When Auburn dismissed Bryan Harsin after a disastrous run on the Plains, the Tigers made it a priority to find someone who had plenty of SEC experience, knew how to run a high-functioning offense and could recruit with the best of them given that their two main rivals, Alabama and Georgia, were operating at peak efficiency.
Despite the obvious blowback that was always going to come with his hire, Auburn opted to bring in Hugh Freeze because he checked off all of those boxes after his successful rehabilitation stint at Liberty. If you could look past the off-field issues and investigations that forced him from Mississippi—and the Tigers did that—then the choice made perfect sense.
The best-laid plans rarely go as expected in college football however—and certainly not at a place like Auburn. The school lived up to the program’s reputation for hastiness by dismissing Freeze after just three seasons on Sunday following a dismal 10–3 loss to Kentucky. The veteran head coach wraps up his tenure with a 15–19 overall mark and, for once, had issues on the field lead to his exit after failing to find a decent quarterback and failing to show much of anything offensively.
Now the Tigers are in the market for another head coach, and it’s a crowded one at that. Still, there are a host of qualities that make this an attractive gig, from access to talent in state and across the state borders with Georgia and Florida, a passionate fan base willing to step up with resources and a slightly better aligned administration nowadays. Yes there are better jobs, even in the SEC, but this is one of those schools where you can easily win a national title.
What direction will they go on the Plains? Here are 10 candidates for the job:
Lane Kiffin, Mississippi head coach
There was a very public flirtation with Kiffin a few years ago before the school moved on to Freeze, but the hope will remain alive at Auburn until Kiffin firmly announces where he’s coaching next year. He has better options, including remaining in Oxford, Miss., but one never knows.
Rhett Lashlee, SMU head coach
Lashlee earned a two-year contract extension amid speculation he could be in play for a number of SEC jobs, including at his alma mater of Arkansas. The Auburn gig is probably on the high end of what he can land, and it would be to a place he knows well as a former offensive coordinator for the Tigers. Don’t discount the possibility of him being able to bring a number of his SMU players with him to the Plains either.
Jon Sumrall, Tulane head coach
The only question is which SEC gig Sumrall winds up taking as he’s tailor-made to coach in the league. He grew up in the state, played at Kentucky, coached in the conference as an assistant and won big just down the road at Troy. He got the Green Wave into the thick of the American title race, but his defensive background and the way he runs a program could be perfect for what Auburn is looking for.
Another hot name out of the American, Golesh will be highly valued for his ability to put together a very watchable offense and for turning things around in a big way in Tampa. He was a coordinator at Tennessee as the Vols turned around, and his connections in the league footprint would line up well for a job like this.
Ryan Silverfield, Memphis head coach
In what was supposed to be a slight stepback season for Memphis, Silverfield has kept the team right there in the conference race. He’s got a wealth of experience all over (including the NFL) and has plenty of connections in key recruiting areas that Auburn targets. He may not be the guy who metaphorically wins the news conference but would be a badly needed adult in the room for the Tigers who can get the program pointed in the right direction to start winning big again.
Dan Mullen, UNLV head coach
Could another ex-SEC coach who is an offensive mind replace another? If the Tigers are smart, they would give a look at Mullen as Xs and Os have never been the issue with him and his track records to the east and west of Auburn are about as good as could be expected in a search like this. He would need to have a strong personnel side in place to allow him to focus efforts between the lines, but acquiring talent hasn’t been the biggest issue for the school recently.
Fran Brown, Syracuse head coach
Even with Brown’s second season in New York getting derailed by a quarterback injury, he could well get some looks for bigger jobs after winning 10 games last season. Though he loves being in the Northeast, he was one of Georgia’s best recruiters before becoming a fiery head coach.
Jon Gruden, former NFL head coach
If ever a school didn’t mind some questionable communications and a checkered past, it’s Auburn. Gruden has expressed a desire to take a college job and the Tigers would tick the boxes off in terms of prestige, location and ability for the fan base to buy in. Key questions would have to be what is his staff and would he keep the existing personnel structure in place? Auburn can’t afford to see this become a Bill Belichick–like circus on the Plains.
Franklin has spent much of his career north of the Mason-Dixon Line but the one time he ventured south, he wound up winning 18 games in two years at Vanderbilt (without a Diego Pavia to do so either). This would be the most experienced, accomplished coach that Auburn could hire and you know he would be excited to dive right in at a place like this if he can overcome the questions about the end of his Penn State tenure.
Jimbo Fisher, former Texas A&M head coach
Fisher has danced around the Auburn job a few times, having played at Samford and then coached quarterbacks under Terry Bowden for a very successful stretch. Could he convince the Tigers that he’s changed as a head coach after tough endings at Texas A&M and Florida State? If he has, this could be the big name that the school would easily be able to land.
