Since taking over as Athletic Director on the Plains, John Cohen is in the midst of his second coaching search for the Auburn Tigers football team. Cohen hired Freeze shortly after beginning his job at Auburn, and he will now choose the next leader of the Tigers.
In the three years that Freeze led the Tigers, he significantly improved the program's recruiting, but he was unable to translate that into results on the field. Unless Auburn wins out this season, it will be the fifth losing season in a row. The lack of success is almost baffling considering the level of talent that Freeze and his staff were able to amass on the Plains.
That talent, says Cohen, is the key difference between the last head football coaching search and this one. He believes that the Tigers' poor records play into the hire a lot less than the caliber of the players on the roster.
"All of a sudden, I have a pool of coaches that are saying, 'Wow, you guys are pretty (dang) talented,'" he said, per The Montgomery Advertiser. "I didn't have any coaches three years ago saying, 'You guys are really talented.' That changes the nature of a search."
Whereas Freeze arrived on the Plains with a lot of work to do in terms of improving the program from top to bottom, his successor will take over a team that has limitless potential. The Tigers have also put themselves in a good spot when it comes to NIL funds and revenue sharing, which is another attractive feature of the Auburn job.
Despite the lack of wins, the Auburn football program is not where it was three years ago, and it is a job that should have a competitive edge despite the amount of programs currently looking for a new coach.