Auburn football rumors: Billy Napier is frontrunner for HC job

Auburn football has reportedly set its sights on Billy Napier as their preferred choice for the next head coach of the Tigers.

The War Eagle listed our top head-coaching candidates for the vacant Auburn football head coaching role, and Billy Napier was right at the summit of our countdown. Auburn’s brain trust seems to agree, with his interview on Sunday sparking them to consider the University of Lousiana HC the favorite to land in the Plains, per 24/7 Sports:

"Billy Napier, the head coach at the University of Louisiana, has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Gus Malzahn as Auburn’s head football coach, Auburn Undercover has learned. Napier interviewed with three members of Auburn’s advisory committee on Saturday. He is expected to be offered the job. There is no indication that he has made any commitment to accept an offer or where Auburn will turn should he decline."

The vaunted search committee that was seemingly a smokescreen to get Kevin Steele at the top of the Tiger totem pole has now honed in on what I believe is the perfect voice for an Auburn football program that has stalled in the last several seasons since UCF declared themselves National Champions at Gus Malzahn’s former squad’s expense.

Napier has led the Rajun Cajun’s, a small-time Sunbelt squad, into the National Spotlight this season, and–as I have mentioned before–was a field goal away from basking in the glow that Coastal Carolina is in.

Imagine what he could do with a sleeping SEC juggernaut that just brought on one of the most successful quarterback recruits from the great state of Texas ever in Dematrius Davis…who could well be the next great Auburn quarterback to go to the NFL.

Either way, consider us as part of the contingent that loves this rumor. Napier would bring a Sunbelt chip on the shoulder that someone like Steve Sarkisian would not.