Report: Auburn head coaching search has 'leading candidate'
Auburn’s head coaching search now has a leading candidate in current defensive coordinator/interim head coach Kevin Steele, according to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman.
The Tigers fired Gus Malzahn Sunday, and the university will pay Malzahn’s $21.5 million buyout. Now, it appears that Auburn may just hire Malzahn’s defensive coordinator.
Remember, Auburn fired Gene Chizik and hired Gus Malzahn, his former offensive coordinator. This is somewhat similar; however, Steele is a defensive-minded coach and would need a big-time offensive coordinator hire.
When Malzahn was fired, 2 names came to mind immediately in the Tigers coaching search — Liberty’s Hugh Freeze and Oregon’s Mario Cristobal. It appears AU will miss on both as things stand right now. Freeze signed an extension at Liberty earlier this year, and Cristobal is finalizing a raise and extension with the Ducks as we speak.
Auburn fans had #StopTheSteele trending on Twitter Wednesday because they did not want to hire Steele.
Steele’s only head coaching experience came at Baylor from 1999-2002, where he finished 9-36.
About what I would expect from Auburn. Spend $21m to get rid of Malzahn, only to hire a career assistant whose one short stint as a HBC led to an abysmal record.
I could be wrong about this, but this seems like a big step back. I’ve said from day one that firing Gus would be a mistake if a great candidate weren’t already lined up. I don’t see how Steele would be better at all than Gus, who all things considered had a pretty high floor and a great ceiling.
I don’t know how Steele will do, but I always found it odd that the strength and identity of Auburn’s teams under Malzahn was always defense despite the fact that Malzahn was an offense guy. Maybe they are looking at that aspect here.
@aubforlife, right on the mark. Somebody/committee in the chain of command is a twisted sister with a short popularity trend about to end.
I agree 100%, aubforlife. You can see the results of firings similar to this in programs all over the country and it rarely works out well. Steele had one shot as an HC and it was an absolute disaster- one conference win in 4 years-even if Baylor was bad when he took the job. God help the Auburn Tigers if this is the end result.
I am envisioning the type of fan reaction where perfectly good, if somewhat dated, sofas are burned in the streets
Did auburn hire currie after tenn fired him. This coach search seems awfully familiar. The offer of free slightly scorched mattresses still stands but with the holiday rush get your orders in early.
Auburn isn’t missing out on Freeze. He was never in contention.
We are however missing out on Cristobal it seems.
Cristobal used Auburn as leverage. He or his agent probably were in discussions with Auburn when Gus was fired or before.
Now Auburn is scrambling trying to find a solution.
If they were truly trying to hire Cristobal, then they are dumber than I thought. He was never coming to Auburn. I always assumed his name was being floated out there by Sexton to get his man some more money.
Exactly.
Cristobal probably isn’t going anywhere
Cristobal is a great recruiter. However, the jury is still out on him. He won the conference last year with a big senior class that was recruited by Helfrich. Also, his showing against Auburn on the big stage was pretty bad. He has lost to Cal and Oregon State so far this season and I wouldn’t expect him to beat USC on Friday night. Good recruiting is only part of the solution.
Didn’t Cristobal’s Oregon team lose to Oregon State this year?
Yes. Losing to the Beavers is only acceptable during baseball season. Unless, of course, you’re a Hogs fan.
I could be way off on this, but it feels like the powers that be see the defense as a strength and the offense as a weakness during Gus’s tenure. So by hiring Steele the defense is fortified and opens up the opportunity to bring in a new offensive scheme.
You’re overthinking it – the powers that be saw a guy who currently owns a house in auburn and realized it was their only shot.
I might be, sure. But think about it like this: notwithstanding 2020, Steele’s defenses gave Auburn a fighting chance in most games. Add in a strong OC (analogous to Kiffin, Sark, Monken, Brady) and Auburn might not be losing 3 or 4 games each year. I’m not saying they’re making the right decision, but I think I maybe understand the thought process behind what on the surface appears like an illogical choice.
Sounds like they might be opting for an extended interim coach while they wait for the candidate they really want.
That’s what I was thinking. They might still have to cool it for a couple years while they pay off Gus. Best way to do that is with a cheap HC
Am I missing something because wasn’t this years defense on the subpar side?
I realize injuries happen and we lost two super stars last year, but in five years as a defensive coordinator shouldn’t he had some depth on the defensive line. Look at how many games this year they couldn’t stop the run.
So why and who thinks that Kevin Steele is an upgrade to Gus?
Steele is a downgrade to Malzahn. Most of the coaches not named Cristobal or Freeze are a downgrade. Being an Auburn fan sucks 70% of the time.
Fantastic! It would be an A+ hire. Great job!
WarbuzzardU needs to act quickly and get Steele inked and moved to down the hall to the HBC office, that way when Kevin hires Malzahn as his new and improved OC he’ll have an open office to put Gus in…win win!
This has all the excitement of a Vols coaching hire, popcorn with extra butter is ready…
That would be COVID-19/2020 worthy right there.
I wonder what this search committee is doing besides helping a coaching target get a new deal?
I don’t think we need to outbid anyone for a current HC. I thought Ark was crazy to pick Pittman, but he clearly was a big step up from Chad Morris who for whatever reason Gus thought was an excellent pick for our OC. Hiring Steele as HC would be a disaster. I do hope whomever we pick keeps him as the DC though. The defense has been consistently decent (at least) for years.
It’s insane that Auburn would fire Gus without already having a great HC lined up as a replacement. If Steele becomes the new HC this is going to turn into a disaster. Why the FAQ would they spend 21 million to replace Gus with Steele?? Ugh.
