Report: Penn State line coach Herb Hand close to taking Auburn job
A source told the web site AL.com that Penn State offensive line coach Herb Hand is close to a deal to coach the offensive line at Auburn.
Reports from Alabama on Monday indicated that Penn State offensive line coach Herb Hand is close to finalizing a deal that would make him the new offensive line coach at Auburn.
The website AL.com quoted a source as saying that Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, who worked with Hand as co-offensive coordinators at Tulsa in 2007 and 2008, was "set to hire" Hand.
Should Hand – who has been on James Franklin's staff for the last five years, three at Vanderbilt, two at Penn State – leave the Nittany Lions, it will mark the second defection from Franklin in the past three days. Defensive coordinator Bob Shoop announced Saturday he was leaving for Tennessee.
The Penn State offensive line has struggled in Hand's two seasons. The unit allowed 83 sacks during that time, all but one of them involving quarterback Christian Hackenberg. The Nittany Lions rushed for an average of 134.2 yards per game last season, 106th in the nation, and 101.9 yards the year before.
When Hand and Malzahn worked together at Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane led the nation in total offense both seasons. From their first year to their second, Tulsa's rushing average jumped from 172.9 yards per game to 268.0 yards per game.
If Hand takes the Auburn job, he would replace J.B. Grimes, who left the Tigers for Cincinnati.