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AD on Auburn football hiring: ‘There was going to be criticism, no matter who we hired’

By Andrew Hughes

Auburn University Athletic Director John Cohen said that there was going to be criticism no matter who ended up in the Auburn football head coaching seat Mandatory Credit: The Montgomery Advertiser
Auburn University Athletic Director John Cohen said that there was going to be criticism no matter who ended up in the Auburn football head coaching seat Mandatory Credit: The Montgomery Advertiser /
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John Cohen knew coming in as the 16th Director of Athletics at Auburn University that he’d have to make what would be a highly scrutinized Auburn football head coaching hire upon the firing of Bryan Harsin.

Many of the names most frequently linked to the Tigers job besides eventual hire Hugh Freeze also had controversial backgrounds. Lane Kiffin had infidelity-related skeletons in his closet from his Tuscaloosa days and Deion Sanders was accused of trying to get a victim to not submit a police report about sex crimes his pastor committed. Given the local media’s coverage of Freeze’s hiring, it’s fair to wonder if anyone would have been dealt a similar hand.

While speaking to AL.com’s Nubyjas Wilborn for a sitdown interview, Cohen shared that sentiment:

"“It’s obvious in today’s society that negative gets you more. I didn’t want that to be one of the decision-makers for me. There was going to be some form of criticism, no matter who we hired at Auburn. But, knowing what I know, the amount of work we put into our background check, and the amount of work we did getting to know Hugh in every way, I felt very comfortable with the decision.”"

Auburn football head coach Hugh Freeze has shifted narrative since being hired

All anyone talked about in the days following Freeze’s hire was his off-field transgressions, but since, he has forced the conversation to focus on whether or not Auburn football could be the next TCU in 2023 — going from 5-7 to the College Football Playoff in one year.

Perhaps that’s too lofty of a goal considering how far behind recruiting was before Freeze got to the Plains, but his work on the trail has gotten many facing that direction and away from his controversial past.

That past will be brought up again, almost certainly when the Tigers host Ole Miss in October. But there’s more optimistic conversations to be had now because of Freeze’s redemption arc reaching a high point in his first few weeks recruiting.

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