Auburn’s new athletic director John Cohen has been in the job for just over a week, and according to ESPN write Pete Thamel he has already narrowed down the search for the next head football coach to three candidates. Lane Kiffin, Matt Rhule, and Hugh Freeze are believed to be the final three in the running for the high-profile gig. Auburn fired Bryan Harsin at the end of October, and Cadillac Williams is currently the interim coach.
Cohen whittles it down to three
John Cohen’s first job as athletic director at Auburn appears to be getting in a new head football coach. Cohen doesn’t seem to be messing about either. Just a week after his appointment, he has apparently whittled his search for the perfect candidate down to three names.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel in an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show Cohen will either hire Lane Kiffin, Matt Rhule, or Hugh Freeze as the next Auburn head coach.
.@PeteThamel "would be extremely surprised" if Auburn doesn't hire Hugh Freeze, Matt Rhule, or Lane Kiffin as head coach.
Who's your money on?
— HALL of GOATS (@GOATS_hall) November 16, 2022
“John Cohen obviously ran two coaching searches at Mississippi State,” Thamel said on the show. “His thoroughness to the point of ridiculousness were the traits of those if you talk to the people who worked with him internally or externally on those circuits. I believe the last time I talked to you I said I’d be surprised if the coach doesn’t come from the grouping of Matt Rhule, Lane Kiffin or Hugh Freeze. We’re sort of in a similar place as Cohen works through candidates and does his research. I would be extremely surprised if the next Auburn coach doesn’t come from that group of three.”
Cadillac Williams making a late run at the job
Lane Kiffin is currently the head coach at Ole Miss, who have had an excellent year, and accepting the job at Auburn would mean a rivalry with his good friend, Alabama head coach Nick Saban. He is likely the favorite at this point in time.
Meanwhile, Matt Rhule was recently fired from the Carolina Panthers. He has a successful college coaching record with Temple and Baylor. Rhule has been linked with several college football roles since his release. However, this looks like the most attractive head coaching gig available in NCAA football at the moment. If he is after a head coaching role, this would be the one he would want.
Both would make sense as the next Auburn head coach, as would Hugh Freeze. Freeze has dragged Liberty out of obscurity. He has four straight eight-win seasons and three bowl wins with the school. However, current interim head coach Cadillac Williams is also making his bid for the role.
Not only is Cadillac Williams qualified to be a head coach, he might be more qualified to be a U.S. Senator than either the former Auburn coach currently serving as one or the former NFL running back who's trying to pic.twitter.com/cE83fAfrsv
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) November 13, 2022
Williams’ high-energy antics on the sideline have been fun to watch. He got his first win for the program last week, beating Texas A&M 13-10. His energy is infectious and if Cohen sees something in him, he could get the promotion he craves.
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