Auburn football

Auburn football coaching search is underway after firing Bryan Harsin. Here are 13 candidates who make sense, including Deion Sanders and Lane Kiffin.

[ felt he was supposed to get this job in 2020](https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/auburn/2021/01/08/kevin-steele-out-auburn-football-defensive-coordinator-bryan-harsin/4110893001/). [ who resigned as athletics director at Mississippi State](https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/auburn/2022/10/31/john-cohen-auburn-mississippi-state-athletics-director/69606024007/), is expected to be named Auburn's new AD. Harsin [was fired Monday](https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/auburn/2022/10/31/bryan-harsin-fired-as-auburn-football-coach-as-new-ad-steps-in/69502343007/). Patience is minimal, boosters are monolithic and the [schedule is mortifying](https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/auburn/2022/09/20/auburn-football-schedule-2023-dates-opponents/69507622007/). But he's a proven program-builder at the college level, having overseen eight- and 10-win improvements within three years at Temple and Baylor, respectively. The proponents like to think of him as the football equivalent of a Bruce Pearl hire, with all the good and baggage that entails. Would Stoops leave the comfort of his Kentucky throne, where he has turned one of the most low-stakes jobs in the league into one of its longest and most successful tenures? Now he's an esteemed offensive coordinator who has been named one of five finalists for the Frank Broyles Award honoring college football's best assistant coach two consecutive years for his play-calling at two different schools (Baylor and BYU). Gus Malzahn's defensive coordinator at UCF was also a key member of his Auburn staff from 2014-20. He already has a national championship ring as a token of his four years coaching Gene Chizik's Auburn offensive line. Maybe not the most likely candidate, but first on our list because of his track record in making Ole Miss relevant on the national scene. Who will take on the task of reviving the program?

John Cohen speaks to the media at a news conference in March. Cohen, who had been Mississippi State's athletics director since 2016, announced Monday that ...

In many ways, MSU is a victim of our own success in that several former MSU athletics directors have transitioned into similar roles at peer institutions in the Southeastern Conference,” Keenum said. He took over at Mississippi State as the athletic director from Scott Stricklin, who left Starkville for Florida in 2016. Auburn will owe Harsin 70 percent of his remaining contract — more than $15 million — and half of that must be paid within 30 days.

With a background that includes major NCAA sanctions under his watch at Ole Miss, would the SEC welcome him back? And if not, could the league do anything to ...

Pearl coached at Tennessee from 2005-11 and was hired by Auburn in 2014. He coached Ole Miss to nine-win regular seasons in back-to-back years for the first time since 1962 and took the Rebels to four consecutive bowl games for the first time since 1971. Given his background and unceremonious exit from Ole Miss, however, the SEC might have reservations about allowing him back into its coaching ranks. A candidate whose name has come up in discussion, at least among fans, is that of [former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze](https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/college/ole-miss/2017/07/20/hugh-freeze-resigns-ole-miss-football-coach/498101001/). Some of the infractions − which included alleged academic, booster and recruiting rules violations − dated to the tenure of previous coach Houston Nutt, but most occurred under Freeze. The NCAA penalties resulted in the school vacating 33 wins over six seasons.

The previous four Auburn head coaches before Harsin led Auburn to an undefeated season or a national championship game berth.

