Bret Bielema expresses his respect for Gus Malzhan at SEC Media Days
By Jack Crosby
Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema and Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn are nowhere near the best of friends, this is not a well-kept secret. With each on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to the hurry up no huddle debate, they don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things.
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But that doesn’t mean that the two successful college football coaches don’t respect one another, and Bielema expressed that on Wednesday during his session at SEC Media Days.
After throwing jabs at one another last year, Bielema told the media how much he respects the man who will be on the opposite sideline from him come Week 1 next month.
“The greatest thing I’ve learned in life is you respect the opposite of what you believe in, more than anything,” Bielema said Wednesday at SEC Media Days. “Gus runs an offensive style and philosophy that is completely opposite of what I believe in, but who can argue with his success? That makes me respect him even more.”
No, it’s not as much fun as last year’s Media Days when the two were nearly at one another’s throats, but you couldn’t have expected this feud to last forever. It had to die down sooner or later.
And as a reminder, and to further dispel the notion that these two are at odds anymore, Malzahn had similar words about Bielema just the other day.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Bret as a coach,” Malzahn said. “When we’re in meetings, we communicate. Like I said, I’ve got a lot of respect for him. I know he’s going to get that program where he wants it to be.”