Auburn football ends up landing an Ole Miss coach after all

Auburn football ended up hiring a member of the Ole Miss coaching staff after all — though it wasn’t the splashy, high-profile addition many Tiger fans were expecting up until Thanksgiving evening.

Instead of Lane Kiffin, called the leading name in the Auburn football head coaching search in the immediate aftermath of Bryan Harsin’s October 31st hiring, making the jump from Oxford to the Plains, it’s Will Friend’s offensive line coach replacement that’s coming from the Rebels coaching staff.

According to On3’s Matt Zenitz, Jake Thornton, a former Alabama graduate assistant who’s been serving as the Rebels’ offensive line coach the last two seasons, will be joining Hugh Freeze’s initial coaching staff in Auburn.

Primary Auburn football weakness could be addressed with Jake Thornton hire

Over the past two years under Bryan Harsin and co. — and truthfully, the seasons before that dating back to the late Gus Malzahn years — the offensive line has been a sore spot for Auburn football.

While Carnell “Cadillac” Williams was able to mask that with a high-octane and aggressive run game that heavily utilized Robby Ashford in designed quarterback runs during his time as interim head coach, the Tigers’ lack of protection has been holding AU back from being a true contender — or, in recent seasons, even a team in the top half of the SEC West.

Now, with a revamped coaching staff, there could be hope that the offensive trenches could be stabilized under a head coach in Hugh Freeze that is working closely with On To Victory, Auburn University’s NIL collective.

Jake Thornton just coached an offensive line that enabled Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins to lead the SEC in rushing yards during the regular season with 1,476 during the 2022 season. If Thornton could resurrect an AU offensive line that has struggled for years, he’ll provide exactly what the position has been deprived of for years.