Auburn Football: Combination of Malzahn and Muschamp Would Be Lethal

As the end of the college football season nears, so does the craziness of the coaching carousel.  There have already been two major moves in the SEC.  Florida announced on November 16 that Will Muschamp would not return as head coach, and Auburn fired defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson shortly after the Tigers’ 55-44 loss to Alabama in the Iron Bowl.

Those two moves leave the embattled Muschamp without a job and Auburn’s beleaguered defense without a coordinator. 

It seems like a match made in heaven, and it might actually be.

Muschamp made a lot of fans angry at Florida and left on a sour note, but he is a renowned defensive coach whose Gator defenses were nasty even if they didn’t win enough games.  He also has Auburn ties, as he was a graduate assistant there and was also the Tigers' defensive coordinator in 2006 and 2007 before he went to Texas.

He would take over an Auburn unit that struggled mightily this season.  The defense, which gave up at least 31 points in six games, is the main reason that the Tigers dropped out of the College Football Playoff conversation and now sit at 8-4.

But there is almost no doubt in my mind that Muschamp would be able to assemble a stifling group in no time.  His squad at Florida this year allowed the ninth-fewest yards per game in the country, according to ESPN.com, and he also fielded impressive defenses at Texas in the pass-happy Big 12.

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Should he go to Auburn, he would be paired up with Gus Malzahn, one of the best offensive coaches in the NCAA.  Malzahn’s effective offense would be conducive to a dominant defense, a luxury that Muschamp never had at Florida.

Even after Muschamp was fired at Florida, he coached the Gators’ last two games.  But after losing to Florida State in the last game of the season, Muschamp was immediately a hot commodity.

Texas A&M and Auburn have already offered a coordinator job to Muschamp, but Burton Fowles of Scout.com reported that Muschamp signed a contract to become the defensive coordinator at South Carolina.  However, those reports have not yet been confirmed, and both South Carolina and Muschamp deny those rumors.

If that South Carolina report is indeed false, Muschamp must strongly consider Auburn.  The Tigers are the best fit, as Muschamp would be able to return to a familiar place and have a great chance to win a championship.

Malzahn has put together one of the most productive offensive systems in all of college football, and he has had tremendous success in his two seasons as Auburn’s head coach despite a porous defense. 

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Just think how good the Tigers could be with a Muschamp-coached defense.  Don’t let the lack of head coaching success fool you, Muschamp will be a phenomenal defensive coordinator. 

Auburn has some talent on the defensive side of the ball, and Muschamp would certainly find a way to maximize that talent before recruiting even better players. 

The Tigers will lose quarterback Nick Marshall to graduation after this year, but backup Jeremy Johnson played admirably when he started in place of Marshall in the season opener against Arkansas.

Running backs Cameron Artis-Payne and Corey Grant are both seniors, but freshman Roc Thomas has shown incredible potential. Top receivers D’Haquille Williams and Sammie Coates are both eligible to leave early for the NFL draft, but they have not yet decided and could possibly return for their final collegiate season.

On defense, Muschamp will have plenty of weapons to work with.  The Tigers' top three tacklers—Johnathan Ford, Cassanova McKinzy and Kris Frost—will be back next year, as will Jonathan Jones, the team leader in interceptions and best cover corner on the roster.

If Auburn can manage to sway Muschamp to The Plains, the Tigers will be one of the scariest teams in the country and might be back in the national championship conversation as soon as 2015.