[Wildcats](https://theathletic.com/college-football/team/arizona-wildcats-college-football/) into a good SEC program — he beat [Florida](https://theathletic.com/college-football/team/florida-gators-college-football/) and LSU last year, he’s the winningest coach in program history, and UK was a top-10 team earlier this season. He knows Auburn, he knows the South, and he knows how to recruit. [Penn State](https://theathletic.com/college-football/team/penn-state-nittany-lions-college-football/) job admirably coming out of the Jerry Sandusky scandal and NCAA penalties, going 15-9 in two years as head coach there before leaving for the Houston Texans head coaching job. [TCU](https://theathletic.com/college-football/team/tcu-horned-frogs-college-football/) and [Arkansas](https://theathletic.com/college-football/team/arkansas-razorbacks-college-football/) about their openings, although the talks didn’t go far. [Baylor](https://theathletic.com/college-football/team/baylor-bears-college-football/) offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes was Auburn’s offensive line coach on the 2010 national championship team, and he’s coached all over the country. Harsin’s 2021 team lost to [Mississippi State](https://theathletic.com/college-football/team/mississippi-state-bulldogs-college-football/) and [South Carolina](https://theathletic.com/college-football/team/south-carolina-gamecocks-college-football/). The 56-year-old has seen up close how to run a program in the Saban/Smart mold. [USC](https://theathletic.com/college-football/team/usc-trojans-college-football/) and coaching rehab stint at Alabama, winning a national championship as an assistant in 2015. Kiffin in 23-9 in two-plus years in Oxford, including 18-4 in the last year-plus and an 8-1 start this season. The environment at Auburn is a tough place to learn on the job. [Alabama](https://theathletic.com/college-football/team/alabama-crimson-tide-college-football/) with a 3-5 record, but watching Alabama rack up national championships frustrated fans. What seemed inevitable is now done, as [Auburn fired its head coach Monday](https://theathletic.com/3632019/2022/10/31/bryan-harsin-fired-auburn/), two days after a 41-27 loss to Arkansas.

Bryan Harsin's time at Auburn is done, as the school announced it would be parting with the second-year coach on Monday.

2 Tennessee in Week 10 AP Poll Top 25 rankings](https://www.dawgnation.com/football/georgia-football-ap-poll-top-25-rankings-week-10/T3TKFCKANFHM3JDY622A4Q3PXE/) [NextLane Kiffin ‘clowns’ Jimbo Fisher with Joker comment, dog’s Twitter …](https://www.dawgnation.com/football/around-the-sec/lane-kiffin-jimbo-fisher/UT2FIHMVTBEPTOJ6MNUT7T7YWM/) [Leave a Comment](#vanilla-comments) [Forum homepage](https://forum.dawgnation.com/)on DawgNation and look for “register” on the right side. Auburn is 1-7 against Georgia since Smart took over back in the 2016 season. 2 showdown with Tennessee](https://www.dawgnation.com/football/betting-line/georgia-tennessee-odds-betting/KL2QDX7D6FEELNATTDVDLLXJWI/) [Georgia football stays at No. “President Roberts made the decision after a thorough review and evaluation of all aspects of the football program,” Auburn said in a statement put out by the school. The Tigers have seen a number of players transfer out, and have struggled to attract top talent in Harsin’s time at Auburn. Georgia beat Auburn 42-10 earlier this season.

Auburn has announced that Auburn running backs coach Carnell Williams will be the interim head coach after the Tigers fired Bryan Harsin earlier on Monday.

Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter have been electric despite a weak offensive line paving the way in front of them. President Roberts made the decision after a thorough review and evaluation of all aspects of the football program. “Auburn University has decided to make a change in the leadership of the Auburn University football program.

Before Auburn tabbed Mississippi State's John Cohen as its next athletics director, the university reportedly made an offer to another sitting SEC athletics ...

That fact speaks to the growing culture of success among our student-athletes and the commitment of our university, our alumni and friends and our fans to competing at the highest levels of collegiate athletics and doing so in the right way. That figure matches the salary that Auburn will reportedly pay Cohen as its new AD. Yurachek is set to receive a new deal that will go into effect Jan. During his tenure on the Plains, which ended short of five years, Greene made $625,000 annually. “In many ways, MSU is a victim of our own success in that several former MSU athletics directors have transitioned into similar roles at peer institutions in the Southeastern Conference. Despite those efforts, Arkansas appears set to keep Yurachek with a lucrative new deal to remain in Fayetteville, Ark.

Cohen has officially resigned from MSU and is finalizing a deal with Auburn to become the next AD.

