Following Auburn football's loss at home to the Florida Gators, fingers are pointing in many directions when it comes to casting the blame. The Tigers' defense had their worst performance of the season and didn't force a punt until the fourth quarter. Byrum Brown struggled again, especially at the beginning of the game.
But analyst Paul Finebaum didn't hold back during a segment on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning when talking about who was really to blame for the Tigers' first loss of the season.
"I still like Alex Golesh a lot but I blame athletic director John Cohen for this loss," Finebaum said. "This game was lost Thanksgiving Weekend of 2025 when [Cohen's] massive ego got in the way of hiring Jon Sumrall. It should've been done. He intended to do it. Every Auburn fan was expecting it.
"An athletic director cost Auburn a football game. I thought Alex Golesh has done about as much as he could do."
It is true that Auburn came close to hiring Jon Sumrall. For a minute there back in December it was being widely reported that Sumrall to Auburn was a done deal. And of course, there are all sorts of rumors about why it didn't work out, from Cohen trying to force Sumrall to keep D.J. Durkin on the staff to Auburn not wanting to let Sumrall finish out the season with Tulane in the playoffs, and we'll never know what truly went down behind closed doors.
But at the end of the day, if Golesh isn't able to get this team looking considerably better by the end of the season, the narrative that Cohen missed on the coaching hire again will flourish, especially after his last two failed hires.
The pressure on Cohen is mounting within the fanbase, as well, after a particularly abysmal stretch in Auburn athletics. Since Cohen was hired as Athletic Director in October 2022, the Tigers have gone 6-19 in SEC play and 18-21 overall.
Finebaum went on to say that Auburn could still have a decent season, but any chance of a great season went down the drain on Saturday night with the loss to the Gators.
Golesh and his Auburn squad will have their chance to bounce back next week when they host Vanderbilt on the Plains, the final home game before they hit the road to face Tennessee and Georgia. Saturday's kickoff is set for 3:15 p.m. Central Time.
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