Coaching carousel 2025-26

[DzynKingRTR]

So does Cohen wait until after a loss to Vandy to pull the plug on Freeze? I think they have a bye the week before Mercer. It would give Auburn an extra week (and most likely DJ Durkin) a chance to get their “ducks in a row”.

7-1 Mercer. How funny would it be if they lost to Mercer?

 

[arthurdawg]

The irony of the Auburn Fambly hiring DJ Durkin after Hugh Freeze is off the charts.

One guy hired 'escorts' and the other's actions led to the death of a player.

So just like them from start to finish.

 

[CrimSonami]

So does Cohen wait until after a loss to Vandy to pull the plug on Freeze? I think they have a bye the week before Mercer. It would give Auburn an extra week (and most likely DJ Durkin) a chance to get their “ducks in a row”.

He’s done. I previously predicted he’d be sent packing during the bye week but after last nights pathetic showing he prolly won’t make it passed today.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

I’ll personally be stunned if they let him go before the IB. I swear, I think all he has to do for at least a one year extension is figure out some way to win that one. The barn will give him that chance.

Regardless of who's the barn's coach, we're in for a dogfight.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Rev is already preparing for us, and that it played into their performance last night. Remember in 2023 when they got smacked by New Mexico State (and Diego Pavia) 31-10 the week before playing us down to the wire? They clearly didn't spend an hour preparing for NMS....they spent the entire two weeks on us.

I expect a repeat, only more extreme. Today, they're 4-5, 1-5 in the SEC. After Vandy, they'll probably be 4-6 / 1-6. Then Mercer. Should be a W, but if they're preparing for us, it could be closer than anticipated.

So likely 5-6 / 1-6 headed into the Alabama game at home. They'll be on the emotional high of a lifetime. If they get momentum early, it could snowball on us. But those emotions will also be brittle. As in, if they encounter adversity, especially early, they could fold.

If the Rev is still their coach, he'll be fighting for 6-6 with a win over us, and probably another year on the payroll. If he isn't their coach, the interim guy will be coaching for the permanent job. Either way, it'll be a dogfight.

 

[CrimSonami]

If the Rev is still their coach, he'll be fighting for 6-6 with a win over us, and probably another year on the payroll. If he isn't their coach, the interim guy will be coaching for the permanent job. Either way, it'll be a dogfight.

It’s obvious Rev-Sleeze has been prepping for the IB already. That’s the awbarn way and his personal MO. But at some point even the fambly has to come to grips they can’t grow out of the little brother syndrome by periodic IB wins alone.

 

[81usaf92]

The barn has no good options.

If they fire the Rev, they are looking for a replacement in maybe the worst year ever to be looking for a coach. If they don't fire him, they're keeping a guy who is clearly in over his head.

Rev made his entire reputation on (1) beating us twice in a row, and (2) openly flouting the NCAA rules that really did exist at the time.

The first win against us was absolutely earned. The second was a confluence of our mistakes, miracle plays and officials' mistakes on the OL downfield. And we still had a chance at the end.

Freeze's recruiting tactics involved paying players and making no effort to hide it. Now that that's legal, it's no longer an advantage over the opposition -- they're doing it too.

He has whined, thrown players under the bus, and proven that his ostensible expertise on offense and QB development is non-existent.

Bad manager. Inept offensive coaching. QB moves 9 weeks into the season that reek of desperation. Blaming players. Recruiting used to be easy when he was doing stuff nobody else was doing (at least not to the degree that he did.... I'm under no illusions that anybody in the top levels of college football was truly clean).

Now, he has to sell his program in addition to write checks, and that's tough when you look like this.

But who do you get that represents an unquestioned upgrade? Other candidates are signing extensions fast, have just been fired themselves, or have big risks attached -- namely never having been a head coach at this level....or in some cases, never having been a head coach at all.

Like I said, the barn doesn't have any good options regarding the good Reverend.

