Alabama Football: Get ready for Kevin Steele as next Auburn Head Coach

The least surprising event of the 2022 college football season was the Monday announcement Auburn had fired Bryan Harsin. Alabama football fans are sad about Harsin’s exit, as with the exit of Gus Malzahn.

Aubies are dizzy with anticipation. High on every Auburn fan’s list to become the next Tigers head coach are Hugh Freeze, Lane Kiffin and Deion Sanders. The reality is Auburn has, at best, a small chance of hiring Freeze or Sanders and zero chance to hire Kiffin.

It has been reported Freeze has recently signed a big-dollar extension to remain the Liberty head coach. If ‘The Reverend’ Freeze has negotiated, but not yet signed the new deal, Auburn might be able to lure him. New deal or not at Liberty, the Christian University would be owed a buyout if Freeze suddenly decided to leave. Liberty is not likely to be forgiving of a Freeze exit and Auburn may not have the cash to fund a Freeze buyout.

Why is Auburn reported to be so cash poor? A major reason is payouts to previously fired Auburn coaches. According to Stewart Mandel, the price tags for Auburn to fire Malzahn, Kevin Steele and Bryan Harsin total $41.5M – and that amount does not include assistant coach buyouts to Malzahn and Harsin assistants.

Chasing Alabama Football and Delusion

Auburn has some deep-pocket boosters, but a fair question is for how long, and how much are they willing to ante up for a football program in shambles. Perhaps the combination of wealth and delusion is boundless when it comes to Auburn and many other schools.

So who will Auburn hire? Take Lane Kiffin’s name off the list, if for no other reason than he has a better job already at Ole Miss. Plus, Kiffin is too smart to become shackled to Auburn’s dysfunction.

Maybe the Tigers can hire Deion Sanders. But, Sanders would not come cheap and Auburn might not be able to afford him. Auburn is a step up from Jackson State, but Sanders is likely too smart to risk his coaching career by going to Auburn.

Other names will circulate for a few days or weeks, but in the end, the most likely new head coach at Auburn will be Kevin Steele. Auburn boosters reportedly wanted him before and Steele would jump at the opportunity for a reasonable amount of money.

Alabama football fans would welcome Auburn’s hiring of a Nick Saban assistant, who did not distinguish himself while in Tuscaloosa.