Charles Barkley tells Auburn fans to appreciate their coaches, stop ‘worrying’ about Alabama
By Andrew Olson
Published:
The calendar has flipped from September to October, meaning we have entered the second full month of the 2026 college football season and we’re getting close to tipoff of the 2026-27 college basketball season.
Charles Barkley has never been shy about sharing his thoughts when it comes to the two major college sports, especially the Auburn programs and their rivals. During a recent appearance on The Next Round, Barkley decided to promote Auburn‘s coaches when asked about rival combos of Alabama‘s Kalen DeBoer and Nate Oats as well as Florida’s Jon Sumrall and Todd Golden.
Charles Barkley:
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) September 30, 2026
"I think one of the weaknesses of Auburn, and it's always been a weakness, we spend so much time worrying about what's happening in Tuscaloosa, we don't appreciate how good of a school we've got." pic.twitter.com/m9S73zMyA9
In his answer, Barkley shared a message to Auburn fans.
“I’m happy with Alex (Golesh),” Barkley told the show. “… See I’m not one of them loser Auburn fans who worry about what other people are doing.
“I always support our team no matter what. I think one of the weaknesses of Auburn, and it’s always been a weakness, we spend so much time worrying about what’s happening in Tuscaloosa. We don’t appreciate how good a school we got.”
Barkley knows that Auburn has plenty of ground to catch up, but he maintains a positive out look for his alma mater.
“We got to get better in football. I love our coach,” Barkley said. “… I ask people who know, they love our coach. I mean, all the guys at ESPN, they’re like, you guys got a winner there.”
Auburn has one of the younger pairs of head football coach and head men’s basketball coach. Barkley called on Auburn fans to be patient and appreciative.
“You just got to give him some time and be patient,” Barkley said. “But we spend way too much time worrying about what’s happening over in Tuscaloosa instead of appreciating what we got down at Auburn. I mean, dude, we’ve been to the Final Four twice in the last few years.
“You know, we won the NIT last year. So our basketball program has been doing fine. I like Steve (Pearl) and Bruce (Pearl) did a hell of a job, but hey, listen, Sumrall’s a hell of a coach too, but I’m happy with our coaches, man. We’re going to be fine.”
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaign of Fred Taylor.
