Top college football coaching job openings ranked
Before The Snap ranked the top 4 head coaching jobs in college football, including LSU, Penn State, Florida, and Arkansas.
- Auburn fired head football coach Hugh Freeze after posting a 15-19 record over parts of three seasons.
- Auburn is expected to look for an offensive-minded coach to replace Freeze.
- Potential candidates include South Florida’s Alex Golish, Georgia Tech’s Brent Key and SMU’s Rhett Lashley.
Reddish brown Football coach Hugh Freeze was fired on Sunday, according to multiple reports, a day after a 10-3 loss to Kentucky, dropping the Tigers to 4-5 this season and 15-19 since Freese returned to the SEC in 2023.
A partnership between the Tigers and the former Mississippi and Liberty coach seemed almost assured thanks to his experience in the SEC. After his win at Oxford, the prevailing thinking was that Freeze would do the same thing at Auburn, but on a larger scale. not quite.
At no time during his tenure did the Tigers resemble the best team in the state, let alone the SEC. Despite its track record on offense, Auburn has failed to score more than 17 points in five of six SEC games this season and has scored more than 31 points in regulation in conference play just twice during his three seasons.
Look for Auburn’s next coach to have an offensive background to keep up with Kalen DeBoer, Lane Kiffin, Josh Heupel and the top programs in the SEC. Here are the early names to keep an eye on:
Alex Golish, South Florida
Gulich spent two seasons as offensive coordinator at Tennessee before being hired at South Florida, where he posted seven straight winning seasons before being hired. Bulls On the national map with a September win over Florida. That he only has three years of experience as a head coach, all of it at the Big Five, is a disadvantage that Auburn’s decision-makers must take into account to bring in one of the fastest-rising names in the profession.
Key is in an enviable position at Georgia Tech, where he has tremendous job security, deep connections to the program and on-field success the program hasn’t had in nearly 50 years. In other words, the former Tech offensive lineman may not be going anywhere. But Key spent three years at Alabama on Nick Saban’s staff, so he knows the state, and he will bring a high degree of professionalism at a crucial moment for the program.
Rhett Lashley, SMU
While Lashlee is the strongest contender for the opening at Arkansas, his long relationship with former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn could be an asset given how Malzahn is viewed more fondly after Bryan Harsin and Freeze’s failure in his wake. Lashlee is a young, offensive-minded coach, like Gulich, but has Power Four experience and a College Football Playoff berth on his resume. He signed an extension with the Mustangs last week, but that may not dissuade the Tigers if they decide he’s the guy.
Manny Diaz, duke
His defensive background makes Diaz a wild card in this search and a solid second-round option if Auburn misses a few trendy names in the mix. Diaz spent five seasons as head coach of a Power Four team in addition to his long string of success as defensive coordinator across the Bowl Subdivision. The work he’s done so far at Duke should make Diaz a legitimate candidate, although he’ll likely land somewhere outside the SEC if he leaves the Blue Devils.
Dillingham could be pulled away from Tempe for the right opportunity. That place might be Auburn, where he is still remembered for his one-year stint as offensive coordinator in 2019 — the Tigers averaged 33.2 points per game and haven’t sniffed that number in the years since. Like Lashlee, he has a direct link to Malzahn and a secondary connection through Malzahn protégé Mike Norvell, who hired Dillingham to his first full-time position as an assistant at Memphis in 2017. Dillingham later served as offensive coordinator at Memphis. Florida State and Oregon before landing his current job at his alma mater.
Dan Mullen, UNLV
Mullen may not find a better return spot to the SEC unless he waits for the Mississippi State job to reopen, though that wouldn’t happen until after next season at the earliest. He’s off to a good start in his first season at UNLV, and Auburn will have to look past how Mullen couldn’t quite hit the ground running during his tenure at Florida. But he has deep experience, knows exactly how the SEC works, and could be the top candidate on the Tigers’ early roster.
John Sumrall, Tulane
Sumrall will be a head coach in the SEC, possibly into the 2026 season. While Kentucky is viewed as the most likely destination if Mark Stoops retires, Sumrall will take a closer look at the Tigers’ deeper resource pool and quicker path toward College Football Playoff contention. While he played for Kentucky and coached there from 2019-21, Sumrall was smart enough to realize that Auburn is in a much better position overall.
James Franklin
Disgruntled Auburn fans might point to Franklin’s poor record against ranked teams, the fact that he never developed an elite quarterback or offense, and the way the Nittany Lions disintegrated in his final season. These are valid points. Then again, Franklin won 24 games over three years at Vanderbilt. If he can come up with a cohesive plan for how to maximize Auburn’s “nothing” offering, Franklin will be a successful recruit for a program that needs a steady hand.
Urban Meyer
If you can rent a Meyer – if you can sell it, afford it, smile and bear it – then you should. The flaws are obvious. And so are the results. Mayer showed no legitimate interest in returning to training and left the profession several years before the NIL and House settlement changed the sport. But it couldn’t hurt for Auburn to make a phone call.
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