I think they want to bring back Malzahn because they think he can win football games. They recognize that competing against programs like Alabama, Georgia, and LSU in their current state using their own methods is an unwinnable battle. In 2010, they saw that an aggressive offense with a veteran O-line, a mediocre defense, a Heisman QB, and a raftload of lucky breaks could win a national championship. I think Malzahn gets a bad rap here just because he was at Auburn, and is not that far removed from high school coaching. He is, however, extremely organized and detail-oriented, and his system has shown that it works, even without Cam Newton at QB. The current situation at Auburn is dire, and it's hard to say anyone could get them competitive in a hurry, but Malzahn has as good a shot as anyone Auburn was likely to attract, including Petrino, in my opinion.