Anonymous survey: 10 current, former Auburn staffers on who they’d target for Tigers’ coaching opening

New Auburn athletic director John Cohen is 11 days into the process of finding Auburn’s next football coach. Will the replacement for Bryan Harsin be Lane Kiffin? Could it be Hugh Freeze? Or someone else?

Too soon to tell.

In the meantime, On3 wanted to take a different approach in an attempt to further identify the top fits and best options for the opening. No one knows Auburn better than those with actual experience at Auburn, so we decided to ask some current and former Tigers staffers and administrators a question: If you were responsible for making the hire, who would you target?

Of the 10 people we talked to (eight coaches and other team staffers, two administrators), some threw out one primary name while others had a list of as many as four coaches.

Here are the coaches who received the most votes.

Liberty coach Hugh Freeze

Number of votes: Five
In his fourth season at Liberty, Freeze has the Flames 8-1 and ranked 19^th in the AP poll. The loss was by one point at Wake Forest.

“We’ve seen what happens when you hire someone who doesn’t fit culturally in Harsin, and Hugh fits,” one coach said. “Plus, he’s won games everywhere he’s been, including some in the SEC before. And he’s beaten Saban.”

Before being fired at Ole Miss in 2017, Freeze had the Rebels ranked at different portions in each of the previous four seasons, including as high as No. 3 in 2014 and ’15.

“Hugh obviously has his issues,” a former Auburn staffer said, “but he could handle those guys and has the offensive scheme that is proven in the SEC to win.”

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin

Number of votes: Four
The buzz: Kiffin, who was 3-0 against Auburn as Alabama’s offensive coordinator from 2014 to ’16, has guided Ole Miss to an 18-3 regular-season record in the past two seasons at Ole Miss. That includes an 8-1 mark this season for the Rebels, who are No. 11 in the College Football Playoff rankings.

“I think he brings probably the second-most important aspect to the Auburn hire, which is the ability to develop a quarterback,” a coach said. “He knows what it means to be at Auburn and who you have to beat. And he has knowledge of how the top-tier programs are supposed to be run and the resources that are needed to keep them that way.”

Oregon coach Dan Lanning

Number of votes: Three
The buzz: Lanning, who has worked in the SEC as Georgia’s defensive coordinator and as an analyst at Alabama, is 8-1 in his first season at Oregon. The Ducks have won eight in a row since a season-opening loss to Georgia and are No. 6 in the CFP rankings.

“Dan is extremely organized, and has the personality to handle the powers that be and fits the Auburn culture,” a former Auburn staffer said.

Lanning also has a $14 million buyout if he departs the Ducks for another job before February. Lanning said Monday that he’s not interested in leaving Oregon.

“I think there’s a little bit of a problem in our society today with people looking for what’s next and where there’s an opportunity, and the reality is the grass is not always greener,” Lanning said. “In fact, the grass is damn green in Eugene, and I want to be here in Eugene for as long as Eugene will have me.”

Auburn interim coach Cadillac Williams

Number of votes: Three
The buzz: Williams, a former Auburn star running back who played seven seasons in the NFL, was elevated to interim coach following Harsin’s firing. Williams had been Auburn’s running backs coach since 2019, first under Gus Malzahn and then the past two seasons under Harsin. Of the three people with Williams among their top choices, two are current members of Auburn’s staff. One of them listed three reasons for mentioning Williams.

“The way the team has rallied around him since he took over, loves Auburn and can connect in recruiting,” he said.

In Williams’ first game as interim coach, the Tigers overcame a 21-point deficit against Mississippi State before losing 39-33 in overtime.

“Auburn needs an Auburn man,” said a former Tigers staffer who voted for Williams.

Baylor OC Jeff Grimes

Number of votes: Two
The buzz: Grimes was the offensive line coach for Auburn’s 2010 national championship team. He also has recent experience in the SEC as LSU’s offensive line coach (2014-17). In his two seasons at Baylor, he has helped the Bears post an 18-5 record, including 12-2 last season, after finishing 2-7 in 2020. Before Baylor, he was BYU’s OC for three seasons, including for the Cougars’ 11-1 team in 2020 that tied for third nationally in scoring offense.

“I think publicly Lane would provide this place a lot of attention and make this an entertaining school for recruiting and ESPN, but for me I’d want someone who would have a process and a steady approach,” a coach said. “Grimes would be more of that presence.”

Others who received votes: Baylor coach Dave Aranda (two votes), former Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule (two), Kentucky coach Mark Stoops (two), Georgia running backs coach Dell McGee (one), UCF DC Travis Williams (one).