Based on this new report, it would appear Auburn’s interest in exploring its options beyond Gus Malzahn in recent days/weeks are far more than speculation and innuendo.

It appears Malzahn will be staying at Auburn, for at least one more season, however, he’ll have to surrender some power in order to do so.

According to Phillip Marshall of Auburn Undercover, Malzahn is “on the verge” of agreeing to an amended contract at Auburn which would reduce his buyout and make it much more difficult for the coach to remove offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey from the program. The length and terms of Malzahn’s overall deal do not appear to be adjusted following this amendment.

It should be noted that Marshall points out this has yet to be finalized and Auburn could still decide to move on from Malzahn, so essentially, nothing could be changing on The Plains.

A program notorious for being one foot in and one foot out on a coach will apparently be that way till the very end, even in contract negotiations.

Malzahn currently has a buyout of over $30 million dollars after signing a seven-year extension this time last year when he led Auburn to an SEC West title. Auburn entered the season as a preseason top 10 team but finished the regular season 7-5, with a 3-5 record in SEC play.