Auburn fired coach Hugh Freeze last weekend following a desultory 10-3 home loss against Kentucky –throwing open the Tigers’ job in the middle of the one of the busier coaching carousels in recent history.
ESPN pundit Paul Finebaum has seen plenty of coaching openings in his years of observing the SEC and is of the belief that the Auburn vacancy is a quality one – albeit behind the other high-profile openings around the conference.
“This job will not rank ahead of Florida or LSU, but … this job is a gold mine,” Finebaum said Saturday on SEC Nation ahead of Auburn’s matchup at No. 16 Vanderbilt (4 p.m. ET, SEC Network).
In the conversation about the post-Freeze timeline in Auburn, ESPN reporter Pete Thamel pointed out that the next Auburn coach could have up to $30 million in Name, Image and Likeness money to construct the 2026 roster, and that athletics director John Cohen had already begun “reaching out to” potential candidates.
The Auburn vacancy is currently filled on an interim basis by DJ Durkin, the former Maryland Terrapins coach and Auburn’s defensive coordinator under Freeze since 2024. Durkin, who also served as an interim coach at Florida in 2014 following the firing of Will Muschamp, coached Maryland in 2016 and 2017 and went 10-15.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