Once the Cohen news was announced, it was reported almost immediately that Hartwell had canceled his flight to meet with university officials this past weekend. Former Auburn athletic director Allen Greene stepped down from his position at the end of August. John Cohen has informed Mississippi State officials of his resignation from the school, per Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated. [REPORT: Harsin on players seeking redshirts](https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/source-bryan-harsin-is-telling-players-that-want-to-redshirt-that-they-must-enter-the-transfer-portal-or-quit-the-team) [Landen King enters the transfer portal](https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/landen-king-is-entering-the-transfer-portal) [REPORT: Auburn nearing Athletic Director hire](https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/reports-auburn-to-hire-mississippi-states-athletic-director-john-cohen-to-the-head-job-at-auburn) [Takeaways from Auburn's 41-27 loss to Arkansas](https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/five-takeaways-from-auburn-vs-arkansas-bryan-harsin) [Auburn baseball defeats Alabama in exhibition game](https://www.si.com/college/auburn/baseball/auburn-defeats-alabama-in-fall-exhibition-action) Contract details have also already been released. [met with some pushback](https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/auburn-ad-john-cohen-mississippi-state) - despite this, Auburn University president Christopher Roberts [went ahead with the decision to hire him](https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/reports-auburn-to-hire-mississippi-states-athletic-director-john-cohen-to-the-head-job-at-auburn).

Among those reportedly dismissed are offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau and tight ends coach Brad Bedell. Chief of staff Brad Larrondo and director of recruiting ...

[Forde-Yard Dash: Yormark Is Already Delivering for Big 12](https://www.si.com/college/2022/10/31/big-12-media-rights-deal-november-top-games?utm_source=recommendations&utm_medium=in-article&utm_campaign=end-of-story) [Miami’s Mario Cristobal Preparing Three QBs to Play vs. The move was reportedly finalized this weekend and is likely to become official later this week. Williams, the 2005 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, is one of the program’s more prominent alums. [expected to hire](https://www.si.com/college/2022/10/29/auburn-targeting-mississippi-state-athletic-director-john-cohen-sourceshttps://www.si.com/college/2022/10/29/auburn-targeting-mississippi-state-athletic-director-john-cohen-sourceshttps://www.si.com/college/2022/10/29/auburn-targeting-mississippi-state-athletic-director-john-cohen-sources) Mississippi State AD John Cohen for the same role. The exodus comes after Auburn announced Monday that Harsin had been fired less than two years after he took over the Tigers. Among those reportedly dismissed are offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau and tight ends coach Brad Bedell.

Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That's the Intel. This rep has the latest with 4-star senior Jeremiah Cobb.

“I hope they see how patient I am and wait for a hole to open up and wait for a crease or anything,” Cobb said. “He said he loved the way I run the ball and that he needed another back like me,” Cobb said. “It was very fun and exciting,” he said. That was the way to look at this decision last week. He was clear to note he saw the Georgia offer as a backup plan if anything went wrong with Auburn. I was just going to show them that I was interested in them after that visit by doing that.” It is hard for a linebacker to match up with him and it is hard for a safety to come down and tackle him.” “If the coaching staff stays I will definitely stay at Auburn,” he said. It just really feels like home with the atmosphere there every time I go up there to visit and see the school.” He knows when to cut and when to bounce and when to try to run over a guy and so forth. - “He doesn’t talk a lot of social media but at the end of the game he had like 225 rushing yards and three touchdowns,” MCA head coach Kirk Johnson said. - We learned of how a rival fan base taunted him and his sister in the playoffs last year, their barbs included the warning he wouldn’t make it out of the first quarter.

Williams is in his third season as the Tigers' running backs coach.

Williams also served as the running backs coach for the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). Williams’ coaching career started at Henderson State in 2015 where he was the running backs coach. Williams helped lead Auburn to an undefeated season in 2004 while earning All-America honors that year as a running back for the Tigers.

Who could be the next Auburn head coach after the school fired Bryan Harsin? Here's the early list.

