Auburn offseason teardown hinges on Iron Bowl result

An offseason teardown could come to the Auburn football program should the Tigers fail to take down the Crimson Tide during the 2023 Iron Bowl — this, at least, according to Yahoo Sports’ Jay Busbee.

“Both schools are barreling into the Iron Bowl on very different trajectories,” Busbee prefaced before saying, “Auburn, a 14.5-point underdog, is coming off one of the most stunning losses of the 2023 season, a 31-10 humiliation at the hands of New Mexico State — a loss for which Auburn also paid $1.8 million. The Tigers are bowl-eligible in their first season under head coach Hugh Freeze, but after last week still look like a teardown is necessary … unless this weekend goes well.”

More than likely, there are already decisions that have been made about the upcoming offseason based on the throttlings by Texas A&M, LSU, and most recently and most unfathomably, New Mexico State.

Auburn football set to make personnel changes to coaching staff, will recruit QB, WR, OL, DL, secondary positions the hardest

The first order of business Freeze and Co. will likely accomplish at the earliest chance possible is likely to be the dismissal of Philip Montgomery. After that, there are several positions the Tigers must focus on to fortify their depth chart in 2024.

First and foremost, a transfer portal quarterback should be on the radar. Robby Ashford is likely a goner, and Payton Thorne’s future is unclear after an up-and-down season himself. Even Holden Geriner is far from a lock to return considering he’s gotten minimal snaps under two different head coaches. Walker White is making his way to AU, but ideally, he’ll be a backup for a year as he learns the system behind a proven option.

The receiving corps is the next natural position worthy of attention given the struggles to catch the ball throughout the 2023 season. The wideout position has long been a problem on the Plains, and improving that could go a long way in winning the kind of pick ’em games Auburn has grown accustomed to losing.

Both trenches figure to see reinforcements after an underwhelming transfer haul in both groups failed to make a meaningful impact, while a depleted secondary, from the NFL and eligibility running out, will need to be reloaded.

This all to say: there’s a lot of work to be done for the Auburn football program this offseason, regardless of the Iron Bowl’s result on November 25.