Since Auburn fired head coach Gus Malzahn this past Sunday, there have been numerous names rumored to be the next person to take over the job leading the Tigers. Among those potential candidates is Kevin Steele, who is currently Auburn’s defensive coordinator and interim head coach.

On Friday, there was a report that Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is expected to interview for the Auburn job following Saturday’s SEC Championship Game. It’s possible that he could be a candidate for the opening, but that also doesn’t rule out Steele from being the Tigers’ potential next head coach.

Before the report of Sarkisian’s interview came out, SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum discussed the Auburn opening during an appearance on “Darren, Daunic & Chase” on 102.5 The Game in Nashville on Friday morning, and he believed that Steele will be the top candidate for the job.

“I say this after literally spending the majority of my life in Alabama and covering Auburn all the time: It’s Auburn. That’s how they do things down there. There’s a small band of brothers who run the athletic department, and none of them go by the name of Allen Greene, who is the de facto AD,” Finebaum said on the show (h/t Sam Marsdale of 247Sports.com). “They like Kevin Steele. He’s one of them. He knows how to relate to them, and I’m sure some will suspect if he ends up being introduced in a couple days that maybe he did or did not help lead to Gus Malzahn’s overthrow. …

“As of this hour — I’m not just giving you qualifiers, because things change — but as of this hour, he’s the favorite to get the job.”

Steele has been Auburn’s defensive coordinator since 2016, after he spent one season as LSU’s defensive coordinator/linebackers coach. He also previously spent time as an assistant coach at Alabama, Clemson and Florida State over the past two decades.

Steele’s only previous experience as a head coach came at Baylor from 1999-2002, during which the Bears went 9-36.