Coming off the SEC championship and BCS Championship Game appearance, Auburn has seen members of the support staff move on to other job opportunities this offseason. Sitting with five spots now open on Auburn’s support staff, head coach Gus Malzahn does not appear to be losing any sleep on the positions. He may not even bother to fill them.
“I don’t know at this point if I’ll fill them all, but I’m very encouraged and happy for the guys that moved on,” Malzahn said in a report by AL.com. “They did a wonderful job here, helped us get to the national championship game. They’re all very good people and they’re very good coaches, so we wish them nothing but the best.”
The positions left vacant this offseason focus on player development. As far as the pecking order of staff responsibilities go in a football program, these are generally on one of the bottom rungs. Some programs use them to keep some staff members close to the program and potentially train and prepare them for an on-field coaching position. Auburn’s staff is still sitting with 16 members on the support staff, so it is not as though the Tigers are lacking in personnel.