West Virginia's Neal Brown Emerging As Candidate For Auburn Coaching Vacancy

Auburn is still in the process of deciding who its next head coach will be. Interim coach Kevin Steele remains the leading candidate, but a new candidate is emerging.

According to a tweet from Steven Godfrey, West Virginia coach Neal Brown might be the "best positioned to bridge the chasms between various factions on The Plains."

Brown is an interesting -- and somewhat surprising -- name.

It might be a tough sell considering he's 10-11 in two seasons with the Mountaineers, but at this point, anyone might be better than the current favorite. And Brown does have some success with a program from the state of Alabama.

He was the head coach at Troy from 2015-18. His first season only included a 4-8 record, but the next three years included an impressive 31-8 (.795) with three straight 10-win seasons.

This coaching search has taken many turns around. We'll see if Brown continues to trend in the right direction.

As Godfrey points out in the tweet, other candidates are Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, Louisiana head coach Billy Napier, and Clemson defensive coordinator Tony Elliott.

Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.