Honestly replace the position Auburn is in right now vs how much worse for the program it would be if it were us. Looks like Auburn followed exactly what you are suggesting, Do you think they will really "plug the hole" or is it more likely this will have a much worse run that Malzhan would have had?

It makes me think Whit is a much better AD than the guy at Auburn. I believe Whit went through the Auburn excercise in a back channel way that provided plausible deniability for both sides.