Two days after Ted Roof left as Auburn’s defensive coordinator for the same position at UCF, another potential replacement has surfaced.
Citing a source familiar with the search, the Birmingham News is reporting that AU has made contact with Florida State coordinator Mark Stoops and has held preliminary discussions with the brother of current Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops and former Arizona head coach Mike Stoops.
Mark Stoops has overseen a defense in Tallahassee that’s made tremendous strides in his two years with the Seminoles. FSU was 94th in the country in scoring defense at 30 points per game the year prior to Stoops’ arrival; in 2010 the ‘Noles were 20th at 19. 6 ppg and jumped to fourth at 15.2 ppg this season.
For comparison’s sake, AU gave up 29.3 and 24.1 ppg in 2011 and 2010, respectively.
In addition to Stoops, South Carolina’s Ellis Johnson and North Carolina’s Everett Withers have been mentioned as potential candidates on The Plains.