Auburn begins preparations for the Music City Bowl

AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn returned to practice Thursday in what was the first of 11 practices before the Tigers play Purdue in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl on Dec. 28. The focus? Sending the seniors out with a victory in their final game while also building for the future.
 
"We're looking at this thing as really a one-game season, and our approach is that this is a big game for us," Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said after practice. "Our guys understand that. And not just for the seniors and the older guys and finishing the right way, but for next year and the offseason and everything that goes with it. So we're really looking forward to playing Purdue in Nashville."
 
There was one major difference in Thursday's practice. New offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham was on hand and engaging with the Auburn players and coaches.  
 
Dillingham was hired Sunday from Memphis where he spent the past season as the offensive coordinator for a unit that ranks fourth nationally in total offense (534.3 yards per game), third in rushing offense (285.5 yards per game) and seventh in scoring offense (43.6). Malzahn was first introduced to the up-and-coming coach this past spring when he visited his old friend, Mike Norvell, at Memphis. 

"I got a chance to watch this guy (Dillingham) in the meeting room with his quarterbacks," Malzhan said. "It was very impressive with his energy, his detail. He just made a great impression on me. Then I got a chance to go a watch a practice and watch him do his thing.

"I left that practice field thinking, 'That guy there, I'd like to hire him someday.'"
 
With the change in coordinator comes a change in philosophy, too, as Malzahn plans to take back the play-calling duties for the offense in the bowl game and for next season. It's something he's excited about doing again and as he describes it, it's really "who I am at my core."
 
Does that mean wholesale changes on offense when Auburn plays Purdue? Likely not.
 
"For the bowl, you've got to build upon what you have done," Malzahn said. "You can't change everything completely. I think it's more kind of building upon what we've done this year and getting the best plan possible for this game with the players we have."
 
As for Dillingham's role, he is going do more observing than anything over the next two weeks. The next week will be about getting acclimated and getting used to the Auburn players and coaches, and then once the team gets to the bowl site, he'll be up in the booth assisting Malzahn and the offensive coaches. But it won't be "full force" until spring practice rolls around.
 
Wide receivers' coach Kodi Burns, who added the role of passing game coordinator to his responsibilities, will also help with the transition for the bowl game.
 
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf