Everything Auburn AD John Cohen said in his introductory press conference

Here's everything Cohen said to the media in his press conference on Tuesday morning.

Lance Dawe | Nov 8, 2022

Everything Auburn AD John Cohen said in his introductory press conference /

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New Auburn athletic director John Cohen spoke in his introductory press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

Here is everything Cohen had to say.

Opening Statement…

“War Eagle! Just some quick thank yous – thank you to Dr. Chris Roberts. The manner in which he conducted the search, I don’t think Auburn could possibly be in better hands. I want to thank the entire Auburn Family for being so welcoming and for providing this opportunity. I want to thank my family. I have a 91-year-old mother, and she informed me once you get to 80, you're allowed to say the age out loud. A 91-year-old mother who's getting used to donning the blue and orange up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Want to thank my three sisters who helped raise me. My wife Nelle, who's here today. We just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary in August. And my kids who are probably watching right now, Jordan and Avery, although they probably both ought to be doing their job. They ought to be working right now. A special thank you to Dr. Mark Keenum, who will always hold a special place my heart. He’s done a tremendous job at Mississippi State, and I want to thank the Mississippi State family as well. Mississippi State will always be part of my DNA, and I have a deep appreciation for them.”

“So right into this, what is my purpose? What are my goals? What's my mission? First of all, it's to serve the Auburn Family and Dr. Chris Roberts. That's issue number one. I want to ensure that every student-athlete has a positive and productive experience at Auburn University that goes way beyond just the experience they're having now. The experience we're having now will propel them to a later experience. And one of my favorite things about being a coach and an administrator is that 29 or 30-year-old former student- athlete coming back and saying, ‘thank you for that experience that I had then because I might not have fully appreciated or understood the experience when I was going through it.’ My goal is to put Auburn in position, as it has always done, put Auburn in position to win SEC championships and national championships. My goal is to relentlessly promote this wonderful university – Auburn University. My goal is to follow the full scope of compliance, which is not just simply NCAA rules, simply SEC policy or regulation. It goes way beyond that. That's one of the very appealing things about Auburn University because compliance goes way beyond that. Common courtesy is part of compliance. Public service is part of compliance. And the Auburn Creed is very, very much part of compliance.”

“What's my why? Why did I make this decision after having this wonderful opportunity being presented to me? Why? Well, a big part of the why is the Auburn tradition of which there is much. No question about that. Why? Because my belief in Dr. Roberts and this administration. His leadership and his passion for Auburn is incredible. Why? My belief in the current coaches here at Auburn University. I think this is one of the great collection of coaches that exist in the entire country as well as athletic department personnel, and I want to highlight our new deputy athletic director, Rich McGlynn, who has been a star -not only for me but for this department, for this university and, quite frankly, the Southeastern Conference. And somebody on the outside who has looked into Auburn, you cannot even talk about the success of this place without mentioning Rich McGlynn. The recruiting footprint of Auburn University of which you're all aware. Draw the 350-mile circle around Auburn, Alabama, and you're talking about some of the best student-athletes in the entire country. How about the Auburn brand? I know that I will go through airports with my little thing here, my little lapel pin. I know that this brand, this symbol will be noticed in every airport in the country that I go through and beyond. It's a powerful brand. And I recognize that. Why? How about the Auburn Creed? I love the Auburn Creed. I love the examples of earning it through hard work. I love the honesty and truthfulness. The education which creates knowledge, helpfulness, sympathy. Powerful words - the Auburn Creed. How about this why? This is another why. This is a big why for me.”

“I've heard and seen the common refrain “Auburn being Auburn.’ And I want to tell you, in my opinion, and somebody who's been on the outside who's now coming in, Auburn being Auburn, it's a special thing. Let me talk a little bit more about that. This is one of the nation's preeminent, comprehensive land grant institutions, a leader in research technology and education, and in my opinion, that is Auburn being Auburn. Three Heisman Trophy winners is Auburn being Auburn. Athletes who forever changed the nature of their own sport, not just here, not just in the SEC, but nationally. Like Bo (Jackson). Like the Big Hurt (Frank Thomas). Like Sir Charles (Barkley). Like Rowdy (Gaines), like Ruthie (Bolton), like Suni (Lee). I can name a bunch more. That is Auburn being Auburn. How about Hall of Fame coaches? Shug Jordan, Pat Dye, Joel Eaves, Sonny Smith, Hal Baird, who I got to see the other day, Joe Ciampi, David Marsh, Ralph Spry, Susan Nunnelly, Kim Evans and many, many more. We have future Hall of Fame coaches in this room right now, and I'm thrilled with that. That is Auburn being Auburn. Twenty-two national championships, 100 conference championships - almost 100 conference championships, countless individual national champions. That is Auburn being Auburn. The great traditions. The Tiger Walk, the eagle flight, rolling Toomer’s Corner. That is Auburn being Auburn. I believe in Auburn and love it. War Eagle. And now with that, if anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to make an attempt to answer them.”

