It's been an interesting week of leads, false leads, shifty go-betweens and whatnot.
Here's what I'm seeing:
Something wasn't right with the Charles Kelly situation. He made sense insofar as he's good but not good enough (or perhaps not established enough) for FSU to lose its mind trying to keep him. Yet the information I kept receiving from the AU side was that it probably wouldn't go through. That didn't fit with what I was hearing from the FSU side; they thought Auburn was going to poach their defensive coordinator. This is inverse from what we usually hear when Auburn is chasing a coach (Auburn optimistic, opponent optimistic) and it always had me feeling feeling Missouri on the whole deal.
The Charles Kelly ship has sailed. We know that now.
So what's going on? Auburn has one guy you need to know right now: Tom Allen from South Florida.
Before I get there, it's important to note that Auburn has reached out to several coaches. The serial problem there, and it's a big one, is that most guys who fit Auburn from an experience/prestige standpoint don't have much interest in the job. Everybody out there knows about Auburn's killer schedule in 2016, which includes trips to Ole Miss, State, Alabama and Georgia. Then you've got the season-opening game against Clemson, which is headed into the Playoffs this season as the No. 1 seed with a Heisman finalist at quarterback. Yuck.
Plus, most coaches feel like Gus Malzahn is on the hot seat. Head coaches receive golden parachutes when they get fired; assistant coaches generally do not. So assistant coaches in stable situations, as you would guess, value that stability over the unstable ground at Auburn. Money be damned.
Tom Allen? He's in a different position from most everyone else. He landed his first FBS position in 2011 and he's already 45 years old. He's the kind of guy who can justify a risky move like this one.
If Allen fails at Auburn, he bounces back to USF (or another program of that ilk) and can do a good job and get right back into position for another Power 5 opportunity.
Succeed at Auburn? Allen quickly resembles Malzahn circa 2010: A newly discovered guru. He becomes one of the oldest "up-and-comers" in college ball and immediately hits the radar at all kinds of MAC-level schools -- or perhaps a few bigger programs. He can still become a head coach before his 50th birthday. Not bad for someone who hadn't coached above NAIA ball until recently.
Plus, Allen is making just $350,000 at USF right now.
Auburn was paying the old guy $1.6 million. That's a lot of wiggle room.
South Florida plays Western Kentucky in the Miami Beach Bowl tomorrow (Monday) at 1:30 CST on ESPN.
Here's what I'm seeing:
Something wasn't right with the Charles Kelly situation. He made sense insofar as he's good but not good enough (or perhaps not established enough) for FSU to lose its mind trying to keep him. Yet the information I kept receiving from the AU side was that it probably wouldn't go through. That didn't fit with what I was hearing from the FSU side; they thought Auburn was going to poach their defensive coordinator. This is inverse from what we usually hear when Auburn is chasing a coach (Auburn optimistic, opponent optimistic) and it always had me feeling feeling Missouri on the whole deal.
The Charles Kelly ship has sailed. We know that now.
So what's going on? Auburn has one guy you need to know right now: Tom Allen from South Florida.
Before I get there, it's important to note that Auburn has reached out to several coaches. The serial problem there, and it's a big one, is that most guys who fit Auburn from an experience/prestige standpoint don't have much interest in the job. Everybody out there knows about Auburn's killer schedule in 2016, which includes trips to Ole Miss, State, Alabama and Georgia. Then you've got the season-opening game against Clemson, which is headed into the Playoffs this season as the No. 1 seed with a Heisman finalist at quarterback. Yuck.
Plus, most coaches feel like Gus Malzahn is on the hot seat. Head coaches receive golden parachutes when they get fired; assistant coaches generally do not. So assistant coaches in stable situations, as you would guess, value that stability over the unstable ground at Auburn. Money be damned.
Tom Allen? He's in a different position from most everyone else. He landed his first FBS position in 2011 and he's already 45 years old. He's the kind of guy who can justify a risky move like this one.
If Allen fails at Auburn, he bounces back to USF (or another program of that ilk) and can do a good job and get right back into position for another Power 5 opportunity.
Succeed at Auburn? Allen quickly resembles Malzahn circa 2010: A newly discovered guru. He becomes one of the oldest "up-and-comers" in college ball and immediately hits the radar at all kinds of MAC-level schools -- or perhaps a few bigger programs. He can still become a head coach before his 50th birthday. Not bad for someone who hadn't coached above NAIA ball until recently.
Plus, Allen is making just $350,000 at USF right now.
Auburn was paying the old guy $1.6 million. That's a lot of wiggle room.
South Florida plays Western Kentucky in the Miami Beach Bowl tomorrow (Monday) at 1:30 CST on ESPN.