It feels like a major long shot at this point, though, that Steele will get seriously in the mix for this job. That’s what Auburn will need to figure out, but it is at least worth kicking the tires on a coach who took Baylor to a Sugar Bowl. Still, Grimes is highly-regarded within the industry and would be an option if the big names say no. With Will Levis leaving for the NFL after this season, it could be the right time for Stoops to jump if he’s going to do so. The former Baylor head coach will be one of the hottest names this coaching cycle after the Carolina Panthers fired him on Oct. The former Ole Miss head coach has been mentioned for this job for years and is a popular name amongst some of the school’s most influential boosters. As someone who covered Jackson State during my time at The Clarion-Ledger, this was a program beset by dysfunction, fans lamenting about the good old days and an inability to get national attention. Harsin never seemed to fit in at the Southeastern Conference school and was subject to a much-publicized inquiry into his treatment of players and coaches in February. Watching the amazing scene in Jackson on College GameDay this weekend was a strong reminder of what Deion Sanders can do for a program. For weeks now, Freeze has been the most popular name among industry sources to end up as Auburn’s next head coach. One drawback is sources have said Kiffin doesn’t enjoy the “fishbowl” component of a small town like Oxford and he’d run into similar problems at Auburn. Cohen needs to deliver a coach who can capitalize on Auburn’s burgeoning NIL efforts and can fire up a fanbase desperate for winning after Harsin’s struggles.

Cohen, who has spent six years as Athletic Director for the Bulldogs after a long career as head baseball coach at Mississippi State (2009-2016) and Kentucky ( ...

Butch Thompson, head baseball coach and former pitching coach for Cohen at Mississippi State, wasn't aware Cohen was a candidate until the news leaked on Saturday. The same search firm that landed Cohen in Auburn, TurnkeyZRG, is also in the process of hiring an Associate AD for NIL, as well. Speaking to the Starkville Rotary Club in August, he lamented the current usage and structure of NIL while commenting on State's inadequacy at it, commenting that there were three SEC baseball programs with more NIL funding available to them than Mississippi State's entire athletics department. Cohen, who has spent six years as Athletic Director for the Bulldogs after a long career as head baseball coach at Mississippi State (2009-2016) and Kentucky (2004-2008). It's difficult to terminate any head coach with no athletic director in place to lead the search, and that holds doubly true with football. He renovated football's Davis Wade Stadium, spending $3.6M on a game-day home locker room in 2018 and upgrading the daily headquarters of MSU football in 2019, as well as building a $8M tennis pavilion and initiating plans to renovate basketball's Humphrey Coliseum.

Auburn has pulled the plug on head football coach Bryan Harsin. Here's how much the school owes him now.

[Bookmark](https://si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq) [Rankings](https://www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq/ncaa-football-rankings) [Bryan Harsin timeline at Auburn: How we got here](https://www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq/ncaa-football/auburn-football-bryan-harsin-timeline-how-we-got-here)

The heir apparent to Pat Sullivan as Auburn's quarterback in 1972, Dave Lyon injured his knee during spring practice, costing him a chance to lead the famed ...

"About 20 of them come twice a year," he said. "James Owens was a pioneer of Auburn football," Lyon said. Not only was James a great football player, James was a great person. Before the 2013 Iron Bowl, the elder Lyon, who was 91 at the time and who passed away in 2020 at the age of 98, was honored for being Auburn's oldest living football player. "It's been an honor to be part of it." He's a great friend of mine and he's deserving."

Auburn University has decided to make a change in the leadership of the Auburn University football program. President Roberts made the decision after a ...

Auburn lost 41-27 to Arkansas on Saturday to fall to 3-5 on the year and give Bryan Harsin a 9-12 record as the Tigers' head coach.

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Auburn fired head coach Bryan Harsin on Monday afternoon, leading to a colossal explosion on social media - as expected. The news was met with an array of ...

