Gus Malzahn Fired as Auburn Football Coach, Has $21.45M Contract Buyout

The Auburn Tigers announced the firing of head football coach Gus Malzahn on Sunday. 

ESPN's Tom VanHaaren shared the team's statement:

According to Brett McMurphy of Stadium, defensive coordinator Kevin Steele will serve as the interim head coach. Malzahn will receive a $21.45 million buyout, per ESPN's Field Yates. 

That massive buyout made the timing of the decision questionable:

As for potential replacements, ESPN's Adam Rittenberg and Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel ran through a few candidates:

Malzahn, 55, spent the last eight seasons as Auburn's head coach, leading the Tigers to a 68-35 record, six bowl games and a trip to the BCS National Championship Game in the 2013 season. The Tigers have failed to win an SEC title since 2013, however, and tied for the SEC West division title in 2017. They lost to Georgia that season in the SEC Championship Game. 

Another issue for Auburn in the Malzahn era is that it has struggled against the SEC's top teams, going a combined 8-17 against Alabama, Georgia and LSU. The Tigers also went 3-5 in the crucial Iron Bowl matchups against archrival Alabama.

So a change is coming, and a truly high-profile job opening has emerged in the SEC. It will be a big hiring for the Tigers as they chase Alabama and LSU.