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Will Muschamp worked as Auburn's defensive coordinator during the 2006 and 2007 seasons. (Mark Almond/malmond@al.com)

Now there's no reason to wait. There's no reason to consider other options. There's no reason for Gus Malzahn to do anything else on this otherwise cold, wet and dreary Sunday to fix a major crack in his Auburn football program before he does this:

Call Will Muschamp.

Offer condolences that Florida fired him.

Then offer him a blank check to return to Auburn as defensive coordinator.

Muschamp obviously needs a job for next year, and Auburn desperately needs the help.

Of course, Malzahn should meet with Ellis Johnson as soon as possible to thank him for his service and wish him well. Johnson has done some good things at Auburn, but the defense's regression this season screams out for a change.

Muschamp's availability makes that scream even louder.

The Florida head coaching job may have been too big for a first-time head coach. The tangible and intangible problems left behind by Urban Meyer may have been too much to overcome.

But Muschamp is an elite defensive coordinator, one of the best in the business. He's right there with Georgia's Jeremy Pruitt, who schooled Malzahn's offense Saturday night, and Alabama's Kirby Smart, who pulled the plug on Dak Prescott's Heisman campaign.

Before Smart and Pruitt learned how to run a defense working for Nick Saban, Muschamp absorbed those lessons and then put them into practice on his own. There's no better person at that position Malzahn could hire.

Not to mention, Muschamp is a class act. He's handled this difficult hot-seat season with the Gators like the total professional he is. Any program would be fortunate to have him as a coach and a person.

If that weren't enough for Malzahn to offer to make Muschamp the first $2 million-a-year coordinator, he's no stranger. He knows the SEC, and he knows Auburn, having worked on the Plains for two years under Tommy Tuberville.

You remember. Back when Auburn used to play defense. It's where Muschamp became Coach Boom.

The Auburn connection might not be totally positive because Muschamp did have an issue or two with Auburn Athletics Director Jay Jacobs when Muschamp worked there in 2006 and 2007, but grown men should be able to put the past behind.

Where else can Muschamp go and have a chance to win conference and national titles? Where else can Malzahn turn to find a championship coordinator on the side of the ball where his program needs major help?

A pairing of Muschamp and Malzahn might give Auburn the strongest combination of defensive and offensive minds in college football.

Muschamp just became the hottest commodity on the coaching market. He'll have plenty of opportunities to keep coaching ball as a coordinator - Texas A&M and South Carolina are two possibilities - and knowing him, he won't take a year off to sit in a TV studio.

This would be a good time for Malzahn to move #AuburnFast.