A brief history of Auburn Head Coach hires and how the new era of CFB changes this years hire

The Tigers look to hire a coach and it needs to finish soon to stay competitive.

Jack Singley | Nov 16, 2022

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

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Auburn Tigers

The history of Auburn Football head coaches since 1980 has been fruitful producing seven SEC championships and one national championship.

Following the 1980 season, Pat Dye was named the head coach for Auburn on January 4th, 1981. He remained the coach for 11 years and was succeeded by Terry Bowden. On December 17th, 1992, Terry Bowden was named the 23rd coach in Auburn history. Bowden was the coach for just five seasons before resigning.

The Tommy Tuberville era began with a mid-season hire, on October 2nd, 1998. He was hired away from the Ole Miss Rebels, a situation many Auburn fans want to happen again with current Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. Tuberville assumed coaching duties following the 1998 season and coached for 11 years. He finished with a record of 85-40.

The next hire, Gene Chizik, was maligned by fans, and when he was announced he received a rude welcome party on the Auburn-Opelika Airport tarmac. The booing that occurred in December of 2008, eventually turned into cheers as he won a National Championship with the help of Auburn great Cam Newton and his eventual successor, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.

Chizik was replaced following a 3-9 2012 season.

Gus Malzahn was mentioned before and was announced as the new coach on December 4th, 2012. Eight years later Malzahn would be fired. His successor, Bryan Harsin, was hired on December 22, 2020.

With the recent firing of Harsin, Auburn faces yet another coaching search. The new age of college football with the introduction of NIL, early signing day, and the transfer portal requires swift action to maintain and improve a team's roster. With a history of late hires, the program needs to hire quickly to remain a top-tier competitor in the SEC.

The task that athletic director John Cohen and University president Chris Roberts remains difficult but they know one thing, a fast hire equals a more efficient turnaround for the program. The season for the Tigers ends after the Iron Bowl on November 26th. The transfer portal window begins on December 5th, the nine-day gap will be incredibly important for the future of the Auburn program.