a genuinely good guy that ran a clean program and treated his players with love and respect, that would be enough. But that would also be selling him short because he was much more than that.

He was a winner on and off the field. In his 11 years at Auburn as an offensive coordinator and head coach, Malzahn brought the Tigers to heights they hadn’t seen in half a century.

That 2010 national championship came into existence because of his offense and his recruitment of Cam Newton. He almost won another in 2013 and he’s played a big part in two of Auburn’s eight SEC Championships in its 128-year history.

He honored four more of those championship by wearing a script-A hat this season just like the late Pat Dye did on those Jordan-Hare sidelines. Malzahn believed in Auburn’s history and loved its traditions.

And he made Auburn better for it. Appreciate that.

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There’s no home run or perfect hire for Auburn, and there’s no guarantee a new coach won’t have a worse record than Malzahn. Just look at the current state of the programs at Tennessee and Nebraska.

It was just six years ago that Michigan hired Jim Harbaugh and Penn State hired James Franklin, and four years ago that Texas hired Tom Herman. All three were considered great hires and all three could be out within the next 12 months.

Who really knew 12 years ago that Dabo Swinney would become one of the top overall coaches in the country when he was elevated from wide receivers coach to interim head coach and then head coach in 2008.

That uncertainty is true whether Auburn fired Malzahn this year, next year or sometime in the future. It’s a dice roll no matter the circumstances.

The one advantage Auburn has in 2020 is it’s by far the best job available and will have its pick of top candidates. There’s a good chance that wouldn’t be the case a year from now. Whether or not that top candidate turns out to be a top coach that can successfully compete in the SEC West, well, that’s another matter entirely.

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Today’s musical journey takes us back 41 years and the release of what many consider a top 10 album of all time. On Dec. 14, 1979, the Clash released their third studio album, London Calling, in the UK. The double album, which has sold over five million copies worldwide, built upon the group’s punk beginnings and included styles such as reggae, jazz, ska and rock.

The Clash formed in 1976 alongside the Sex Pistols as part of the punk movement in London with rhythm guitarist Joe Strummer, lead guitarist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Nicky Headon. Strummer and Jones provided most of the vocals. They released their first album, The Clash, in 1977 and followed that up with Give ‘Em Enough Rope the following year. But it was London Calling that sent their popularity soaring. None of the songs for the album were pre-written. The band got together at Vanilla Studios and started playing covers and rehearsing in the summer of 79. In August, they moved to Wessex Studios and recorded the album over the next three months. Most of the songs focused on poverty, race, unemployment, drugs and injustice.

The album is ranked No. 8 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2005. The Clash were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. The most recognizable song from the album is London Calling, which was written by Strummer and Jones and alluded to the opening of BBC broadcasts to other countries during World War II. The song alludes to concerns about a nuclear meltdown or other catastrophe, police brutality and the band’s unhappiness with their recording contract. The song peaked at No. 11 on the UK charts, has been used in several advertisements including one for Jaguar and is played as the opening anthem for Arsenal Football Club matches.