Who do YOU think will be Auburn's next head football coach?

Anyone who watched Saturday’s Iron Bowl saw that there is a wide gap between the football programs at Alabama and Auburn.

Alabama won, 49-0, handing Auburn its worse Iron Bowl loss since 1948. The next day, Auburn fired head coach Gene Chizik, who led the Tigers to an 0-8 showing in conference play this season.

All of this just goes to show how fortunes swing up and down in the sports world. Just two years ago, Auburn was at the top of the college football world, having won the BCS national title with Chizik as head coach. In the “what have you done for me lately” world of college football, Auburn’s 2010 performance wasn’t enough to buy Chizik another year at the helm of Auburn’s football program.

As of Monday morning, Auburn had not announced the hiring of a new head coach, and it’ll be interesting to see who they hire to lead one of the most successful programs in the history of college football.

Lots of names have been tossed around. Will Auburn hire Bobby Petrino, who was fired at Arkansas earlier this year over what was arguably the biggest scandal in college football outside of Penn State? Will it be former Tennessee head coach Phil Fulmer, who turned 62 in September? Will it be former Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who, along with quarterback Cam Newton, was largely responsible for Auburn’s 2010 national title?

Only time will tell, and there’s a good chance that it will be none of the coaches mentioned above. Whoever Auburn hires, one thing is certain. Auburn needs to land a big name head coach, who’ll be able to compete with Nick Saban on the recruiting trail as well as on the playing field.

Alabama fans would also do well to take note of Saturday’s Iron Bowl and the fate of Gene Chizik. While it’s nice to be king of the mountain, it doesn’t take long for the mighty to fall. As hard as it would be to imagine, Alabama fans could be calling for Saban’s job two years from now given the right set of circumstances.

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This past Saturday wrapped up the 13th week of our local ESPN College Football Pick ‘Em Contest, and after Saturday’s slate of games, Johnny Davis remained atop the local standings. It’s close though. He’s only three points ahead of Hunter Norris and Jacob Ramer, who are tied for second place.

Sharon Peacock is in fourth place, and Jeremy Matheny is in fifth place. Aaron Albritton is in sixth place, and Travis Presley is in seventh place. I’m in eighth place, and Justin Jensen is in ninth place. Morgan Middleton cracked the Top 10 this week, finishing in the No. 10 spot.

This year’s contest is almost over. This Saturday’s slate of games will represent the final week of the contest, so by this time next week, we’ll know who has earned the title of this year’s “Mr. Football.” From the looks of things, it’ll most likely be Johnny Davis.