I don’t understand how anybody can call any one coach a horrible hire without knowing the future. Sam Pittman wasn’t a hot name, but appears to be a fantastic hire for Arkansas. Many times, the big name coach is just the big name, not the right coach for the job.
Well Steele’s plan to fix the offensive problems is to bring in Mike Bobo. That can’t be said with a straight face.
I couldn’t read that comment with a straight face either.
Anyone believe that the “Search Committee” will have any impact on the hire ? I believe it’s just fluff to make the search seem meaningful.
it’s standard auburn practice to pretend to form a committee to make it seem like their list of options is >1.
The “Search Committee” is all smoke and mirrors. Auburn knows who they want and that’s Cristobal. Some of the boosters are getting in the way and that’s why Steele is being mentioned as such a strong candidate.
We wouldn’t be hearing so much about Steele if Cristobal was still in play for them.
Mario can stay where he is and fill his bank account and rack up Rose Bowls and PAC championships without much stress beyond Clay Helton (so no stress). Or he can go to auburn and lose 3-4 games a year and constantly feel on the verge of being fired. Sounds easy to me.
Mario is still very much in play. He hasn’t signed anything in regards to his extension. He may sign it, but Auburn people think they can still get him. The boosters behind the scenes are at each other’s throats as some want their buddy Steele as coach. Steele is not the program’s first choice.
auburn hasn’t hired a coach without existing auburn connections since 1998. They bring back coordinators to be the head guy because nobody else answers the phone.
The existing connections part is what doomed Bama for several years. then they went outside and got Fran, then a guy that never coached a game before he was let go. There are not very many sure things out there in coaching.
Cristobal is still very much in play. The extension Oregon offered him to stay would make him the 8th highest paid coach in the SEC. Auburn can easily surpass that. I think Auburn will pull Cristobal unless they get in their own way, which might just happen. Behind the scenes the boosters are not on the same page. Hiring Steele would be a major downgrade and a curious move after paying a $21 mil buyout to Gus.
Yeah, but Steele might be a nice place holder until Herman leaves Texas next year.
Herman? Why would they do that, Gus accomplished more with less talent…
The depth and quality of your “sarcastic” comment here, can never be fully appreciated in our lifetime.
Plus the 8 mil it would’ve cost AU to pluck Cristobal is only going up to 9 mil. I think Oregon going to the PAC champ may have been the reason for the delay in his hiring. May be wishful thinking, but gosh almighty if Kevin Steele is the choice after paying Gus 21 mil to go away, God help Auburn.
Brilliant move by auburn keep the defensive guru who got smacked around by usc while at Clemson and auburn. Keep Morris too while you’re at it we owned that poor man’s Malzahan.
The key part of this story is: “When Malzahn was fired, 2 names came to mind immediately in the Tigers coaching search — Liberty’s Hugh Freeze and Oregon’s Mario Cristobal. It appears AU will miss on both as things stand right now.” A real confidence builder for the entire program.
This is like having everyone in the house searching for your lost phone for hours before saying, “Wait, I have a ‘Find my iPhone’ app on my iPad . . .
Oh boy, stacking up couches to burn there in Auburn… I love it.
For Auburn’s sake, all this coaching search uncertainty better be a smoke screen, to hide the fact they already had a replacement ( Hugh Freeze) before they fired Malzahn.
This is starting to look a lot like Tennessee’s coaching search fiasco.
Steele would be a disaster – but nothing surprises me about auburn coaching decisions. I heard terry bowden may want to come back.
CoastRoad, I know you’re joking.
Terry Bowden and Auburn were at odds, let’s just say on how to go about recruiting. Bowden didn’t want to do it the “Auburn way” and that’s why he was told to go.
Terry Bowden was sleeping with a big boosters daughter and thats why he was fired. You are just making stuff up.
And people thought Tennessee was clueless after letting Butch Jones go.
Auburn pays $21M for what? The opportunity to elevate a DC? This is absolute insanity.
Butch Jones was not treated fairly. Should have never been fired. Saban just said he is the most professional and organized person he has ever worked with. That is pretty high praise.
The AU coaching search has gotten crazy enough that people are starting to praise Butch??? There’s no way…
Coaching searches rarely result in someone the fan base is initially excited about. Seems to be a roll of the dice. Coaches like Herman who are the hot name at the time of the search don’t pan out most of the time. How many coaches are there that you would consider to be a sure thing?
One, and he has the job in Tuscaloosa.
Is it any wonder that Mario turned Auburn down. Who would want to work in such a backstabbing & Toxic environment . . .
It appears Auburns problems are bigger than just finding a Competent Head Coach.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
If Auburn don’t get Hugh Freeze, or Matt Campbell then why did they fire Gus and not have a replacement ready to go.
How much will Kevin’s buyout be? He will want at least 15 million plus some other stuff
Hire who they want they’ll never have the pedigree of BAMA…
Now Sark’s name is being thrown out there. He is a decent coach for sure, but is he that big an upgrade to cost $21m+? I do not think so and most sensible people would agree. Auburn is overpaying for what would be similar results.
Awbarn will always be Bama’s little brother. If they hire Sark, that won’t change. Look at the recruiting class they have this year–finished behind Bama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Texas A & M, Ole Miss, and Arkansas (yes, Arkansas). They have four 4-star recruits. That’s it. Maybe they can get Hal Mumme.
Au has to pay Gus $21 mil. If they can’t find someone exciting it makes sense for them to pay as little as they can for a couple years until their budget comes back near balanced.
Side note: I’d kill to be Gus right now with that buyout
Les Miles and Gary Pinkel both needs jobs.
This seems like a bad year to part with established HBCs – looking at you AU and USC.