Tag: John Cohen

Contract details emerge for Auburn’s new head coach

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that Hugh Freeze is set to make more than his predecessor, Bryan Harsin.

After a 28-day search, Auburn athletics director [autotag]John Cohen[/autotag] has found his guy.

Auburn University officially announced the hiring of Hugh Freeze on Monday, replacing [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag], who went 9-12 during a season and a half on the Plains.

Now that the hire has been made, one of the many questions that cross Auburn fans’ minds is “how much will Freeze make?” That question appears to have been answered by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Thamel reports that Freeze is set to make $6.5 million per season over six years, which is an increase from what his predecessor, [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag] made for the same contract length, which was $5.3 million per season.

Due to Liberty being a private institution, his contract details with his previous program are not open for public knowledge. However, Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated reports that Freeze’s buyout from Liberty will only set Auburn back $3 million.

As for Harsin, Auburn is set to play 70% of his remaining contract, which is approximately $15.8 million. Half of that is set to be paid before Nov. 30, and the remainder will be paid in four installments according to Brandon Marcello of 247Sports. Marcello also says that Auburn is still paying Gus Malzahn’s $21.5 million buyout following his dismissal in 2020.

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BREAKING: Auburn reportedly set to hire Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze

All reports indicate that Hugh Freeze to Auburn is a done deal.

The Auburn Tigers may have found their next leading man.

Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated reported on Monday that the Tigers are expected to hire Liberty head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]. Freeze was reportedly on Auburn’s radar after Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin reportedly backed off on his interest in recent days.

Freeze has been successful at Liberty, and would finish with a 34-15 record should he be hired by Auburn in the coming days. Freeze has dropped his last three games with the Flames, however, with his most recent loss coming against New Mexico State 49-14.

The SEC experience Freeze brings could potentially be a factor in Auburn’s interest. Freeze coached Ole Miss from 2012-16 and finished with an on-field record of 39-25 — officially, that record stands at 12-25 due to NCAA violations stripping him of 27 wins across his tenure. Freeze’s biggest claim to fame during his tenure is perhaps his two victories over Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide.

Freeze, should he be hired, would serve as the Tigers’ 28th head coach in the program’s history.

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Lane Kiffin shoots down report that he is headed to Auburn

Lane Kiffin shot down the report in a hilarious fashion.

[autotag]Lane Kiffin[/autotag] has frequently been connected to the open Auburn job but on Monday night those rumors reached a new level

Jon Sokoloff, a TV anchor in Columbus, Mississippi, tweeted that Kiffin is set to resign as head coach and take over Auburn on Friday.

His tweet included that while Auburn has not officially offered the job to anyone, that “Lane to Auburn is happening.”

That tweet surprised a lot of people, including Kiffin who quote tweeted it saying “That’s news to me Jon. Nice sources”

However, Kiffin wasn’t done and made a report of his own, claiming that Sokoloff is going to leave his current job at WCBI for WLOX, a station in Biloxi.

It is worth noting that Sokoloff was one of the first people to report that Auburn was going to hire athletics director [autotag]John Cohen[/autotag] away from Mississippi State. He tweeted the news out two days before the move was officially announced.

Also, with the Rebels playing Mississippi State Thursday night in their regular-season finale, it does make since timing-wise.

Kiffin has long been seen as Auburn’s top candidate and had to address the rumors following Ole Miss’s loss to Arkansas last week.

“I’m very happy here…Very happy here and appreciative of the leadership here,” Kiffin said. “I love being here. There’s a lot of people coming back (next year), a lot of good guys coming back. Very excited about the future.”

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Lane Kiffin addresses Auburn rumors after losing to Arkansas

Lane Kiffin is one of Auburn’s top candidates but he is “very happy” at Ole Miss.

It is no secret that [autotag]Lane Kiffin[/autotag] is high atop the Auburn wish list and may even be the No. 1 candidate.

With the regular season still going on it can create a difficult situation for coaches who are leading one team but are being connected to a different program.

This happened Saturday night after Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels lost 42-27 to the Arkansas Razorbacks. He was asked about the rumors linking him to Auburn.

“I’m very happy here…Very happy here and appreciative of the leadership here,” Kiffin said. “I love being here. There’s a lot of people coming back (next year), a lot of good guys coming back. Very excited about the future.”

Kiffin once again showed his wit with a follow-up question due to his team’s blowout loss and how it could affect his candidacy.

