The Auburn University athletics department parted ways with head football coach Gus Malzahn Sunday after eight years in charge of the Tigers.
Now, it appears Auburn could have its next coach after rumors began to swirl Wednesday that defensive coordinator and newly named interim coach Kevin Steele is the likely candidate for the job on ‘The Plains’ …
From me and @mzenitz, per sources: Kevin Steele has emerged as a serious candidate for the Auburn head coaching job, potentially even the lead candidate now.
Multiple sources have also said they don’t expect Hugh Freeze to get the job.https://t.co/jNWMfodyIT
— John Talty (@JTalty) December 14, 2020
While rumors quickly shifted from Liberty’s Hugh Freeze and Oregon’s Mario Cristobal to Steele, a report from Bruce Feldman of The Athletic has fans of the Tigers in a fury.
Hearing that Kevin Steele is gaining more traction with key people and has emerged as the leading candidate for the #Auburn head coaching vacancy. https://t.co/i2orhVI199
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 17, 2020
With Oregon expected to finalize a lucrative extension with Cristobal on Thursday and Freeze’s tweets Wednesday that all but eliminate him from the conversation… it seems it will either be Steele or a hire out of left field for Auburn.
What’s puzzling is the question, Why did Auburn pay Malzahn $21.45 million to go away just three days before early signing day if it didn’t have a coach lined up as his replacement.
Promoting from within, after getting torn apart defensively by your two biggest rivals doesn’t make much sense if I’m in charge of Auburn…
Make sure to follow along with us on the UGAWire as we continue to track the ongoing crisis on ‘The Plains.’