On the pressure of hiring a football coach…

“I’m not a big pressure guy. I just see opportunity, and Auburn is the land of opportunity. I think we have a great opportunity here. And I think the future is really bright.”

On thoughts on improving facilities…

“Yes, absolutely. And I’ve spent a lot of time early on listening. I think that’s one of the things about being a little more advanced in my career. You know 20 years ago, I would have done a lot less listening and a lot more telling or talking. I’m going to listen. I’m going to listen to coaches. I’m going to listen to administrators. I’m going to walk around these great facilities that we have and we’re going to do the very best we can to make them elite. We already have elite facilities here at Auburn University. But there’s always improvements. You’ve heard this expression no doubt about the arms race in the Southeastern Conference. We’re always going to have great facilities but that means we have to keep up and we have to keep competing in that space. So, we will always work on that.”

On who some of his mentors are…

“I feel so privileged to have been around all of them. Believe it or not, this is our seventh SEC city... I just feel so privileged. I got to work with Jeremy Foley, one of the all-time greats. I got to work with Mitch Barnhart. Scott Stricklin is one of my closest friends. Greg Byrne is, gosh, am I allowed to say he is a really close friend? We talk a lot of occasions at 6:30 in the morning when I’m trying to run and he’s trying to walk. Yes, you take this great information and great knowledge from other people and try to weave your way in this world. Nobody gets here alone. It takes a great deal of support from others, and I just feel privileged in that space.”

On the process of hiring a football coach…

“It’s a very, very long process. In fact, I have 58 things on this piece of paper that we’ll go through as we go through this process of looking for a new head football coach. It all starts with culture. It starts with X’s and O’s and it starts with recruiting. Those three things have to be upfront but there’s a whole lot of other things that have to be answered before you get really deep into it. “

On his approach for NIL…

“When I became the Athletic Director at Mississippi State University, I would have never guessed that we would be where we are today in the landscape of Name Image and Likeness. But certainly, now that it has started, much like the space race in the 60s, we’ve got to be out front. We have to be aggressive and it’s the way of the world. So, we’re going to jump in with both feet. Certainly, an incredible foundation has been laid at Auburn University. Very proud of that and it makes this position even more appealing. It really speaks to the passion for Auburn University to see what’s already been done in that space. So, I’m excited about jumping in there. And you know, locking shields with all those people who are involved with the NIL process at Auburn.”

On what the last couple weeks have been like…

“It’s been emotional. Leaving your alma mater is difficult. The friends that Nelle and I had. The working relationships. There is a passion there. But this is Auburn. And I spent the first five minutes speaking to all of you of my why. Auburn is a national brand. Auburn is a powerful entity and Auburn is an incredible place. So, as you go through this process and you ask yourself, ‘Okay, am I being ridiculous here? The people at Mississippi State have been so great to you. It’s been such a wonderful experience. What are you doing?’ And then you look on the other side and say, ‘Auburn, wow.’ I feel like there’s been a whole lot of wow for me and I’ve felt that way about Auburn for a long time.”

On discussion made about making big hires…

“Certainly, we’ve had those discussions. And yes, the final decision will be my own when it comes to hiring within the athletic department. But again, I’m going to go back to the 35-year-old version of myself who would have stuck his chest out and said that this is how it’s going to be. The 56-year-old version of John Cohen says, ‘I want all the information that is available to me from everyone that I can possibly get it from at Auburn and beyond.’ Information is a powerful thing. And I want that information. So again, certainly Dr. Roberts made it clear that these decisions will be my own, but it takes a village. It takes a group of people sharing information, sharing knowledge. Quite frankly, I’ve been on the phone a lot because we have to make right decisions. That’s what I’m charged with.”

On his process to make the head football coach hire…

“I won’t talk about the process per se. It obviously dominates my time, which it should. The football head coaching position at Auburn University is a critical decision and we take it with the utmost seriousness. There will not be anything we don’t look at. Everything’s on the table every day. But I’m not going to go into dates and times and process and when the finish line is going to be. We’re going to get there when we get there and we’re going to make the right decision for this great institution.”

On what his hiring criteria is…

“It’s some of both (to-do list and calling people), but a lot of it has to do with characteristics that you’re looking for and what questions to ask.”

On what he’s learned through hiring in the past…

“I’m going to drop a cliché on you right now. And I’m going to use the ‘F’ word. Fit. And everybody uses it, but it’s real. And what is a fit for Mississippi State University is a different fit for Auburn University. And that alters the paradigm and again, you have to make those considerations.”

