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As has long been expected, Bryan Harsin didn’t make it out of Year 2 at Auburn. The Tigers fired the former Boise State coach who simply was never a good fit and didn’t have the support of almost anyone who mattered there. On top of that, and largely because of both of those things, recruiting at Auburn was in dreadful shape. The good news: Auburn has some very interesting options and will attract some big-time coaches. After all, Gene Chizik won a national title there and his successor, Gus Malzahn, took the Tigers to the brink of another one.

Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss head coach

The biggest name to watch is working in the SEC West right now. It’s Ole Miss’ head coach Lane Kiffin, Nick Saban’s former OC who is 18-4 with the Rebels the past two seasons and 10-3 in the SEC. His team is No. 11 in the country. He’s one of the best offensive minds in college football. He’s also come adept at managing social media and knows how to build buzz like the one that gave the Rebels a lot of momentum. When Kiffin left Tuscaloosa, there was plenty of skepticism about whether he could be trusted with running his own program, but hiring him proved to be a very wise gamble for Florida Atlantic, which went 26-13 in his three seasons. Word is, Kiffin had interest in this job two years ago when Harsin got it. Of the three biggest names in play, he might feel like the safest, most attractive option to the Tiger power brokers.

Hugh Freeze, Liberty head coach

Former Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze left the SEC amid a scandal, but no one doubts how sharp of an offensive mind he has, and he knows how to recruit in the SEC. Freeze led the Rebels into the top 10 and beat Nick Saban’s Alabama team twice. He resurfaced at Liberty and is 33-12 overall. There have been rumblings about SEC boss Greg Sankey being against one of his programs hiring Freeze as a head coach. Freeze is still a very polarizing figure, but if Auburn hired him, he’d have the Tigers back in the top 20 before too long.

Deion Sanders, Jackson State head coach

The biggest wild card in this search is also a head coach in the deep South, but he’s running an FCS program: Jackson State’s Deion Sanders.

The 55-year-old is 19-2 the past two seasons and was honored with the Eddie Robinson Award as the season’s top FCS head coach in 2021. He upgraded that roster dramatically and landed big-name recruits who probably never would’ve thought of going to Jackson State. Last December, Sanders pulled off a huge recruiting coup by beating everyone, including his alma mater, for Travis Hunter, the nation’s No. 1 recruit. No doubt Sanders would be a huge force in recruiting. No one has a presence like he does. The guy is Saban’s co-star on all those Aflac commercials and got dragged into that NIL dust-up between the Alabama head coach and Jimbo Fisher. Sanders was the only one of the three who probably emerged from it not looking bad or having to apologize. We’ve heard mixed reactions on whether Auburn brass would be comfortable with Sanders taking over. The feeling here is that the Tigers would be foolish not to give him serious consideration to find out if he seems like a good fit.

Matt Rhule, former Carolina Panthers head coach

Former Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule is expected to get consideration. He struggled in the NFL but did a very good job at Temple and a great job overhauling Baylor. At Temple, the Owls went from 2-10 to 20-7 in his last two seasons. Then, he turned down Oregon for the Baylor job and made a one-win team into an 11-3 team two seasons later. He’s a proven whiz at evaluation and development. The downside: The Pennsylvania native has never worked in the SEC, and after the way Harsin flopped at Auburn, that’ll probably be tough for folks to get past.

Mark Stoops, Kentucky head coach

Kentucky coach Mark Stoops knows how to win in the SEC. In the previous four seasons, he had two 10-win years, and at Kentucky, that’s a remarkable feat. The Wildcats had only one 10-win season in the previous 65 years. Kentucky is 5-3 thus far, which has felt a little disappointing given how much he elevated the expectations around the program. Would he leave Lexington for another job in the SEC albeit it’s one where prior to Harsin, the last two coaches either won a national title or played for one? It might be hard to say no, but he’s comfortable enough at UK where that may be the case.

Dan Lanning, Oregon head coach

Oregon’s Dan Lanning, 36, knows the SEC well from his time on the Alabama and Georgia staffs. He has had a very good debut season at Oregon, going 7-1. One year, and it’s not even a full season, is not a lot of experience for a job like this. It’s probably too soon for Auburn to make this kind of move.

(Photo of Lane Kiffin: Justin Ford/Getty Images)

The Baltimore Ravens are trading for Chicago Bears two-time All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith, CBS Sports NFL insiders Jonathan Jones and Josina Anderson have confirmed. The Bears will receive second and fifth-round picks, along with linebacker AJ Klein, in return. Smith is the second high-profile defender dealt by the Bears in the last week — just ahead of the NFL trade deadline (4 p.m. ET Tuesday) — after Chicago traded edge rusher Robert Quinn to the Eagles.

Smith, the No. 8 overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft, has recorded 83 tackles, 2.5 sacks and two interceptions this season. Through four-plus seasons, the Georgia product has missed just four games. The former SEC Defensive Player of the Year has been a playmaker since arriving in the league, amassing over 600 tackles, 16.5 sacks, one forced fumble, seven interceptions and one touchdown.

The 25-year-old is in the final year of his rookie contract and is slated to become an unrestricted free agent after the season. Spotrac.com projects an average annual salary of $17.6 million, which would be the second-highest among active off-ball linebackers; a steep price to pay for the position.

