Gus Malzahn is not as safe as once thought at Auburn.
First, he was on the hot seat, then he was safe, and now reports suggest Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn is not a sure thing to return next year.
After losing to rival Alabama in the Iron Bowl on Saturday to fall to 7-5 after beginning the season as a Top-10 team, boosters are reportedly prepared to fork over the $32 million buyout that Malzahn would receive after signing a seven-year, $49 million contract last year.
According to Josh Moon of the Josh Moon of the Alabama Reporter, Malzahn’s job isn’t as safe as once thought and high-powered Auburn officials are moving to fire him. Moon later adds that the sizable buyout can be reached, but if they are fronting that much cash, they want to be rewarded with a top-level coach.
Turns out, Gus Malzahn's job at Auburn isn't nearly as safe as once thought. There is a serious movement among high-powered officials at AU to fire him. To the point that a replacement has been identified and initial meetings held to gauge interest. Happy, Monday.
— Josh Moon 🇺🇸 (@Josh_Moon) November 26, 2018
This is where things get really interesting.
Moon reports discussions with a top-level coach began two weeks ago who was receptive to Auburn’s pitch if he’d receive a similar deal that Texas A&M gave Jimbo Fisher last winter, which was for 10 years and $75 million guaranteed.
If that’s the starting point for the new coach would receive when you add the $32 million buyout owed Malzahn, that would mean Auburn is paying more than $100 million for their next football coach.
At that point, work began in earnest behind the scenes to build support for the change and get university officials on board. Or to at least make them shut up. So, now we wait to see if a deal gets ironed out. But the right people are involved and motivated. /F
— Josh Moon 🇺🇸 (@Josh_Moon) November 26, 2018
According to FootballScoop, people representing Auburn met with former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops two weeks ago, which lines up with Moon’s reported timeline of meetings with a candidate.
(Update 7:15 p.m. ET) Stoops tells George Schroeder of USA Today that he didn’t meet with Auburn and won’t be meeting with Auburn and offered a strong denial to what he basically called fake news.
Bob Stoops emphatically denies to @usatodaysports reports Auburn representatives have reached out (or will):
— George Schroeder (@GeorgeSchroeder) November 27, 2018
“I haven’t talked to anybody from Auburn. I haven’t met with anybody...nor am I set to talk to anybody. It’s just foolish speculation...that has no basis to it." pic.twitter.com/DkhHRZcGOg
FootballScoop replied to the above tweet saying it would be rude for a coach to talk about a job that isn’t open yet. It’s not an admission of misinformation and suggests this is a non-denial from Stoops. Could he have been scared off by the story leaking? Is he protecting a member of the coaching fraternity?
This time of year is always a crazy one when it comes to the coaching carousel and rumors. Stoops retired in June 2017 in what was a big surprise at the time. He left a team loaded with talent, including Baker Mayfield and turned it over to Lincoln Riley.
Auburn fans would likely love having Stoops on The Plains instead of Malzahn who is 52-27 (28-20 in the SEC) in six seasons. If Auburn does fire Malzahn, Stoops won’t be walking through the door to save the day.
This is a mess and Auburn needs to come out and say Malzahn is definitely coming back or he’s gone.