Report: Auburn DC Kevin Steele 'Serious Candidate' to Replace Gus Malzahn as HC

Auburn may be looking internally to replace Gus Malzahn.

The Tigers announced Sunday they were firing Malzahn after a 6-4 regular season.

AL.com's John Talty and Matt Zenitz reported Monday that defensive coordinator Kevin Steele "has emerged as a serious candidate" and that "multiple sources even believe that Steele could be the leading candidate now to replace [Malzahn]."

Talty and Zenitz also reported Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze, who has experience in the SEC from his five years at Ole Miss, may not be under serious consideration due to the belief he'd prefer the Tennessee job should Jeremy Pruitt get the ax.

The Athletic's Stewart Mandel reported Auburn is staring at a $21.45 million buyout by firing Malzahn. Under any circumstances, that's a lot of money to pay a coach to go away, and the total is even more eye-catching amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

That raises the obvious question as to why the school would trigger such a large buyout to turn around and promote a top assistant from the outgoing coach's staff.

LSU stuck with Ed Orgeron after firing Les Miles in 2016, a move was met with a level of skepticism at the time but ultimately proved correct as Orgeron guided the program to a national title in 2020.

Going with Steele would also allow Auburn to avoid having to buy another head coach out of his current contract, so university administrators would be saving money in that regard.

Still, Steele's head-coaching experience is limited to a four-year stretch at Baylor when the Bears compiled a 9-36 record. There isn't much about his resume—defensive coordinator gigs at Alabama, Clemson and LSU—that leads you to believe he'd be a significant upgrade over Malzahn.

Auburn hasn't had time to conduct any sort of coaching search, either. Perhaps the Tigers made informal contact with possible candidates, but turning their focus toward Steele now would mean eliminating any other options on the table.