When a question about the state of contract negotiations arose during the preseason, first-year general manager Ryan Poles said the following, via ChicagoBears.com:

“I think he’s a very good football player. I love the kid. I love what he’s done on the field, which makes me really disappointed with where we’re at right now. I thought we’d be in a better situation, to be completely honest with you…With that said, we can’t lose sight that this isn’t about one player. My job is to build a roster that’s going to sustain success for a long period of time. At the end of the day, we’ve got to do what’s best for the Chicago Bears.”

Baltimore is atop the AFC North standings with a 5-3 record. Smith joins a group that includes former first-round selection Patrick Queen, as well as Josh Bynes, AJ Klein and Malik Harrison.

With Smith out of the picture, the Bears are left with young linebackers Sterling Weatherford and Jack Sanborn, as well as free agent signing Nicholas Morrow.

The Bears sent Quinn to Philadelphia last week in exchange for draft compensation. The news of Quinn’s trade was broken to the Smith during his own media availability, which brought on raw emotion. Poles is stocking up draft capital in his first year on the job. Chicago fell to 3-5 on the year with a loss to Dallas over the weekend.

Trade grades: Ravens B+, Bears B-

The Ravens are certainly getting a playmaker on a defense who has turned things around over the last few weeks. Smith leads the NFL with 83 tackles and always has a knack for finding the football, having two interceptions and 2.5 sacks on the year. Not only has Smith recorded double-digit tackles in all but two games this season, but he has 100-plus tackles in all four of his NFL seasons and his 246 tackles are the fourth-most in the NFL.

Josh Bynes has been reliable for the Ravens since his return last year, but Baltimore needs a playmaking linebacker at the MIKE to pair with Patrick Queen. Whether the Ravens can sign Smith to a long-term deal will validate this trade, but Baltimore is going for it.

As for the Bears, getting a second and fifth-round pick, along with Klein, is part of their rebuild. Chicago got three draft picks in return for Smith and Robert Quinn. They’ll have a first, two seconds, a third, two fourth, two fifth, and a seventh in the 2023 draft. The rebuild is on.

–Jeff Kerr

arizona cardinals star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is looking for answers after a questionable moment during Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

The five-time Pro Bowler took to social media on Sunday to ask the NFL for an explanation following a violent helmet-to-helmet hit he took in the end zone, late in the third quarter.

Hopkins was walking back into the end zone, attempting to catch a short pass from Kyler Murray when he was tackled by cornerback Cameron Dantzler. After the ball fell from Hopkins’ hands, safety Harrison Smith seemingly leaned in for a hard hit, making contact with his head.

CARDINALS’ DEANDRE HOPKINS MAKES RIDICULOUS ONE-HANDED TOUCHDOWN CATCH

There was no call on the play despite Murray’s frustrations with the hit.

“…NFL I need an explanation?” Hopkins wrote on Twitter.

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DeAndre Hopkins of the Arizona Cardinals catches the ball for a touchdown against the Vikings at US Bank Stadium on Oct. 30, 2022, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
(Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

Sunday was Hopkins’ second game back since serving a six-game PED suspension. He hauled in an incredible one-handed catch late in the first half to bring the Cardinals within reach of the Vikings, but it wasn’t enough to top Minnesota, which won their fourth straight.

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DeAndre Hopkins of the Arizona Cardinals catches the ball for a touchdown on Oct. 30, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
(Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

Hopkins finished with 12 catches for 159 yards and one touchdown.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

After less than two turbulent seasons, Auburn fired football coach Bryan Harsin on Monday.

The decision comes just before the school was expected to name a new athletic director in John Cohen, the former Mississippi State AD, a source told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Harsin’s firing comes less than 48 hours after the Tigers lost to Arkansas at home by two touchdowns.

The team dropped to 3-5 and is in danger of missing out on a bowl game for the first time since 2012.

Harsin’s tenure at Auburn ends with a 9-12 record.

“Auburn University has decided to make a change in the leadership of the Auburn University football program,” the school said in a statement. “President [Christopher] Roberts made the decision after a thorough review and evaluation of all aspects of the football program. Auburn will begin an immediate search for a coach that will return the Auburn program to a place where it is consistently competing at the highest levels and representing the winning tradition that is Auburn football.”

Per terms of his contract, Harsin will be owed $15.5 million in buyout money with 50 percent ($7.75 million) due within 30 days and the remaining 50 percent ($7.75) in four installments.

Two years ago, the school decided to pay a $21.7 million buyout in order to fire Gus Malzahn, who had gone 68-34 in eight seasons.

Auburn was coming off a 6-7 season when Harsin’s status was thrown in limbo this past February after the university launched an investigation into his handling of the program.

The inquiry came after a number of players and coaches left during the offseason.

Auburn ultimately cleared Harsin, who later called it a “personal attack” that he said “didn’t work.”

Auburn opened the season with two straight wins, over Mercer and San Jose State, but has gone 1-5 since.

Harsin, 45, came to Auburn on a six-year, $31.5 million deal after seven seasons as head coach at Boise State.

His record as a head coach, including one season at Arkansas State, is 85-36.