The worst thing that could happen to the Barn long term is for Freeze to coach the IB. I’m really not sure how he survives the Kentucky loss but with Lashlee signing a major extension who would be the logical target with so many replacements at much better jobs out there. Jimbo fisher has been sending feelers but would they really go that route

 

[jthomas666]

The irony of the Auburn Fambly hiring DJ Durkin after Hugh Freeze is off the charts.

One guy hired 'escorts' and the other's actions led to the death of a player.

So just like them from start to finish.

So Brian Kelly might be in the mix?

 

[81usaf92]

It’s obvious Rev-Sleeze has been prepping for the IB already. That’s the awbarn way and his personal MO. But at some point even the fambly has to come to grips they can’t grow out of the little brother syndrome by periodic IB wins alone.

I’m not so sure. From what I’ve been hearing Freeze is to the point that he doesn’t care about whether they fire him or keep him.

 

[RammerJammer14]

The barn has no good options.

If they fire the Rev, they are looking for a replacement in maybe the worst year ever to be looking for a coach. If they don't fire him, they're keeping a guy who is clearly in over his head.

Rev made his entire reputation on (1) beating us twice in a row, and (2) openly flouting the NCAA rules that really did exist at the time.

The first win against us was absolutely earned. The second was a confluence of our mistakes, miracle plays and officials' mistakes on the OL downfield. And we still had a chance at the end.

Freeze's recruiting tactics involved paying players and making no effort to hide it. Now that that's legal, it's no longer an advantage over the opposition -- they're doing it too.

He has whined, thrown players under the bus, and proven that his ostensible expertise on offense and QB development is non-existent.

Bad manager. Inept offensive coaching. QB moves 9 weeks into the season that reek of desperation. Blaming players. Recruiting used to be easy when he was doing stuff nobody else was doing (at least not to the degree that he did.... I'm under no illusions that anybody in the top levels of college football was truly clean).

Now, he has to sell his program in addition to write checks, and that's tough when you look like this.

But who do you get that represents an unquestioned upgrade? Other candidates are signing extensions fast, have just been fired themselves, or have big risks attached -- namely never having been a head coach at this level....or in some cases, never having been a head coach at all.

Like I said, the barn doesn't have any good options regarding the good Reverend.

It might be in their best interest to fire Hugh, tread water for a year by naming an assistant as HC, then try again in a year or two for a better coach.

They really are in a jam because at this point Freeze is a huge toxic leadership drain on the program (i hear you, I mean more than he usually is). That will cause rot that might take years to undo. But at this point, this is the worst time to try to hire a coach as a mid-level program you could possibly have. And we likely aren’t done with the firings yet this season (looking at you Florida State, UNC, etc).

 

[CrimSonami]

I’m not so sure. From what I’ve been hearing Freeze is to the point that he doesn’t care about whether they fire him or keep him.

Ya know, I got that feeling from his post game interview last night. And I wouldn’t blame him for that. If his health is failing like some say then go ahead and leave. Drop the stress and live a better life while you can.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

If they fire the Rev, they are looking for a replacement in maybe the worst year ever to be looking for a coach. If they don't fire him, they're keeping a guy who is clearly in over his head.

Rev made his entire reputation on (1) beating us twice in a row, and (2) openly flouting the NCAA rules that really did exist at the time.

The first win against us was absolutely earned. The second was a confluence of our mistakes, miracle plays and officials' mistakes on the OL downfield. And we still had a chance at the end.

Even in 2014, we beat them everywhere except the scoreboard. Penalties and turnovers lost that one.
And had a chance at the end that year, too (Blake throwing the pick into the end zone).

Freeze's recruiting tactics involved paying players and making no effort to hide it. Now that that's legal, it's no longer an advantage over the opposition -- they're doing it too.

I think the other thing that did him in was the addition of the 8th official in 2015. It didn't help us in our game, maybe because the concept had just started, but it's no accident that the moment he (and Malzahn) couldn't get away with long developing plays where a lineman downfield wasn't called, neither one was all that great.

