Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn is four days into his search for a defensive coordinator.

With former coordinator Ellis Johnson dismissed on Sunday after the Tigers defense surrendered 55 points and 539 yards of total offense to Alabama, what does Malzahn need from his next coordinator?

Quick Results

Auburn isn’t in a position — nor does it want to be — to wait patiently for the next coordinator to install his scheme. With Johnson using his 4-2-5 system during the past two seasons, the Tigers are built for a four-man front. During his two seasons on the Plains, Johnson focused on recruiting long, rangy defensive ends and often sacrificed speed for size.

A new defensive coordinator with a three-man front would hurt Auburn in the short-term because of the type of player Johnson wanted. In a 3-4 set, defensive ends turn into outside linebackers that must be fast enough to rush the passer, but athletic enough to drop into coverage. The Tigers have no sort of player to fit that mold.

Even in a 3-3-5 defense, which Charlie Strong runs, a coordinator still needs hybrid players, this time at the second level. Two of your five defensive backs are hybrid secondary players and linebackers that patrol the flats, stop the run, blitz or are capable of covering a wide receiver or tight end in true man coverage.

If Malzahn and Auburn are going to see quick results out of its new defensive coordinator, a four-man front is imperative.

Back to Basics

The Tigers’ biggest issues defensively in 2014 were tackling, penalties and pre-snap alignment. Auburn’s new defensive coordinator must come in and preach fundamentals and discipline.

When Auburn defenders got in position to make a tackle, they had a little success. The problem for the Tigers was just getting in position to make a play. Numerous times did Auburn opponents run through arm tackles or make Tigers defenders miss.

A defense that can’t tackle will never be successful, no matter how talented.

The new coordinator also must teach discipline.

Auburn committed at least seven penalties in each of its last five games, and while not all of those were defensive penalties, a majority of them were. Late-play penalties haunted the Tigers during that brutal five-week stretch, often giving free yards to good teams. That’s not a winning formula in the SEC.

The next defensive coordinator also must help pre-snap alignment.

The way the coordinator can help his players get aligned correctly is by making his scheme simple enough to digest and memorize. That doesn’t necessarily mean the scheme has to be simple, conceptually, it means breaking it down for players to understand and know how to line up for a certain play call.

Big plays cost Auburn throughout the season, and were made possible by bad alignment prior to the start of the play.

Recruit, Recruit, Recruit

Perhaps Auburn’s biggest problem is the lack of talent on defense. With the loss of Carl Lawson, the Tigers had no take-the-game-over type of player.

There are guys who had very solid years, but were inconsistent. Many Auburn defenders in 2014 had trouble being successful week-in and week-out.

Malzahn’s next defensive coordinator has to be able to recruit from day one. The Tigers have verbal commitments from nice linebacker and secondary prospects, however, Auburn’s needs game-changing playmakers on the defensive side of the football.