And the waiting goes on, plus a transfer

Tommy Tuberville is off in Anaheim, Calif., interviewing defensive-coordinator candidates at the American Football Coaches Association convention, and things are relatively quiet back this way.
That's because Tuberville, Auburn's head coach for nine years plus, has become a pro at hiring coordinators. His next DC will be his fifth at Auburn, and he just hired his fifth offensive coordinator in December in Tony Franklin.
Tuberville usually makes himself a one-man search committee, and he tends to do his interviews quietly and quickly. He interviewed his last DC, Will Muschamp, quietly. Muschamp's name wasn't publicized until Tubs announced his hiring.
Tubs concluded his national signing day news conference with two announcements: first, current DC David Gibbs was leaving to return to the NFL coaching ranks; second, Muschamp was hired to replace him.
Search starts and search ends in five minutes.
I expect that's how things will go this time. We won't hear much, at least in the way of names, while Tuberville is in Anaheim. He has to protect those who have jobs.
I expect the search to end sometime this week, before a big weekend of recruiting visits on campus. I suspect the new DC will be a name we haven't heard.
The names we have heard --- former Georgia Tech DC John Tenuta, former Duke head coach Ted Roof and Cincinnati DC Joe Tresey -- strike me as unlikely. Roof and Tresey would be hard sells for the fan base, and Tenuta's blitz-always style seems an odd fit for Tuberville and Auburn's personnel.
We shall see, and The Star will let you know when there's an announcement.
PLAYING THE FIELD: Three-year backup quarterback Blake Field has asked for his release to transfer and will transfer to Division II national champion Valdosta State. He leaves as Auburn's quarterback ranks crowd, and he wasn't likely to win the starting job in Franklin's spread offense. Warren Field, Blake's father, announced his son's transfer decision in an email to the Opelika-Auburn News.