We are just over a week out from Hugh Freeze's firing as the head coach of the Auburn football program, but the Auburn Athletic Department is already working hard on the search for the next leader of the program.
While the official hire will not be made until after the end of the regular season, there are additional complications with the post-season games that some coaching candidates may be involved with. Still, conversations are happening, and Auburn Athletic Director John Cohen provided an update on the search.
“We have probably had conversations with 7 or 8 sitting head coaches. We’ll get that number down. I would love to have a head coach within 24 hours after the Iron Bowl is over. Is that possible? I don’t know. The reason I don’t know that is because I don’t know how our candidates’ seasons are going to progress over the next three weeks,” Cohen said, per AL.com.
“That’s kind of the X factor for us. That’s my goal and the reason that’s my goal is that our players need to know who their leader is going to be. We need to know what the portal is going to look like. We need to have a nice early signing period for our high school players.”
After two back-to-back top 10 recruiting classes, Freeze's successor will have big shoes to fill in the recruiting department, and the various staffing hires have the potential to help or hinder progress in that department.
Cohen went on to say that the next coach on the Plains will have to be a person that fits Auburn and fits Auburn's needs, and that he believes more will be revealed over the next three weeks.
The Tigers have a bye this weekend before hosting Mercer on the Plains on November 22.