Posted by: Chris Vannini on November 8, 2012

Gus Malzahn knows his name is going to be popping up for open jobs in the coming weeks.

While on The Tim Brando Show, Malzahn was asked if he's prepared for the rumor mill to turn up again. As expected, Malzahn said his focus is just on Arkansas State.

"I'm just taking this thing one at a time, and I am tickled to death to be the head coach at Arkansas State. We've got a chance to really build something special here. The future looks very bright."

As for those Red Wolves, they have a huge home game against Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday night. Both teams are tied for first place in the Sun Belt at 4-1. Malzahn is considered by many to be a top offensive mind, and with up-tempo offense being the hot topic of the year in college football, he told Brando it's simply a way of dealing with a talent deficiency.

"What gives your team the best chance of being successful?" he said. "I think, as a coach, you've got to ask yourself, 'Can we recruit, especially defensively, some of the top players year in and year out?' If you can do that, then it makes more sense to be simple on offense and can control the clock and all that. But if you're not one of those selective three or four teams that picks who they want, you've got to score points.

"That's where the college game is going. There are great advantages to pace. There are advantages to spreading people out. I think the key is that the teams that can run the football out of the spread, those are the ones you see being successful."

You can listen to the interview by clicking here. Below are highlights of ASU's win over North Texas last week.

________________________________________________

Chris Vannini is the lead writer for CoachingSearch.com and has covered Michigan State sports for The State News, The Oakland Press and MLive.com. He writes a weekly column for the Detroit Free Press on behalf of SB Nation. Vannini lives in Big Ten country, so his foot speed is far from SEC caliber, but his pulse on coaches is hard to match. Be sure to follow @CoachingBuzz on twitter and send your feedback to chris@coachingsearch.com