The firing of Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze has led to a flurry of movement within the coaching-rumor mill, as the Tigers’ job now joins LSU, Florida and Arkansas as openings within the SEC.
And with positions of that caliber comes rumors that anybody and everybody could be involved in the coaching search, including candidates that are from within the same league.
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg listed out a handful of potential options for Auburn‘s head brass to pursue, and he included a pair of current SEC coaches as targets.
First up is Vanderbilt‘s Clark Lea, a rising prospect in the coaching ranks who has accomplished the unthinkable at Vanderbilt. Here’s Rittenberg’s analysis on Lea:
The rest of the SEC — the rest of the country, for that matter — is taking notice of Lea and what he’s doing at Vanderbilt. Lea has changed the vibe at his alma mater, traditionally an SEC/Power 4 doormat, by bringing in quarterback Diego Pavia and others from New Mexico State. Vanderbilt is off to its best start (7-2) since 1950 and earned its first AP top-10 ranking since 1947. The Commodores are in the mix for a once-unthinkable CFP appearance, which ironically could keep Lea out of candidate pools as schools will want to fill those roles. Lea, 43, isn’t looking to run away from Vanderbilt but likely understands that it will be easier to consistently contend elsewhere, and Auburn offers those resources.
Another option could be Missouri‘s Eli Drinkwitz, who has plenty of ties to Auburn given the fact that it gave him his college-coaching start in 2010 as a quality control analyst. Here’s what Rittenberg wrote about Drinkwitz’s potential candidacy:
Even after failing to land Lane Kiffin last time around, Auburn would be foolish not to assess whether any sitting SEC coaches have interest in the job. Drinkwitz, 42, has done incredible work at Missouri, winning 21 games over the past two seasons with a Cotton Bowl championship and a No. 8 finish in 2023. He has Missouri at 44-25 and recently beat Auburn in overtime. Missouri has increased its investment in football and Drinkwitz enjoys Columbia, but the program historically hasn’t competed consistently at the top of the sport. Drinkwitz should be on the radar for Florida and likely would view the Gators as a better opportunity. But Auburn has potential, too, especially for a dynamic offensive-minded coach who has proven himself in the SEC.
Auburn could offer superior resources, fan and booster support for both Lea and Drinkwitz, although it would take a lot to pull either of those two away from their current roles. They’ve each guided their respective programs to new heights and have been locked down with contract extensions in recent years.
Parker is currently the sports editor for the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
