On January 10, 2011, Kodi Burns was on the receiving end of a 35-yard touchdown pass from Cam Newton to help No. 1 Auburn get on the board against No. 2 Oregon in the BCS National Championship Game. The Tigers would go on and win the game 22-19.
Nearly 15 years later, Burns is hoping to help lead the Tigers back to competing for titles as a member of Alex Golesh’s first staff on the Plains.
“Kodi got the phone call at 2 a.m. and man, you talk about excited,” Golesh said during his introductory press conference. “All Kodi’s talked about since the day that he joined our staff six years ago is how incredible this place is and what Auburn University has meant to his life.
The 36-year-old Burns served as Golesh's assistant head coach, co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach during the 2025 season. It will be his third return to Auburn, first serving as a graduate assistant under Gus Malzahn in 2013.
If anyone knows the ups and downs at Auburn, it is Burns, who started his career on the Plains as a highly touted quarterback recruit out of Fort Smith, Ark. Despite being the first freshman to start at quarterback for the Tigers since Gabe Gross in 1998 and coming out as a 4-star prospect, he never excelled at the position, later switching to wide receiver.
Burns first connected with Golesh at Tennessee in 2021, where the latter was in his first year as the Volunteers' offensive coordinator. Now, he's back home and looking to restore pride in a program that has lost it over the past five seasons.
Golesh is relying on Burns' passion for Auburn.
"A lot of years of stories of playing here and playing there and what this stadium is like day in and day out," the head coach said. "Kodi is going to be our associate head coach. Kodi’s been by my side for so long and is as incredible as they come as a teammate for me and for our staff. He’s an elite teacher, elite man and an elite football coach. So, you talk about a guy that is happy to be here, I’m beyond excited to be able to be a part of bringing Kodi back home and he’ll have pointers for me forever."
There's no better guy that Golesh could have by his side.