Latest intel on Auburn coaching search, Billy Napier

[aubiefifty 18,231]

Latest intel on Auburn coaching search, Billy Napier

ByBrad Crawford

3 minutes

There's a handful of coaching candidates in the mix at Auburn and the Tigers' vacancy may not be open much longer. According to 247Sports national analyst Josh Pate, Auburn has honed in on a few names and one could be next in line to lead on the Plains.

UAB coach Bill Clark interviewed over the weekend and the conversation went well, Pate reports.

"(He's) probably looking at a second interview," Pate tweeted on Sunday. "Same (source) believes Billy Napier is strong contender for the job, possibly the favorite if it isn't Kevin Steele. Personal feeling here — Think Bill Clark is still a long shot for Auburn even though many have been impressed with him."

Per Auburn Undercover's hot board 5.0, Steele is a "Tier 1" candidate in the search, while Napier and Clark are at the top of tiers 2 and 3, respectively.

Clark was asked about his potential interest in the Auburn vacancy following Friday's conference championship win over Marshall.

“I won’t comment on that other than to say, like I told you before, I love UAB,” Clark said. “This is mine, and we built it together. But it’s always good to be thought of, and that’s my job in this business to win games. And when that happens, I think people see that. So, you know, we’ll just see what happens, but I love my players and love UAB.”

Clark has received the blessing of many national analysts, including ESPN's Trevor Matich, who said last week he would best fit Auburn's culture and knows what it takes to win.

“Bill Clark has done a phenomenal job at UAB and coaches that coach high school within the recruiting footprint know they can trust him,” Matich said. “Plus, because of the shutdown of the program for a couple of years and managing the politics of that whole scenario and then bringing them back to win the first conference championship in school history.

"He understands how to navigate the politics and use them to his benefit, which really is job No. 1 at Auburn. I think it’s Bill Clark and he should keep Kevin Steele as his assistant head coach to once again help navigate the waters of Auburn and maximize what other people see as a detriment.”

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In addition, Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is expected to interview this week and Clemson coordinators Tony Elliott and Brent Venables are considered targets.

">247Sports

[Mikey 16,781]

3 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

"He understands how to navigate the politics and use them to his benefit, which really is job No. 1 at Auburn. I think it’s Bill Clark and he should keep Kevin Steele as his assistant head coach to once again help navigate the waters of Auburn and maximize what other people see as a detriment.”

This statement alone should be enough to discredit that ESPN commentator. There is no bigger bammer/Auburn hater in this state than Bill Clark. His coaching experience is limited to high school and UAB. Period. As much as I'd despise the Steele hire, hiring Steele would be better than Bill Clark.

[nixtosanders94 2,180]

How the hell would Trevor Matich know who would fit the Auburn culture? 

[tigeraddikt 1,697]

5 minutes ago, Mikey said:

This statement alone should be enough to discredit that ESPN commentator. There is no bigger bammer/Auburn hater in this state than Bill Clark. His coaching experience is limited to high school and UAB. Period. As much as I'd despise the Steele hire, hiring Steele would be better than Bill Clark.

I was under the impression that his Capstone bone had lost its flow since Bama orchestrated the UAB shutdown.

[tigeraddikt 1,697]

1 minute ago, nixtosanders94 said:

How the hell would Trevor Matich know who would fit the Auburn culture? 

He wouldn't. And doesn't.