False Start - College Football Podcast · John Buhler and Cody Williams

Episode 248: Gus Malzahn retires, Mike Norvell calling plays, Will Stein inspires, CFP bracket prediction shenanigans

February 5, 2026·1 hr·4 clips

Gus Malzahn is retiring after 35 years, and John Buehler calls him an SEC legend.

1. False Start covers Gus Malzahn’s retirement, Mike Norvell’s play-calling move at Florida State, Will Stein’s Kentucky hire, a 12-team CFP projection, and a T-I-N-10 ranking of NFL coaching hires. 2. Host John Buehler appears solo, identifies himself as lead writer for Fansided, and says he is covering the episode without Cody Williams, who is at Super Bowl 60. 3. The episode asks what Malzahn’s retirement means, whether Norvell should call plays, why Kentucky bought into Will Stein, and how early playoff and NFL coaching projections should be read. 4. Buehler says Gus Malzahn is retiring after roughly 35 years and calls him an icon, a legend, and a major Auburn figure. 5. He links Malzahn to Auburn’s 2013 title team with Cam Newton, Michael Dyer, Philip Lutzenkirchen, Nick Fairley, and Nick Marshall. 6. He argues that Malzahn’s hurry-up offense, “hurry up and run,” used athletes and tempo to wear down defenses. 7. He says Malzahn’s Auburn tenure included SEC success in 2013 and another league title run in 2017 with Jared Stidham. 8. He notes that Auburn has gone through Brian Harsin and Hugh Freeze after Malzahn, and that TJ Finley has seen three Auburn coaches fired since his time there. 9. He shifts to Florida State and says Mike Norvell will take over play-calling while Tim Harris becomes full-time offensive coordinator. 10. He ties that move to Florida State’s 2023 start, the loss of Jordan Travis, and a year that has not matched expectations. 11. He says Florida State beat Alabama in Week 1 but won only four more games and struggled again in ACC play under Norvell. 12. He argues that budget pressure around Michael Alford makes necessity and invention central to the decision. 13. He says Norvell’s move could leave Florida State with a clear outcome: genius if it works, foolish if it fails. 14. He moves to Kentucky and says Will Stein used an “every play that I’ve ever called” mindset and a “why not us” line on Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman. 15. He identifies Kenny Minchey as a key pickup for Kentucky and says Stein brings a Dan Lanning coaching tree connection from Oregon. 16. He says Kentucky’s opening came after Mark Stoops’ long tenure, and he compares the job’s intrigue to other late-cycle head-coaching moves. 17. The show keeps a loose, solo, improvised energy, with Buehler interrupting himself, correcting names, and moving quickly between topics. 18. The NFL segment becomes list-driven and argumentative, especially when Buehler starts ranking hires by how a draft prospect should feel about each destination. 19. Listeners who follow college football coaching changes and early bracket debates would get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a tight, polished, topic-by-topic structure may skip it.

As heard by us

Unpolished college football talk that settles in once it gets to coaching changes and playoff logic.

False Start opens on Gus Malzahn's retirement after roughly 35 years in coaching, then moves into a steady playoff pick debate about which teams belong in the mix. John Buehler comes across as thinking aloud, which suits the show.

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you want a solo, all-over-the-place college football episode that starts with Gus Malzahn retiring and then drifts into playoff debate.

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