Breaking down the top coaching candidates for Auburn

AUBURN — Rumors and speculation continue to swirl as Auburn’s coaching search begins its fourth day following Sunday’s firing of Gene Chizik.

The leading candidates to replace Chizik, who won the 2010 BCS National Championship but was let go after going 3-9 this season – the worst in 60 years for the program – appear to be former Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino, Arkansas State coach Gus Malzahn, Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher, TCU coach Gary Patterson and Boise State’s Chris Petersen. Petrino, Malzahn and Fisher all spent time on the Plains as assistant coaches.

Here is a look at which each candidate brings to the table to be Auburn’s 26th head football coach:

Bobby Petrino
Age: 51
Job: Unemployed, Arkansas coach (2008-11)
Salary: N/A, last earned $3.53 million at Arkansas
Head Coaching Record: 75-26, 3-10 NFL (Atlanta Falcons)
Auburn Connection: Offensive coordinator under Tommy Tubberville in 2002

Bio: Petrino is rumored to be the favorite for the job. He is a proven winner but is divisive due his April motorcycle accident which uncovered an extramarital affair in which he hired his mistress, Jessica Dorrell, to be the student-athlete development coordinator and lied to Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long about the relationship and the accident. Petrino led Louisville to 11 wins in 2004 and 12 in 2006 and went 34-17 in four years at Arkansas.

Gus Malzahn
Age: 47
Job: Arkansas State coach (first season)
Salary: $850,000
Head Coaching Record: 8-3
Auburn Connection: Offensive coordinator under Chizik from 2009-11

Bio: Malzahn ran the offense which led the Tigers to a 14-0 season, a Heisman Trophy for Cam Newton and the 2010 BCS National Championship. Malzahn would revamp a stagnant offense, bringing back the no-huddle and spread passing game. He has repeatedly avoided questions pertaining to the Auburn position in recent weeks though he did say he remains close with several of the coaches and players. He took a severe pay cut from 2011, when he was the highest-paid assistant in the country ($1.3 million) to be the head coach at Arkansas State.

Jimbo Fisher
Age: 47
Job: Florida State coach (third season)
Salary: $2.75 million
Head Coaching Record: 29-10
Auburn Connection: Quarterbacks coach under Terry Bowden from 1993-98

Bio: Fisher waited in the wings to take over the helm from Bobby Bowden at Florida State. He is a renowned recruiter and has the Seminoles playing for the ACC Championship against Georgia Tech on Saturday. He too has avoided questions pertaining to his pursuit of other jobs, saying he is “very happy” and “content” at FSU.

Kirby Smart
Age: 36
Job: Alabama defensive coordinator
Salary: $950,000 (sixth season)
Head Coaching Record: N/A
Auburn Connection: N/A

Bio: One of the hottest assistant coaching names in the college game, Smart was named the 2012 Assistant Coach of the Year in the FBS by the American Football Coaches Association. The Alabama defense has been one of the best performing units in the country under Smart’s tutelage. Whether Smart would leave to take a position across the state or for that matter, whether Auburn would reach out to a coach from Alabama, remains in question.

Gary Patterson
Age: 52
Job: TCU coach (12th season)
Salary: $3.46 million
Head Coaching Record: 116-34 (12 seasons)
Auburn Connection: N/A

Bio: A perennial candidate for any big program job, Patterson has led the Horned Frogs from relative obscurity to national prominence. He won seven Coach of the Year awards in 2009, when he led TCU to an undefeated 13-0 season and a 21-19 win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. As he has done for the last few years, Patterson has had to address rumors of other positions. “When someone calls, you should always listen,” Patterson said on Tuesday according to the Fort-Worth Star Telegram, “because it’s the right thing to do. But I’ve been at TCU for 15 years now, and I’ve always let that fact speak for itself.”

Chris Petersen
Age: 48
Job: Boise State coach (seventh season)
Salary: $2 million
Head Coaching Record: 82-8
Auburn Connection: N/A

Bio: Like Patterson, Petersen’s name has been rumored with nearly every big job opening for several years. Petersen has nearly as synonymous with the Broncos as their blue turf. Boise State has two undefeated seasons (13-0 in 2006, 14-0 in 2009) under Petersen, both ending with Fiesta Bowl victories. He turned down UCLA last season and is considered unlikely to leave Boise State for any job not on the West coast.

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