Okay, was debating whether to post anything, but thought I should at least let you know what I have heard and what I have been able to gather.
I was asked if I had heard anything because there is a rumor out there that Rob Mullens will be the next athletic director at Auburn. Here is what I have been able to gather from talking with multiple people including UO AD sources and getting some information from Auburn insiders
- Auburn reached out to Mullens sometime after Jay Jacobs 'resigned' at Auburn According to multiple Auburn sources, Mullens politely said 'no thank you' and both sides moved on.
- About the time that the NCAA NOA became public, Auburn sources say that Mullens reached back out to them inquiring about the potential/
- This is where it gets dicey. Just before Christmas, some sources said that Auburn would have a new AD right after the New Year, but the NOA had probably ruled out Mullens; they have their own NCAA issues right now and did not want to bring in Mullens
- The new year came and went with no new AD which has caused at least one source to say that Mullens to Auburn was a 'done deal'
- A different Auburn source says that it is not even close and that Mullens will not be the AD. THat source seems more 'reliable' from what I have been able to gather
- On the UO side, a senior level person who would have likely known has said that he has not heard any rumblings to that effect and it would be 'very surprising' if there were any truth to the rumor.
I have feelers out to some more sources, but they won't be in the office until mid-week, so I probably won't hear anything from those sources until late next week. If I hear anything, I will let you know.
Having recently signed a very good deal with Oregon, one which pays Mullens very large 'retention' bonuses of $100,000 in 2019, $200,000 in 2020, $300,000 from 2021 through 2023 and $1 million in 2024, he is very well compensated and entrenched at Oregon, it would seem. Those bonuses are payable if he is on staff June 30 of each year; total retention bonuses are $2.2 million in addition to his $717,500 guaranteed salary plus $50,000 per year deferred compensation and other athletic department success based bonuses.
Could Auburn pay even more? Absolutely, it is just that this seems a long shot right now given his contract status, but definitely something on which to keep a close eye.
