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Auburn hires Kenny Dillingham as OC; Gus Malzahn to call plays

"I'm very excited for the opportunity to join one of the nation's top football programs and work for Coach Malzahn, who has won a national championship and produced some of the top offenses in Southeastern Conference history."

<p>Via @AuburnFootball on Twitter.</p>

Via @AuburnFootball on Twitter.

Auburn's offensive coordinator search is over.

Six days after Chip Lindsey left the position vacant by leaving for Kansas, Auburn has hired Memphis offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham as its OC and quarterbacks coach.

Head coach Gus Malzahn will return to calling the plays as he did from 2013-15. A release from Auburn Athletics also said wide receivers coach Kodi Burns has added passing game coordinator to his duties.

"I'm very excited for the opportunity to join one of the nation's top football programs and work for Coach Malzahn, who has won a national championship and produced some of the top offenses in Southeastern Conference history," Dillingham said. "Coach Norvell speaks very highly of Coach Malzahn and the similarities of how both offenses work. Auburn is a great university and community and my wife and I are extremely excited. I can't wait to learn and add to the future successes of the Auburn football program." 

Under Dillingham's direction this season, Memphis ranked fourth in the nation in total offense, third in rushing offense and seventh in scoring offense. The run game was led by Doak Walker Award finalist Darrell Henderson's 1,909 yards and 22 touchdowns.

The year prior, while under the titles of quarterbacks and tight ends coach, Dillingham guided Memphis to single-season records for points, total plays, yards, passing yards, completions, attempts, offensive touchdowns and passing touchdowns.

In 2016, Dillingham's first season with Memphis, he served as quarterbacks coach for a team that scored 57 touchdowns, good for third-most in program history.

"Kenny is one of the rising stars in our profession, coaching two top 10 nationally ranked offenses the last two years," Malzahn said. "Because of Kenny's energy, intelligence and genuine care for his players, he's been highly successful coaching quarterbacks and is an outstanding recruiter, while working closely with Mike Norvell in developing one of the nation's top offenses."

Auburn will be looking for Dillingham to help develop a green quarterback room next season. After 2017-18 starter Jarrett Stidham announced he will turn pro last week, the Tigers have Malik Willis, Joey Gatewood, Cord Sandberg and 2019 commit Bo Nix as options under center. None have any career starts at the college level.

At Memphis, Dillingham helped turn quarterback Riley Ferguson into one of the most prolific passers in school history. Last season, Ferguson finished third in the nation in passing and touchdowns.

Dillingham's young career includes a stop at Arizona State from 2014-15 as an offensive assistant, along with several coaching gigs with the Chaparral High School football program in Scottsdale, Arizona, from 2007-12.


Nathan King | Sports Editor

Nathan King, senior in journalism with a minor in business, is The Plainsman's sports editor.


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