“I don’t know that stuff out there — No. 1 stuff. Maybe if they watched the first half I wouldn’t be No. 1 anymore then.”

He added that he is excited about the future and is very happy in Oxford.

“Like I said, I love being here,” said Kiffin. “I mean, I don’t want to look to next year already with a regular season game (remaining), but this is not one of those years where you say we’re gonna lose all these guys. There’s a lot of people coming back and a lot of new guys offensively, especially. So, very excited about the future.”

Auburn athletic director [autotag]John Cohen[/autotag] is clearly not going to let one game affect his coaching search, especially when the Rebels had over 700 yards of offense.

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The one factor that could convince Lane Kiffin to take the Auburn job

Auburn has plenty of advantages, but which factor could convince Lane Kiffin to bolt to the Plains?

Over the last two weeks, Ole Miss head coach [autotag]Lane Kiffin[/autotag] has been a popular name among Auburn fans as the replacement for Bryan Harsin, who was relieved of his duties on Oct. 31.

Auburn athletic director [autotag]John Cohen[/autotag] and Auburn University President [autotag]Dr. Christopher Roberts[/autotag] has kept their list close to heart, but all signs point to Kiffin being the favorite to take the job.

Why would he leave Ole Miss? Well, there are plenty of reasons.

Auburn has a better track record of success in football than Ole Miss with six SEC West crowns as opposed to the Rebels’ zero. Auburn has also recently hired a new athletic director who has a reputation for allowing his coaches to have more freedom than most. Mix it with the new football-only facility that just opened, and Auburn becomes a top destination for any potential hire.

However, one ESPN analyst believes there is one factor that truly separates Auburn from Ole Miss, and that is the recent build-up of Auburn’s NIL collective, “On to Victory.”

ESPN senior writer Chris Low recently tweeted his thoughts on the potential of Kiffin leaving Oxford for the Plains. He says that the shifting landscape of College Football appears to be working in favor of the Tigers.

“The overriding reason Lane Kiffin would leave Ole Miss for Auburn is the hefty NIL fund that Auburn has built,” Low said in a recent tweet. “In the NIL world, that kind of cash is the key to sustaining success at a high level, both in attracting high school talent and keeping players from transferring.”

In a follow-up tweet, Low says that Kiffin is proud of the success that he has built at Ole Miss, but could easily see Auburn’s outstanding efforts in NIL being a deciding factor for accepting a potential offer.

“One thing I know about Lane Kiffin if he is indeed the choice at Auburn is that he does not do anything impulsively,” Low said. “He would examine everything, all factors, and I do believe NIL would be the deciding factor IF he were to leave.”

On to Victory’s objective is to expand NIL opportunities for Auburn Student-Athletes according to its website. Currently, three Auburn athletes are a part of On3’s NIL 100, including [autotag]Tank Bigsby[/autotag] and [autotag]Derick Hall[/autotag], who ranks No. 87 and No. 93 respectively.

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Pete Thamel explains Lane Kiffin’s biggest concern about Auburn

Lane Kiffin is considered one of Auburn’s top candidates but has some concerns about taking the job.

Even before Auburn officially fired [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag] people were connecting Ole Miss head coach [autotag]Lane Kiffin[/autotag] with Auburn’s head coaching job. When Auburn finally fired Harsin on Oct. 31, Kiffin quickly emerged as one of the top candidates.

ESPN writer Pete Thamel joined the “Paul Finebaum Show’ on Wednesday and discussed the situation.

According to Thamel, Kiffin’s biggest concern is something Auburn fans are tired of hearing about: Who is really in charge and how aligned is Auburn.

“The question for Lane is, is he going to want to expose himself to the whims of Auburn?” Thamel said. “There will always be the existential question of who’s in charge there. Does Lane have the time and patience for that? Do they have the time and patience for Lane? It’s an interesting question, but no one can doubt Lane Kiffin’s offensive acumen at this point or his ability to run a program.”

Newly appointed athletic director [autotag]John Cohen[/autotag] announced that while he will take advice and input from others he will have the final call on who is Auburn’s next head coach.

Kiffin is 23-9 in three seasons at Ole Miss and has the Rebels alive in the SEC West race. His calling card is his offensive play-calling and innovative run game.

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Selected quotes from Auburn AD John Cohen’s introductory press conference

Cohen discussed topics such as Auburn’s impending head coaching hire and the NIL landscape.

Auburn’s new athletic director has officially made his debut.

