Ellis Johnson, the defensive coordinator candidate I profiled for the Florida State opening recently, is in Auburn today interviewing to become Gus Malzahn's defensive coordinator.
Ellis Johnson interviewing for Auburn coaching staff, according to report - SBNation.com
Former South Carolina defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson is reported to be in Auburn interviewing for new coach Gus Malzahn's staff.
This could be one of the first instances of a mid-level SEC school being able to simply outbid Florida State for a coach, as I noted yesterday.
Johnson will be 61 by Christmas. He is an excellent coach of defense, and isn't going to be getting a major head coaching job even if he had a great two-year run at Florida State.
And because of that, money is going to be more important to Johnson than it might be some defensive coordinators. Auburn, Tennessee and Arkansas could pay Johnson about 50-percent more than Florida State could. For that reason, don't expect Johnson to commit to Florida State before those are filled.
Stay tuned.