But who do you get that represents an unquestioned upgrade? Other candidates are signing extensions fast, have just been fired themselves, or have big risks attached -- namely never having been a head coach at this level....or in some cases, never having been a head coach at all.

Like I said, the barn doesn't have any good options regarding the good Reverend.

Now let's just go with the brutal part nobody in West Georgia wants to hear: when was Auburn ever a go-to job in the first place? When was the school EVER anything but an annual 8-4 squad albeit wilder than anyone else?

Tommy Tuberville, quite frankly, owes his US Senate seat to Mike DuBose, the Albert Means scandal, and Franchione flying the coop. That and Ole Miss deciding Ed Orgeron was an upgrade from David Cutcliffe. Sure, he had a .680 winning percentage at Auburn. But that wasn't substantially better than any Auburn coach not named Doug Barfield, and Barfield's team served a brutal probation for violations committed in 1974 under Jordan. Barfield also had to compete annually against 3 national championship winning coaches in a ten-team SEC while crippled with sanctions.

Pat Dye was one of the possible replacements for Coach Bryant and - pants in the river and payment to players aside - was in my view a very good coach. Terry Bowden's OVERALL record is marred by the fact his first two seasons he could be as reckless as he wished because an undefeated season meant nothing with sanctions. But he also deserves credit for turning the ship around, too. And that brings us to Tuberville.

And then ask this question: would you rather have Chizik's .634 but a national championship banner that flies forever - or Tuberville's .680? Would you rather have Malzahn's .660 with some wins over powerhouse Alabama and a close call national title or Tuberville's .680? And then remember this: Tuberville's record at Auburn (I'll exclude his first year with the Bowden trauma to be fair) from 1999-2003 was 33-18. Chizik's record in his four years was 33-19 but included a national championship.

Tuberville was nothing but Chizik without the title - so much so that Jetgate happened. Then Tubs became a victim and successful. Of course, his success occurred.....let's see:

- with Alabama deep in the throes of a crippling probation
- with MSU deep in the throes of a pretty bad one
- with Kentucky on probation
- Saban leaving LSU after a questionable loss to Auburn in September 2004
- Florida having that incompetent Ron Zook running things
- Ole Miss firing Cutcliffe and hiring Orgeron

All those things happen and boom.....Tuberville goes 33-5 over three seasons. Auburn fans tell us how he beat Urban Meyer in their 2006 title season. Ok, he did - he also got blown off the field by (wait for it) HOUSTON NUTT (if you're gonna use that argument). Tuberville's success was due almost entirely to the fact half of the SEC teams had serious problems either with the NCAA or the coaches they hired (or both).

AUBURN WINNING PCT SINCE 1951 (SEC PCT IN BRACKETS)
Terry Bowden .730 (.677)
Pat Dye .704 (.505)
Tommy Tuberville .680 (.625)
Shug Jordan .675 (.593)
Gus Malzahn .660 (.584)
Gene Chizik .634 (.468)
Doug Barfield .536 (.516)


ETA: I realize I haven't included the last 5 seasons - but note that everyone considers Harsin a disastrous hire anyway - and we all know why Freeze got the job, we're looking at the next coach expectation.

I know taking an average of coaches across 75 years of football is a tad bit specious because A LOT of things have changed since 1951 about college football. But basically, Auburn's coaches average a .657 overall winning percentage (8.5 wins a year in a 13-game season) and an SEC winning percentage of .566 in SEC games. That includes a couple of Hall of Fame coaches, a couple of also-rans, and three in-between guys.

In short, Auburn is a coaching job that is expecting to hire a national championship winning coach but always has been and always will be an 8-5 team on average.

The mental problem they have right now is that those old enough to remember when Tuberville had that solid run for 3 years think that was some sort of baseline performance when in reality it was about the best that could be expected and was aided by external factors that no longer exist.

 

[The Ols]

Lashlee signs new contract putting him in top 10 paid coaches; another one off the table.

