So, the Ear Capital of Alabama (a name I'm trying to popularize) is short a baseball coach right now. The Tigers were pretty wretched on the diamond this season and are in the market. Lots of names have come up. The Auburn Beat, a pretty reliable Auburn blog from al.com (home of the Birmingham News and the Mobile Press-Register), tells us that Auburn probably wants Gary Gilmore, the head coach at Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers, though, have actually been pretty consistent winners, and Auburn might not be a much better job.

The Beat said a few days ago that Auburn's search might clear up after the dust settled in Starkville, which indicates that, perhaps, Auburn and Mississippi State were looking at some of the same people. RSC wonders if spurned MSU assistant Tony Raffo is one of the crossovers.

What we do know is that Dan McDonnell of Louisville and Steve Smith of Baylor have declined the honor of working for the Step-Sister of Dixie.

Might I suggest a prototypical hard-working, aggressive (if unproven) recruiter? Those always seem to turn out well.