Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs certainly appears to be keen on the basketball scene in Texas.

It appears that three Lone Star State-based coaches are now in the mix for Auburn’s vacancy. Sam Houston State’s Bob Marlin and UTEP’s
Tony Barbee are the latest to pop on the radar, as both are expected to interview some time this week at an undisclosed location, according to multiple published reports.

As reported Tuesday, North Texas’ Johnny Jones is also set to interview this week.

Jacobs requested permission to speak with Marlin earlier this week from Sam Houston State athletic director Bobby Williams, according to a report from Fox 26 in Houston.

“Auburn called to let me know they are going to speak with Bob and that’s OK with us,” Williams said. “I think it’s a compliment to our program, our university and to Bob for what he has been able to accomplish.”

Marlin, 50, has been with the Bearkats for 12 seasons, compiling a 225-130 record. This year might have been the best, as the Bearkats went 25-7 on their way to winning the Southland Conference regular season championship and tournament. Marlin won the league’s Coach of the Year honor and then nearly led his team to a major upset in the NCAA Tournament, taking third-seeded Baylor to the wire in the first round.

The Bearkats’ season also included quite the romp over Auburn, a 107-89 December rout at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

Marlin has directed the Bearkats to six 20-plus win seasons after inheriting a program that hadn’t finished better than sixth in the league for the previous decade. The Bearkats have won the regular-season title three times and made the NCAA Tournament twice under Marlin’s watch.

A Mississippi State grad, Marlin served as a graduate assistant at Northeast Louisiana before moving on to Houston Baptist, where he spent six seasons as an assistant from 1983-89. After a year at Marshall under current Creighton head coach Dana Altman, Marlin served as the head coach at Pensacola Junior College for five seasons, compiling a 125-35 record and winning a national championship. That helped Marlin land in the SEC, as he served as an Alabama assistant coach from 1995-98 before landing with the Bearkats.

Barbee, meanwhile, has been with UTEP for four seasons, compiling an 82-52 record. The Miners just pulled off one of their best seasons in recent history, as they went 26-7, won the Conference USA regular-season title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Miners, a 12-seed, bowed out in the first round Thursday in a loss to Butler.

Barbee played his college ball at UMass under John Calipari and then had his career elevated when he served as an assistant with him at Memphis. Barbee was Calipari’s top recruiter with the Tigers and was considered one of the best in the nation before moving on to UTEP in 2006.

Barbee, Jones and Marlin join former Auburn superstar Chuck Person, now with the Los Angeles Lakers, on Jacobs’ short, but ever-expanding wishlist.

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