It’s officially official. After eight seasons leading the Auburn football program, Gus Malzahn is out of a job. The powers that be within the Tigers’ athletic program announced that Malzahn has in fact been fired following a pedestrian 6-4 regular season.
This move comes immediately after a 24-10 win over Mississippi State on Saturday. However, consecutive losses against SEC rivals in that of Alabama and Texas A&M seemed to seal Malzahn’s fate at Auburn
Auburn fires Gus Malzahn, gives him $21.45 million buyout
“After evaluating the state of the Auburn football program, we’ve decided that it was time to make a change in leadership,” Auburn Athletic Director Allen Greene said, via the program’s official website. “We appreciate everything that Gus did for the program over the last eight seasons. We will begin a search immediately for a coach that can help the Auburn program consistently compete at the highest level.”
It was later noted that Gus Malzahn would receive a whopping $21.45 million buyout for being fired by Auburn with years remaining on his current contract. That’s an absolutely stunning figure.
Gus Malzahn record as Auburn head coach
- 2013: 12-2 (lost BCS National Championship Game)
- 2014: 8-5 (lost Outback Bowl)
- 2015: 7-6 (won Birmingham Bowl)
- 2016: 8-5 (lost Sugar Bowl)
- 2017: 10-4 (lost Peach Bowl)
- 2018: 8-5 (won Music City Bowl)
- 2019: 9-4 (lost Outback Bowl)
- 2020: 6-4
Two bowl wins in eight full seasons as Auburn’s head coach just wasn’t going to cut it for Malzahn. This is a program that firmly believes it should be competing with Alabama, both in the state and in the SEC. That never really came to fruition under the now-fired head coach.
Twitter reacts to Auburn firing Gus Malzahn, giving him $21.45 million buyout
It will be interesting to see who Auburn targets to replace Gus Malzahn. Despite the program’s struggles over the past several years, it is still a top-notch option for up-and-coming assistants and proven head coaches around the nation.