Gus Malzahn

Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn watches practice Sunday, Dec. 27, 2015, at Hoover High School in Hoover, Ala. Auburn will take on Memphis in the Birmingham Bowl Wednesday. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

Auburn coach Gus Malzahn has told those close to him he expects to hire a defensive coordinator before the end of the week, a person familiar with the situation tells AL.com.

Malzahn's search for a coordinator will enter a fourth week Monday, but it appears the third-year Auburn coach has narrowed in on a few names. Names reportedly in contention include South Florida defensive coordinator Tom Allen and Mississippi State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz.

Malzahn, however, has kept the search relatively quiet after misfiring on an attempt to hire Florida State's Charles Kelly.

When asked Monday if he has a good idea of who the defensive coordinator will be, Malzahn responded: "I'm not going to comment right now other than the fact that I feel very good and we'll have somebody hired."

less than one season into his second tenure as Auburn's defensive coordinator on Dec. 6. Linebackers coach Lance Thompson is serving as Auburn's interim coordinator for the Birmingham Bowl on Wednesday.

"Defensively, as far as our defensive search, it's going very well," Malzahn said. "We should have someone hired in the near future."

Auburn (6-6) conducted its first on-site practice Monday for the Birmingham Bowl at Hoover High School. The Tigers play Memphis (9-3) on Wednesday at Legion Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.

Muschamp's defense finished the regular season ranked in the bottom half of the SEC in seven of eight major categories in his first season back as Auburn's coordinator, but the Tigers held five opponents to under 21 points. He previously coached the unit in 2006 and 2007 under Tommy Tuberville.

Auburn ranked second-to-last in total defense (421.8 yards per game) and 11th in scoring defense (27.3 points per game) while ranking last in sacks per game at 1.42 per game.

The Tigers did show improvement in the final four games of the season. They held Texas A&M to 10 points on the road and kept Malzahn's offense within striking distance of No. 2 Alabama in the Iron Bowl until Derrick Henry's touchdown run with 26 seconds remaining capped the 29-13 victory.