While it hasn't really been a subject of major scrutiny nationally, the Auburn coaching search has been underway for a full week or so now and still the Tigers aren't any closer to hiring their head coach than they were when they fired Tommy Tuberville. 

Jay Jacobs made a trip to New York to interview several candidates but none of them have had that homerun quality you'd expect from a hire of this magnitude.  The general consensus in this state was that if you were going to fire Tubs, you'd better be able to hit one out of the park and land a major coach that could compete with Saban.  So far, the list of interviewees has been less than impressive with the most prominent name being Turner Gill, the head coach for the Buffalo squad which upset Ball State for the MAC title.  Other candidates have included Patrick Nix of Miami, LA Tech's Derek Dooley, and Ball State's Brady Hoke.  Now, Jacobs has left New York and the coaching search is still on...or is it?

Make no mistake, while Gill and Hoke could have success at a school like Auburn, it is unlikely that either would have a legitimate shot at the job.  Jacobs is stalling.  He's interviewing people and extending this out further than it needs to for one reason; in hopes that the media attention will die so they can make their real hire after the new year.  That man, I believe, will be Bobby Petrino.

Petrino, as many will remember, was the coach the boosters wanted back in 2003 following the "jetgate" scandal.  That clandestine meeting between the former athletic director and Petrino was exposed and Tuberville came out smelling like roses.  But Petrino has always been the guy they wanted.  While Jacobs is the new athletic director he's still nothing more than a puppet of prominent Auburn boosters such as Bobby Lowder, whose plane was used during the now infamous jetgate.  Those boosters wanted Petrino then and they want him now.

The problem in the scenario is Petrino's massive buyout which sits currently at over $8 million.  As of January 1st, 2009, which is fast approaching, that number will drop by $2 million making the buyout much more reasonable, if you call $6 million reasonable, that is.  Arkansas made sure to put in strict stipulations in case something like this happened and while $6 million is a large sum, Jacobs and co. have already stated that "money is no option." 

Jacobs isn't interviewing heavy hitters because he's stalling.  The Auburn powers-that-be are waiting for the media to forget about this coaching search.  This is all part of a big show to cover all the bases.  Make the interview process seem as in-depth as possible and interview as many minority candidates as realistically believable.  In the end, when the smoke clears, the new head football coach will be Bobby Petrino.  I'd be stunned if it were anyone else.

Update: It was mentioned by bamaboy22 in the comments section that Bobby Petrino has a non-compete clause in his contract.  This is discussed in full here.  While the clause may exist, I still believe he will somehow find himself as Auburn's head coach after the new year.  I don't believe Arkansas would sue him nor seek compensation other than the terms in his buyout agreement.