The Auburn Tigers have been on a negative downslope since firing Gus Malzahn in 2020. So negative, in fact, that it evokes the Nebraska Cornhuskers' situation: desperate to retain an 18-15 Matt Rhule from being poached by the Penn State Nittany Lions after firing Bo Pelini following a 9-3 record in 2014. Nebraska has a 57-73 record since Pelini's firing.
USA Today's Blake Toppmeyer believes that making a hire like Tulane Green Wave head coach Jon Sumrall, who's all but assuredly ending up on the Plains, or Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key, could help the Orange and Blue go down the Big Red track.
Toppmeyer made a fantastic point about how shameful it is that the Ole Miss Rebels could make an expanded 12-team College Football Playoff before Auburn, and that the AU Tigers should have at least comparable success to Eli Drinkwitz's Missouri Tigers.
"Imagine learning in 2010, when Cam Newton crawled under the skin of Alabama fans, and Auburn was not only the loveliest but also the happiest village on the Plains, that a playoff system would arrive within a few years and Ole Miss would qualify before Auburn did," Toppmeyer prefaced before saying, "Careful, Auburn, because it’s a slippery slope toward Nebraska."
"First you’re firing 9-3 Frank Solich, then you’re toiling through misery with Bill Callahan, Mike Riley and Scott Frost, with a gulp of air supplied by Bo Pelini in between, and, next thing you know, you’re scrambling to extend the contract of a coach who’s barely above .500, because, hey, at least Matt Rhule’s not a complete failure.
"Auburn desperately needs a course correct to yank itself off the Nebraska path toward prolonged mediocrity. Auburn remains a competitively resourced program, backed by one of the most loyal fan bases and active donors, residing in fertile recruiting terrain. If Missouri can be 8-3, I can’t think of a reason Auburn should be 5-6."
Jon Sumrall could break string of bad Group of 5 hires
Sumrall could end the post-COVID-19 season trend in Auburn of hiring a Group of 5 coach coming off a good run who either can't recruit or can't coach X's and O's. His success with the Green Wave in the NIL era, and in an improved American Conference, is more impressive than what Hugh Freeze or Bryan Harsin had accomplished coming in from the Liberty Flames or Boise State Broncos.
Sumrall has won at Tulane and with the Troy Trojans, hardly NIL spending powers. If Auburn retains the talented roster brought in over the past few years, he'll have access to by far the most talented roster he's ever had.
If what he brings from an X's and O's and culture perspective translates to AU, the Tigers may finally emerge from their worst era of football since right after World War II ended.