James Franklin, Jimbo Fisher identified as potential ‘wildcards’ in Auburn coaching search
By Mark Kern
Published:
James Franklin and Jimbo Fisher are two guys who have coached a lot of big-time football, and they are both looking to get back to a sideline in 2026.
The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman said Sunday that Franklin and Fisher are both “wildcards” for the Auburn job, which is now open after the Tigers parted ways with Hugh Freeze on Sunday.
Here’s Feldman’s analysis on Franklin, who was fired by Penn State earlier this season but has been linked to the open Virginia Tech job:
Former Penn State coach James Franklin is a top target for the Virginia Tech vacancy, but Franklin might be more intrigued by this job. Before his 12 years in Happy Valley, he worked wonders in three seasons in the SEC at Vanderbilt. This year was a nightmare at Penn State, and he was fired after losing consecutive games against Oregon, a dismal UCLA team and then Northwestern at home, but Franklin knows how to win. He led the Nittany Lions to five AP top-10 finishes.
Franklin made it known during an appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay that he hopes to be back in coaching as soon as next season.
As for Fisher, he has ties with Auburn as he was the quarterbacks coach there for six years, and he also played his college football in the state of Alabama at Samford.
Here’s what Feldman says about Fisher’s potential candidacy at Auburn:
The other intriguing option is former Texas A&M and Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher, who is now doing TV work for the ACC Network. He took the Seminoles to a national title following the 2013 season and led the Aggies to a No. 4 finish in 2020. He did get paid a boatload of money to leave College Station in 2023 after things really fizzled out there, but his 45-25 record was a lot better than anything the Tigers have been doing of late. It’s worth noting things also fell apart for him in Tallahassee late in his tenure. The 60-year-old played college football in-state at Samford, where he also started his coaching career, and he spent six seasons at Auburn as quarterbacks coach. If Fisher really wants back into coaching and Auburn is game, this might be very tempting for him.
Fisher has previously stated a desire to return to coaching.
