Cam Coleman broke many hearts in East Central Alabama on Monday when he announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal. While a return to the Auburn Tigers is theoretically on the table, the likelihood of him returning is extremely low, to put it lightly.
There are big-money suitors after Coleman. The Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies have been linked to Coleman in the immediate aftermath of his decision, with the former looking for a WR1 for Arch Manning and the latter having been the program he initially committed to out of Central (Phenix City). The Ohio State Buckeyes could also look to replace Carnell Tate with Coleman, the No. 2-ranked 2024 WR, second only to their current WR1, Jeremiah Smith.
Then, there's the nightmare scenario.
Bama Hammer's Trevion Ware relayed the possibility of Kalen DeBoer's new assistant, and notorious former Hugh Freeze confidant on the Plains, ex-AU offensive coordinator Derrick Nix, helping lure Coleman to the Alabama Crimson Tide.
"Many suspect the Crimson Tide could fit this bill and have an inside track on the Coleman sweepstakes after the recent staff addition of Auburn WR coach Derrick Nix. Nix played a key role in successfully flipping Coleman to Auburn in 2024 and coached him in his 2 seasons with the Tigers before becoming Alabama's newest receiver coach earlier this month," Ware wrote.
"Alabama is likely to be in the market for a WR or two in the Transfer Portal. Germie Bernard is out of eligibility after this season, and junior Isaiah Horton has begun to generate significant NFL Draft buzz. There's also the potential for Alabama to have its own portal attrition with guys down the depth chart."
Alabama doesn't have the money the Texas schools and OSU have. They do have the homefield advantage. Is Coleman willing to continue sacrificing bigger paydays to stay home, though? It hasn't exactly worked out so far on the more forgiving side of the state.
Hugh Freeze may end up being worse for Auburn than Bryan Harsin
If Nix somehow has something to do with facilitating Coleman ending up in Tuscaloosa, it'd be fair to say that Freeze left Auburn in a worse place than when he found it. Especially if the transfers don't stop over the next few weeks.
Of course, NIL and rev-share have a lot to do with players leaving. The program's GM and recruiting staff, and, of course, the team's financial power brokers, have more collective sway than the head coach.
It just looks like Alex Golesh has to start over, like Freeze did when he replaced Bryan Harsin. And, worse yet, Freeze's tenure was a lot more expensive, with higher expectations and more disappointing results.