He’s happier that he doesn’t have to go to Auburn than he is about his brinks truck haul!!!

 

[arthurdawg]

So Brian Kelly might be in the mix?

He'd be perfect... A big fat immoral phony...

 

[The Ols]

The barn has no good options.

If they fire the Rev, they are looking for a replacement in maybe the worst year ever to be looking for a coach. If they don't fire him, they're keeping a guy who is clearly in over his head.

Rev made his entire reputation on (1) beating us twice in a row, and (2) openly flouting the NCAA rules that really did exist at the time.

The first win against us was absolutely earned. The second was a confluence of our mistakes, miracle plays and officials' mistakes on the OL downfield. And we still had a chance at the end.

Freeze's recruiting tactics involved paying players and making no effort to hide it. Now that that's legal, it's no longer an advantage over the opposition -- they're doing it too.

He has whined, thrown players under the bus, and proven that his ostensible expertise on offense and QB development is non-existent.

Bad manager. Inept offensive coaching. QB moves 9 weeks into the season that reek of desperation. Blaming players. Recruiting used to be easy when he was doing stuff nobody else was doing (at least not to the degree that he did.... I'm under no illusions that anybody in the top levels of college football was truly clean).

Now, he has to sell his program in addition to write checks, and that's tough when you look like this.

But who do you get that represents an unquestioned upgrade? Other candidates are signing extensions fast, have just been fired themselves, or have big risks attached -- namely never having been a head coach at this level....or in some cases, never having been a head coach at all.

Like I said, the barn doesn't have any good options regarding the good Reverend.

S.N.A.S.S. at it’s absolute finest!!!
Please pass the Charmin, I feel a tear coming on…

 

[81usaf92]

Even in 2014, we beat them everywhere except the scoreboard. Penalties and turnovers lost that one.
And had a chance at the end that year, too (Blake throwing the pick into the end zone).





I think the other thing that did him in was the addition of the 8th official in 2015. It didn't help us in our game, maybe because the concept had just started, but it's no accident that the moment he (and Malzahn) couldn't get away with long developing plays where a lineman downfield wasn't called, neither one was all that great.




Now let's just go with the brutal part nobody in West Georgia wants to hear: when was Auburn ever a go-to job in the first place? When was the school EVER anything but an annual 8-4 squad albeit wilder than anyone else?

Tommy Tuberville, quite frankly, owes his US Senate seat to Mike DuBose, the Albert Means scandal, and Franchione flying the coop. That and Ole Miss deciding Ed Orgeron was an upgrade from David Cutcliffe. Sure, he had a .680 winning percentage at Auburn. But that wasn't substantially better than any Auburn coach not named Doug Barfield, and Barfield's team served a brutal probation for violations committed in 1974 under Jordan. Barfield also had to compete annually against 3 national championship winning coaches in a ten-team SEC while crippled with sanctions.

Pat Dye was one of the possible replacements for Coach Bryant and - pants in the river and payment to players aside - was in my view a very good coach. Terry Bowden's OVERALL record is marred by the fact his first two seasons he could be as reckless as he wished because an undefeated season meant nothing with sanctions. But he also deserves credit for turning the ship around, too. And that brings us to Tuberville.

And then ask this question: would you rather have Chizik's .634 but a national championship banner that flies forever - or Tuberville's .680? Would you rather have Malzahn's .660 with some wins over powerhouse Alabama and a close call national title or Tuberville's .680? And then remember this: Tuberville's record at Auburn (I'll exclude his first year with the Bowden trauma to be fair) from 1999-2003 was 33-18. Chizik's record in his four years was 33-19 but included a national championship.

