Auburn fires head football coach Gus Malzahn

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Auburn fired head coach Gus Malzahn a day after the Tigers concluded their regular season with a 24-10 victory over Mississippi State.

Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele will serve as the interim coach for Auburn.

Athletic director Allen Greene made the announcement on Sunday. The Tigers finished up the 2020 season with a 6-4 record, and they suffered blowout losses to Southeastern Conference opponents, Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M.

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Auburn also suffered a loss to South Carolina, which fired its head coach Will Muschamp during the season.

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“After evaluating the state of the Auburn football program, we’ve decided that it was time to make a change in leadership,” Greene said in a statement. “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.”

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Auburn will pay Malzahn a $21.45 million buyout for the remaining four years of his seven-year, $49 million deal, according to The Athletic. The Tigers are obligated to pay half of that amount within 30 days.

In eight seasons, Malzahn finished with a 68-35 overall record, which included a 39-27 record against SEC opponents. Auburn reached the SEC title game in 2013, which was his first season as head coach, but the Tigers lost to Florida State in the national championship game.