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Auburn's loss to Tennessee has revved up the anti-Gus Malzahn engines around the Tigers once again. The famously helter-skelter coach, despite having NFL talent at quarterback and defensive line, has slipped to 4-3 with two losses against SEC teams in a row. His performance at Auburn has once again landed him in the fans' crosshairs.
Gus Malzahn at Auburn:
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) October 13, 2018
2013: Seconds from national title
2014: Regression
2015: Fans want him fired
2016: Fans want him fired
2017: Bounce-back, Big extension
2018: Fans want him fired
Unfortunately for Auburn, they seem stuck with Malzahn for the foreseeable future, as the embattled coach has an insanely high buyout.
For anyone wondering, Gus Malzahn's buyout is currently $32,143,750 per @USATODAY
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) October 13, 2018
$32 million. That number just doesn't seem real.
32 million, need I remind you, for a coach that has gone just 37-22 at Auburn with a 1-3 bowl record since he lost to Florida State in the national championship game. Getting to a national championship should get Malzahn the heaps of praise he deserves, but since then, he's been an average to below-average coach in the SEC.
Toomer's Corner is getting impatient, especially after conference foes like Florida and Georgia have been remade overnight, yet Malzahn is allowed to wallow in his relative mediocrity.
I will never defend Gus Malzahn. I don't care what kind of fan that makes me. This man should have never been given a new contract. He's one of the worst in-game coaches out there. I don't know how anyone can claim to be an Auburn fan and defend this man. Gus "8-5" Malzahn.
— Tim Bliss (@bigtbliss) October 7, 2018
Malzahn will be on the sidelines for a while, but if Auburn keeps letting Alabama run the SEC West, the Tigers may have to swallow that pill and fire Malzahn at a vastly inflated price.