Tuberville was nothing but Chizik without the title - so much so that Jetgate happened. Then Tubs became a victim and successful. Of course, his success occurred.....let's see:

- with Alabama deep in the throes of a crippling probation
- with MSU deep in the throes of a pretty bad one
- with Kentucky on probation
- Saban leaving LSU after a questionable loss to Auburn in September 2004
- Florida having that incompetent Ron Zook running things
- Ole Miss firing Cutcliffe and hiring Orgeron

All those things happen and boom.....Tuberville goes 33-5 over three seasons. Auburn fans tell us how he beat Urban Meyer in their 2006 title season. Ok, he did - he also got blown off the field by (wait for it) HOUSTON NUTT (if you're gonna use that argument). Tuberville's success was due almost entirely to the fact half of the SEC teams had serious problems either with the NCAA or the coaches they hired (or both).

AUBURN WINNING PCT SINCE 1951 (SEC PCT IN BRACKETS)
Terry Bowden .730 (.677)
Pat Dye .704 (.505)
Tommy Tuberville .680 (.625)
Shug Jordan .675 (.593)
Gus Malzahn .660 (.584)
Gene Chizik .634 (.468)
Doug Barfield .536 (.516)


ETA: I realize I haven't included the last 5 seasons - but note that everyone considers Harsin a disastrous hire anyway - and we all know why Freeze got the job, we're looking at the next coach expectation.

I know taking an average of coaches across 75 years of football is a tad bit specious because A LOT of things have changed since 1951 about college football. But basically, Auburn's coaches average a .657 overall winning percentage (8.5 wins a year in a 13-game season) and an SEC winning percentage of .566 in SEC games. That includes a couple of Hall of Fame coaches, a couple of also-rans, and three in-between guys.

In short, Auburn is a coaching job that is expecting to hire a national championship winning coach but always has been and always will be an 8-5 team on average.

The mental problem they have right now is that those old enough to remember when Tuberville had that solid run for 3 years think that was some sort of baseline performance when in reality it was about the best that could be expected and was aided by external factors that no longer exist.

Auburn is a job that Lane Kiffin and Kirby Smart turned down without Jimmy Sexton’s approval

 

[JustNeedMe81]

Regardless of who's the barn's coach, we're in for a dogfight.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Rev is already preparing for us, and that it played into their performance last night. Remember in 2023 when they got smacked by New Mexico State (and Diego Pavia) 31-10 the week before playing us down to the wire? They clearly didn't spend an hour preparing for NMS....they spent the entire two weeks on us.

I expect a repeat, only more extreme. Today, they're 4-5, 1-5 in the SEC. After Vandy, they'll probably be 4-6 / 1-6. Then Mercer. Should be a W, but if they're preparing for us, it could be closer than anticipated.

So likely 5-6 / 1-6 headed into the Alabama game at home. They'll be on the emotional high of a lifetime. If they get momentum early, it could snowball on us. But those emotions will also be brittle. As in, if they encounter adversity, especially early, they could fold.

If the Rev is still their coach, he'll be fighting for 6-6 with a win over us, and probably another year on the payroll. If he isn't their coach, the interim guy will be coaching for the permanent job. Either way, it'll be a dogfight.

I don't think Freeze has that luxury this year. To be ability to plan ahead for Alabama game knowing he's likely getting fired each week. not only that.. offense is nonexistent with the three qbs they have.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

The worst thing that could happen to the Barn long term is for Freeze to coach the IB. I’m really not sure how he survives the Kentucky loss but with Lashlee signing a major extension who would be the logical target with so many replacements at much better jobs out there. Jimbo fisher has been sending feelers but would they really go that route

I hope Lashlee becomes a superstar HC but stays at SMU and AU just has to watch when they could have given him a shot instead of making a deal with the devil just to try and beat CNS.

The whole ordeal is delicious.

 

[81usaf92]

Per many sources Hugh Freeze is out. Rodney Orr is saying it and so is most reliable Barn insiders

 

[AlistarWills]

Per many sources Hugh Freeze is out. Rodney Orr is saying it and so is most reliable Barn insiders

Cole Cubelic seems to be tossing hints on social media.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Per many sources Hugh Freeze is out. Rodney Orr is saying it and so is most reliable Barn insiders

Mike Shula is officially looking for a job. Maybe the barn should give him a shot.