12/3 Defensive Coordinator Search Update-Auburn Offers Muschamp

Jay Tate of AuburnSports.Com released a report today indicating that Auburn has officially offered their defensive coordinator position to Will Muschamp. Terms of the offer were not mentioned, but the report indicates that Auburn is willing to match any offer made by another school. Tate also reports that Muschamp has been contacted by two NFL teams with provisional offers.

The key issue here is money. A&M's rumored offer to Muschamp was somewhere in the vicinity of 1.5 million per year, which is more than double what recently fired coordinator Mark Snyder was making. Can Auburn match A&M's salary offer? Tate indicates that they might have some problems doing so:

Muschamp won't come cheaply. He is owed approximately $6 million from Florida after earning $2.7 million per season in Gainesville. Auburn apparently is prepared to spend at least $1.2 million per year for Muschamp's services, though it's unclear how comfortably the athletic department can foot the bill.

Johnson is owed slightly more than $2 million on his guaranteed deal while attrition affecting current assistants could add another $1 million to the dismissal bill. The department also will be paying ousted basketball coach Tony Barbee a total of $2.4 million during the next three years while also paying new coach Bruce Pearl $15 million during the next six years.

Both programs are somewhat pressed for time and hoping to have someone on board in the next two weeks. The recruiting dead period begins on December 15, and I'm sure both Auburn and A&M would like to do in home visits with their new coordinator to make introductions with key recruits.