Regardless of how Auburn fares in its bowl game, Gus Malzahn will likely enter the 2016 offseason on the proverbial hot seat. That uncertain status could very well be impacting Malzahn’s search for a replacement for Will Muschamp.
Citing what he describes as “a dependable source in Alabama,” David Jones of pennlive.com is reporting that Penn State defensive coordinator Bob Shoop has turned down multiple overtures from Malzahn to discuss the same job on The Plains. Jones adds that the position “would’ve made [Shoop] at or very near the highest paid coordinator in college football.”From Jones’ report:
Both last week and this week, intermediaries from both camps were in contact, each time initiated by Auburn, the source told me. Early this week, Malzahn offered to meet to discuss the position with Shoop who is preparing the Penn State defense for its game on Jan. 2 against Auburn’s SEC stablemate Georgia in the TaxSlayer Bowl.
But, on each occasion, Shoop declined a formal meeting and told Auburn he was not interested in its position. This, despite a reported salary offer in the range of $1.5 million per year.
Muschamp earned $1.7 million in his lone season with the Tigers before leaving to become the head coach at South Carolina. Shoop’s salary was just under $1 million this year with the Nittany Lions.
The 49-year-old Shoop has been at Penn State the past two seasons, coming along with James Franklin from Vanderbilt. The Nittany Lions were 29th in scoring defense in 2015 (21.7 points per game), one year after finishing eighth nationally and first in the Big Ten (17.7).