On if he plans on using a search firm for the football hire…

“We will use a search firm strictly for logistics purposes. Search firms will not give us names. They obviously will help in background checks, and they will help us with logistics. Every other part of the search will be our own.”

On learning the needs of all the sports at Auburn…

“I know I have a lot to learn. I’ve already reached out to Greg Williams, who has done an incredible job here. My goodness, the amount of national championships. Just following the last event that they had was kind of remarkable and eye-opening for me. I spent five years at the University of Kentucky so even though it’s a different type of horse, we are familiar with horses. I come from a swimming and diving family. My father actually swam almost every day of his professional life. My sisters were big into swimming, so I was dragged all over the southeast going to meets as a kid. I didn’t appreciate it then. I really appreciate it now. I went to swimming practice just the other day. And gymnastics. Just an incredible sport at Auburn. I can’t wait to go watch those kids perform. Those student-athletes have a remarkable reputation not only on this campus, but nationally as well. I’m just excited about those opportunities.”

On looking at his current job through a coach’s set of eyes…

“I think I do. You know, I was fortunate enough to be in the locker room last night when Coach Pearl and his team came in at halftime, and I saw the look on his face. I'm like, ‘Yeah, I know that look.’ By the way, I feel so privileged with the coaches we have here. Coach Pearl, what an incredible job he's done. Butch Thompson has been to Omaha two of the last four years. I’m intimately aware of the capabilities of Butch Thompson. So many other coaches on this campus who have done a tremendous job. Yeah, I think when you've done it, you’ve sat in that particular chair, there's a little bit more connective tissue. You really understand. You understand what it's like for your team to not play well and you go home and can't sleep. Yeah, it's just different. I've worn the two hats, and I think there’s some value in that. I really believe that. In fact, other ADs who are friends of mine have reached out and said, ‘Hey, I'm having an issue connecting with this coach. What do you think?’. That happens quite frequently, and I feel like I do have that club in my bag.”

On characteristics he looks for in a person when hiring a head coach…

“You got a couple of hours? I'm going to use the ‘F’ word again. It's about fit. There's not an exact science. There's analytics. There's a little bit of gut feel. There's a lot of factors I can read you off this list. A lot of this common sensical, but a lot of this is really important to me as I've been through the hiring process several times.”

On how Coach Dye and Coach Baird molded his thoughts about Auburn…

“First of all, those guys are rockstars. You can just feel the charisma. When you were around Coach Dye, and I wish he were here today, you could just feel the charisma ooze. I feel the same way about Coach Baird. Just gentleman, high level of thinking, great vision. I’m just in awe of those guys. I've had a couple of conversations with Coach Baird already. By the way, I think Coach Baird is one of four SEC athletics directors, he was the athletics director here for a little while, who has a baseball background in coaching in this league. Yeah, they’re just part of the fabric and the tradition of Auburn, and I truly respect that.”

On if he was an Alabama fan growing up, and about a young Butch Thompson…

“A young Butch Thompson. I would never have a beard because I can't grow one, and if I grew one I'm scared to death that would be totally grey. So, I don't do that, but Butch, he really pulls that off. It's a high level of sophistication, of an Ernest Hemingway type. I love Butch. I respect Butch. He does it the right way. I was the head coach at Mississippi State, but I learned so much from that guy in our eight years together. It was unbelievable. His wife, Robin, who’s here today, is an absolute star. I’m just so privileged to be part of that.

“Growing up in Tuscaloosa, yeah, I remember the buses rolling in front of our house to go to Birmingham to play football games and the neighborhood would go out and do the shakers. It's all part of your childhood. I can't tell you this, when you talk about the star power that Auburn has always had, even growing up in that town, boy it was sure fun to watch that and to recognize that. It was just really cool. Listen, I'm not going to run away from this. I think this is the best rivalry in college athletics, Auburn and Alabama, and I can't wait to compete with that school up there in Tuscaloosa.”

On the biggest challenge for Power 5 athletics directors the next couple of years…

“I think, just to be really simplistic, the biggest challenge is going to be the unknown. Who is going to govern the NIL space moving forward? Are state legislatures going to govern this? Is the NCAA going to govern this? Is the federal government going to govern NIL? It’s just such a huge factor because it is about student-athletes having the opportunity to do something never done before at a high level and folks who represent athletic interests who are allowed to provide opportunities for these student-athletes. I think on some level, it's a good thing. On some level, it's a little bit of a frightening thing. I do believe there should be guard rails. There aren't as many as I would like at this point in time, but again, that's not going to stop Auburn University from being aggressive in this space, and from the conversations I've already had it’s very exciting to see the passion in that space that Auburn has.”