The Tigers were treated to their new AD’s first press conference on Tuesday, and Cohen talked about a variety of challenges and experiences he’s set to inherit as the school’s new athletic director. He discussed his process in replacing fired head coach Bryan Harsin, how the NIL landscape has changed college football and what the transitional period has been like for him the recent days he has stepped up to take the job.

Here are a select few quotes from Cohen from his first appearance before the media as Auburn’s athletic director:

ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit shares strong take on vacant Auburn position

The ESPN College Football guru believes that the Auburn job is not as attractive as it is led to be.

Well, it is a good thing that Kirk Herbstreit will not be getting a call from [autotag]John Cohen[/autotag] to interview for the open head football coaching job at Auburn University.

During a segment of Saturday’s College Gameday live from Athens, Georgia, the college football guru explained why the Auburn job may not be as attractive as many believe, mostly due to off-the-field noise.

“Auburn is one of those jobs when you’re winning, everything’s great,” Herbstreit said on College GameDay. “You go into restaurants in the local town and everyone supports you and your family. All of a sudden, things get off the tracks, get rid of him, rumors are starting. Now, all of a sudden, it’s affecting recruiting and the overall feel of the program. I think we’ve seen a lot of examples of that.”

Herbstreit also empathized with a potential candidate by revealing what his approach would be if he were to receive a call from Cohen about an interview for the position.

“So, to me, if I become a candidate, the first thing I’m going to do is get the score of the game,” Herbstreit said. “John (Cohen), are you going to be willing to work with me? Because I’m not dealing with that B.S. If you’re going to let that impact me, then I’m not taking the job. So, I don’t know how you do that? I don’t know how you talk to the guy who’s in charge of hiring this and say, ‘Can you control that?’”

Herbstreit capped the topic by saying that the head coaching position at Auburn has unlimited potential, as long as the successful candidate finds a way to get on the side of Auburn’s boosters.

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Coaching search: How Auburn head coaching candidates performed in week 10

Several coaches linked to the Auburn opening had successful weekends, including one who pulled off an upset.

The first official game day without [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag] has come and gone.

Despite dropping the first game of his tenure, interim coach [autotag]Carnell Williams[/autotag] passed his first test. He showed that Auburn could adjust to second-half tweaks, and his players showed signs of fight and energy that at times had been lacking this season.

While we do not know how the game affects the decision of athletic director [autotag]John Cohen[/autotag], we feel that Williams did more than enough to at least be considered for the vacant position.

Outside of Williams, how did other potential candidates perform with their respective teams? Two of the three candidates who are discussed the most pulled off huge wins, while the third enjoyed a week away from competition.

Here is a look at how coaches linked to the Auburn opening performed during week ten.

Is Lane Kiffin Auburn’s top target? Bruce Feldman weighs in

FOX Sports’ Bruce Feldman shared insight on College Football’s hottest head coaching candidates during a segment on “Big Noon Kickoff” on Saturday Morning.

Auburn Football’s head coaching vacancy was heavily discussed during the Saturday morning college football preview shows, as it has been one of the hottest topics of the previous week.

During FOX Sports’ “Big Noon Kickoff”, reporter Bruce Feldman shared potential targets for the openings at Auburn and Nebraska. While discussing the Auburn job, he shared three names that Auburn fans should keep an eye on.

“The names to know there: [autotag]Deion Sanders[/autotag] – unbeaten at Jackson State. But would the big-money people there feel totally comfortable with him running the show at Auburn?”  Feldman said. “A few other guys: [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] proved that he could beat Nick Saban multiple times, but he definitely has some baggage from his Ole Miss days, and ex-Panthers coach [autotag]Matt Rhule[/autotag], would he be a good fit in the SEC?”

While those three names have been popular around Auburn, Feldman says that the Tigers’ top target resides elsewhere in the SEC West.

“The name to really keep an eye on, I’m told, is [autotag]Lane Kiffin[/autotag],” Feldman said. “He’s 18-4 in his last two years at Ole Miss. He has really evolved and grown into this position and has really proved that he can really win in the SEC. Also, they just hired at Auburn, [autotag]John Cohen[/autotag], the AD from Mississippi State, who had really shown that he can give his old head coach, Mike Leach, a lot of flexibility, which would probably be attractive to Lane Kiffin if he did take this job, which also has a ton of resources.”

Rhule is also a strong candidate for the Nebraska opening according to Feldman, as well as Army head coach Jeff Monken, Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, and former TCU head coach Gary Patterson, who currently serves as an assistant at Texas.

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