In the end, there are a multitude of numbers, data points, and not-so-fun-facts to point towards Harsin's collapse as a head coach at Auburn. It's meant to fill in the gaps. Over half (10 of 18 signees) of the 2021 class has left. They only have 10 hard commits for the 2023 class and only signed 18 last cycle (tied for second-worst in the SEC). A lot of the numbers and streaks surrounding the Tigers' 2022 failures have almost always "been the worst since 2012." On top of all of this, the Tigers have significantly struggled to hold onto the football. As of right now, Harsin's 2023 class sits at 55th nationally and dead last in the SEC. It's the first time Auburn has allowed four teams to score 40+ points on them in a single season... Add in the 41-12 loss to Penn State to make it four total on the season. Well, the Tigers are 1-4 in those games (and should be 0-5... That 3-10 record for Auburn is the worst 13-game stretch in program history since the 1928 and 1929 seasons, when Bohler went 3-11 through two years. But enough of the drama.

Former Auburn football star Darius Slayton's suggestion for the next Tigers head coach would disqualify Lane Kiffin and Matt Rhule.

It’d have every Class of 2023 recruit excited, and would entice new ones to come from the high school circuit and transfer portal. Sanders was a legend at the pro level, and would be an ace in the hole recruiting for defensive backs in the talent-rich states of Georgia and Florida as the local legend with deep-seated roots. Many Auburn football recruits, current Tigers, and former players on the Plains likely idolize ‘Prime Time’ Deion Sanders.

Here's where Auburn stands in this week's overall ranking, SEC ranking, and bowl projections from College Football News.

7 to No. Auburn will need to win at least three of its final four games in order to qualify for a bowl. The loss by the Gamecocks was bad enough for them to drop from No. 12 to No. 47 last week to No. Auburn University has decided to make a change in the leadership of the Auburn University football program.

Auburn football fans are hoping that star Pike Road Rebels running back product Quinshon Judkins follows Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin to the Plains.

[October 31, 2022] Carnell “Cadillac” Williams is now in charge, and he was running backs coach under Malzahn during Judkins’ initial recruitment. Gus Malzahn was the first collegiate coach to offer Judkins when he was running the Tigers, but Harsin didn’t do anything to sway him toward his home team.

Will Lane Kiffin jump ship from Ole Miss? Could Deion Sanders be lured to the SEC? We take a look at the coaches in the mix after Bryan Harsin's dismissal.

He would also likely bring an ability to fill his staff with coaches who may cover his perceived weakness as being a northerner coaching in the SEC. Auburn will always be a football school, but for now, the most powerful coach on campus is men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl, who said in a statement: "John has won championships at the highest level both as a coach and as an administrator and knows how to win. [and has $13 million in the bank](https://twitter.com/RossDellenger/status/1587118772887904258?s=20&t=UseINWXU-IE4_FpbO1jyHw) to put toward NIL. As would his boss, Dave Aranda, although Aranda might be reluctant to return to the SEC fishbowl. Kiffin is a savvy navigator of the transfer portal, which is another consideration [ in trying to fill a gutted roster](https://twitter.com/max_olson/status/1585389577191260160?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet). Rhule would fit the bill of an outsider, which Cohen has a precedent of hiring. And now, all eyes will be on Roberts and Cohen and how they navigate the ship as a new leadership team. The path is clear for Cohen to now conduct a coaching search as he sees fit. But on Monday, Mississippi State announced AD John Cohen’s resignation followed minutes later by Auburn announcing its dismissal of Harsin in a terse statement that didn’t even refer to the former head coach by name. Cohen is not afraid to hire an outsider, which he did twice in Starkville with Joe Moorhead and Mike Leach. First, the unsuccessful one that tried to oust Tommy Tuberville shortly before he went on to lead an undefeated season. It’s an odd end to Harsin’s tenure, including him being fired on a Monday of a gameweek, a rarity in college football.

The top leading candidates to be the next Auburn football head coach are all current head coaches at varying levels of the sport.

Further down, Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach and Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops are listed. ‘Prime Time’ being present on this list isn’t surprising considering the buzz he’s created in [talking of taking that next step](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEpC1vt4_kc) to the Power Five level. Mike Gundy 12/1