Well, that was fast. For the 3rd time in the 2020s, Auburn is hiring a new football coach.
Hugh Freeze ultimately couldn’t weather the storm on The Plains. Whether he was doomed from the start is debatable. He certainly didn’t feel as instantly doomed as his predecessor, Bryan Harsin, but like Harsin, Freeze couldn’t make it to the end of Year 3. Struggles to beat quality foes hindered him, as did the issues in close games.
Now, a program that’s in jeopardy of suffering its 5th consecutive losing season will try to turn things around with somebody new.
Who could that be? These 5 candidates would make sense for Auburn:
Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
If Kiffin was really a Landry Kiffin iMovie away from taking the Auburn job at the end of the 2022 season, doesn’t John Cohen owe it to himself to make that call again? You bet. And while a potential Ole Miss Playoff run could complicate the timing of a potential move, remember this. Cohen, AKA the former Mississippi State athletic director, watched Kiffin’s rise at Ole Miss from across the state. He knows that he didn’t take over an ideal situation. In some ways, you could argue that Kiffin was tasked with cleaning up the final pieces of the post-Freeze mess in Oxford. The post-Freeze mess at Auburn would involve fixing an offense that has been starving for solid quarterback play. Kiffin bringing his offensive acumen to The Plains — and doing so with a play caller working with him — would be a sight for sore eyes.
Those who watched Kiffin succeed at Ole Miss know that he’s been portal-reliant, but his floor has been incredibly high. He should finish with double-digit wins for the 4th time in 5 seasons, which coincided with Auburn’s aforementioned run of losing seasons. Coincidence? Maybe, or perhaps Kiffin’s Ole Miss squad has just taken Auburn’s place within the SEC. Poaching someone on a $9 million annual salary would be quite different than the last time that Auburn stole a coach from Ole Miss. Times have changed since the Tommy Tuberville era, but for Auburn, times are certainly more desperate. Now might be as good a time as ever to finally land Kiffin.
Eli Drinkwitz, Mizzou
If there’s any sort of longing for the days of the Gus Malzahn offense at Auburn, the best person to bring that back is one of his disciples. As in, a Malzahn disciple who not only spent 2 years at Auburn as a quality control coach in 2010-11, but who also just came into Jordan-Hare and beat Freeze. Like, the guy who had his quarterback in the hospital for part of last year’s game vs. Auburn and still found a way to overcome a double-digit deficit late and win. You know, the guy who is now 27-7 the last 3 years having beaten Freeze twice. That turnaround in Year 4 was sparked by a shift to delegating play-calling duties. Having that figured out instead of the back-and-forth that has seemingly existed for the last decade-plus would be a relief.
One of the other reasons why Drinkwitz elevated Mizzou is that he found a pair of defensive coordinators who played excellent complementary football. Blake Baker (now at LSU) and Corey Batoon have both been huge additions on that side of the ball, where Mizzou has done a tremendous job adding ready-to-play transfer portal pieces. But seeing Drinkwitz’s ground game thrive vs. SEC competition should have Auburn’s decision-makers intrigued. If Drinkwitz feels like he’s taken Mizzou as far as it can go — he hasn’t indicated such a notion — then it’s not crazy to think he could be sold on a return to Auburn.
Jon Sumrall, Tulane
The overwhelming sentiment in the sport is that Sumrall is going to be a Power Conference coach in 2025, most likely in the SEC. The 43-year-old has done a phenomenal job at Troy and Tulane, where he’s won 9-11 games in his first 3 seasons as an FBS head coach. Tulane might’ve suffered a setback loss to UTSA, but there’s an overwhelming feeling that whoever wins the AAC will have a shot at the Playoff. That’s true for Sumrall, who already got Power Conference wins vs. Northwestern and Duke this season. He’s the real deal. You saw that play out with the job he did against DJ Lagway in the bowl game last year, albeit in a losing effort wherein Tulane’s depleted offense couldn’t do anything.
Sumrall is a defensive-minded head coach, but it’s worth noting that he’s having success with his 3rd different QB1 with Birmingham native Joe Craddock running the show at both programs. That could be a nice packaged deal to fix those well-documented offensive issues. Sumrall could be pursued by several SEC programs, including Arkansas and Kentucky if that job opens up. That could drive his price up, but we’re still talking about someone who is reportedly making close to $3 million annually, which is 1/3 what Kiffin and Drinkwitz are making. Perhaps that could make him a more feasible fit after agreeing to a trio of 8-figure buyouts to fired coaches in the 2020s.
Fran Brown, Syracuse
Some will scoff at the notion that Brown should be considered because Syracuse is 1-5 in ACC play. That also happened in the midst of the injury to starting quarterback Steve Angeli, and offensively, Syracuse just hasn’t found the answers. Replacing Freeze with a guy who can’t step in and immediately fix the offense might be a tough sell, though it’s worth noting that Syracuse averaged 34 points per game in Brown’s Year 1, and it had much more offensive promise with a healthy Angeli. Take that for what it is.
Brown could covet an elite offensive coordinator and give them full autonomy that would pair well with his no-nonsense style. Unlike Bryan Harsin’s no-nonsense style, Brown’s would have more credibility because it would have been paired with the SEC experience having worked on Kirby Smart‘s staff in 2022-23. You won’t have to worry about the talent acquisition aspect. The 43-year-old aggressively recruited the transfer portal and would bring a level of accountability that Auburn has been lacking. Perhaps he wouldn’t be considered the leader in the clubhouse because of the way this year has played out, but a month ago, the consensus was that Brown had a big future in store. Why can’t that be on The Plains?
Brent Key, Georgia Tech
Perhaps it’s not realistic to think that Key would leave his alma mater, who jumped out to a 6-0 start. But he’s in a situation in which he’s making just $4.5 million annually, and if he feels like the ACC is set to implode at the end of the decade once those exit fees drop, Auburn could make a real pitch. He’s certainly qualified. In Year 3 at Georgia Tech, Key has done a masterful job turning things around and creating a Playoff path. He’s had a trio of competitive games with Smart, which is the ultimate measuring stick. There’s also the Atlanta recruiting success, and he spent a decade on George O’Leary’s UCF staff, so he’s got ties in The Sunshine State, as well.
The former Alabama offensive line coach would be the first Nick Saban disciple to coach at Auburn. That’s hardly the only thing that defines his résumé, but it doesn’t hurt. He knows what it takes to win in the trenches in the SEC. Spend any amount of time watching his Georgia Tech teams and you’ll see it’s clear that he knows what it takes to win in the trenches at any level. That’s probably why since the start of 2023, he’s got as many wins vs. AP Top 25 teams (5) as the aforementioned Drinkwitz … and 4 more than Freeze (1-11). Key would deserve some rare internal alignment.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
