Auburn coaches mourn passing of longtime AU reporter Phillip Marshall
By Andrew Olson
Published:
The Auburn family is mourning the passing of Phillip Marshall. Auburn Undercover, Marshall’s most recent outlet, shared the sad news on Friday.
Marshall, whose career began in 1969, covered Auburn sports for decades. He spent 17 years at The Huntsville Times as an SEC reporter and columnist before helping launch Auburn Undercover in 2008. Other stops for Marshall include the Huntsville News, Birmingham Post-Herald and Tuscaloosa News. He was also a former sports editor of the Montgomery Advertiser and Decatur Daily.
Notable coaches and commentators are among those who remembered Marshall upon hearing of his passing.
Former Auburn coaches Bruce Pearl and Hugh Freeze posted on social media.
Devastated to hear about the passing of Phillip Marshall. He was an Auburn legend and someone I loved getting to know. pic.twitter.com/x6px6GVXok
— Hugh Freeze (@CoachHughFreeze) January 31, 2026
Nathan King of Auburn Undercover spoke to many Auburn sports figures who knew Marshall, including Gus Malzahn, Terry Bowden, Butch Thompson and Paul Finebaum.
Me and Kristi are heartbroken to hear of Phillip’s passing,” Malzahn told King. “In my 11 years at Auburn, we developed quite the relationship. Phillip was always fair in his reporting and defiantly loved Auburn.”
“You absolutely knew when Phillip Marshall was in the room! His presence always had impact,” Thompson told Auburn Undercover. “By the time we met he had an army of people who wanted his take on their Auburn experience. Our best conversations centered around his love of family. Appreciate you, my friend.”
“I was fortunate to get to know Phillip quite well during my time at Auburn,” Bowden said. “He covered every game and was always professional and fair in his reporting. But what I liked the most is that we could close the door once in a while and talk off the record about almost anything. I am so glad I was able to revisit those great days on Auburn Undercover this past season. See you down the road Phillip.”
“Phillip was not only among the very best sportswriters in the state’s history, but among the most influential who ever lived,” Finebaum told King. “He carried himself always with great dignity and his loss is incalculable.
Marshall was twice named Alabama Sportswriter of the Year and recognized in 2022 as a “legend” by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. He was 76.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
