Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn always said his goal was to become a head coach on the collegiate level, but it had to be at the right place, at the right time.

Well, it appears Arkansas State is the place and Tuesday night was the time, as Malzahn agreed to become the Red Wolves new head coach, according to a source close to Malzahn.

AStateNation.com first reported that Malzahn accepted the job Tuesday night. A press conference is scheduled to be held at Arkansas State at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Late Tuesday night, former ASU head coach Hugh Freeze, who was hired to replace Houston Nutt at Ole Miss earlier this month, congratulated Malzahn on Twitter.

"Congrats to the #RedWolfNation on a great hire and congrats to my good friend Gus Malzahn for finding his home. He will #RunWithThePack," Freeze tweeted.

A year after Malzahn became the highest paid assistant in the country — where he was making $1.3 million annually — he will take his first college head coaching job after his worst season statistically as a play-caller.

It’s believed that Arkansas State, which was paying Freeze just more than $200,000 per year, won’t be able to pay Malzahn as much as he was making at Auburn.

AL.com reported Tuesday night that Malzahn’s deal would be “around $850,000” a year.

Malzahn helped lead Auburn to the 2010 BCS National Championship and coached Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton to a record-breaking season.

Malzahn also won the Frank Broyles Award last year as the nation’s top assistant coach.

This year, Malzahn’s Auburn offense struggled with inconsistency and youth, ranking 104th in total offense, averaging 328.17 yards per game. The Tigers were 82nd in the nation in scoring offense at 24.25 points per game.

Malzahn made a name for himself as a prolific offensive mind as a high school head coach in Arkansas, including a five-year stint at Springdale High which propelled him being hired as the University of Arkansas’ offensive coordinator in 2006. That was his first college job.

Last year, Malzahn turned down strong overtures from Vanderbilt and Maryland to return to Auburn.

Auburn will now have to replace both coordinators for next season. Defensive coordinator Ted Roof left last week to take the same position at UCF.

Chizik has assumed the duties of defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the bowl game. It is unknown who will coach the offense for bowl practice and/or call the plays in the Chick-fil-A Bowl against Virginia on New Year’s Eve in Atlanta.

Chizik said earlier Tuesday that he had a plan if Malzahn decided to take a head coaching job before the bowl game. The Auburn head coach didn’t go into specifics of what that would be, considering at the time Malzahn hadn’t accepted Arkansas State’s offer.

Chizik also said that he and Malzahn have had multiple conversations about the offensive coordinator’s future.

“Gus and I have a great relationship and we’ve had several discussions about moving forward in his career and where his goals are,” Chizik said early Tuesday after Auburn’s morning practice. “At the end of the day, his decisions are going to be up to him and I’m sure he’s going to make the best decision for him and his family.