Auburn University’s football program has had a tough go of it as of late, with its last winning season coming in 2019 and its last victory in a bowl game coming on Dec. 28, 2018. The Hugh Freeze era, much like with Bryan Harsin, has been disastrous and it’s time to start evaluating Auburn Tigers coaching candidates.
First, it’s worth examining what the realistic expectations should be for this Tigers program. Gus Malzahn had a pair of seasons with double-digit victories, but the only national championship in the modern era came with one of the best quarterbacks in college football history (Cam Newton) carrying the team. Realistically, the Tigers should be looking for a head coach who can win eight to nine games every season.
Let’s dive into our Auburn coaching candidates.
James Franklin, former Penn State Coach
If realistic expectations are being set for the program, the list of Auburn coaching candidates this offseason should have James Franklin at the top. He had a disastrous final season with the Penn State Nittany Lions and was fairly criticized for his .160 winning percentage against top-10 teams. However, look at the totality of his résumé as a head coach.
In a 15-year coaching career, James Franklin has posted a .681 winning percentage. He’s only coached a team with a losing record twice during that span, the first coming in 2011 when he inherited a Vanderbilt program that went 4-20 in its previous two seasons. He’s made it clear that the desire to remain a coach is still there, and he should be viewed as one of the 12 best college football coaches right now. There are very few “safe” bets in the college football coaching carousel, but Auburn could feel very confident in Franklin’s ability to make this a respectable football program once again.
Alex Golesh, South Florida Bulls Coach
The South Florida Bulls were really the first to tap into the Josh Heupel coaching pipeline, seeming to view him as one of the top offensive minds and coaches in the game. Alex Golesh spent three seasons learning under Heupel, first as UCF’s offensive coordinator and tight ends coach (2020), and then Heupel brought him with him to the Tennessee Volunteers in the same roles.
Now in his third full season as head coach, Golesh has the Bulls on pace for their first double-digit-win season since 2017. What’s particularly impressive about that accomplishment is it came after a rebuild, which was needed since South Florida went 4-26 under previous head coach Jeff Scott. Golesh’s offense also ranks top 30 in third-down efficiency, red-zone efficiency, and team passing efficiency. Plus, he’s only 41 years old, so he could stick at Auburn for a long time if he’s successful.
Rhett Lashlee, SMU Mustangs Coach
For the most part, we’re focused on Auburn coaching candidates without ties to the program. However, the Tigers do have traditions that are very important to boosters and the school. That’s where SMU coach Rhett Lashlee’s experience with the university helps him stand out.
Lashlee joined Auburn as a graduate assistant in 2009, learning from Gene Chizik and experiencing the team’s national championship run. He returned three years later to serve as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (2013–16), working under Gus Malzahn and playing a key role in the team posting a winning record in all four seasons.
Following stints as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UConn, SMU, and Miami, Lashlee became a head coach for the first time in 2022 with SMU. In replacing Sonny Dykes, Lashlee’s team went 7-6 in his first year. Now that he’s had time to build his own roster, the Mustangs have a shot at their third consecutive double-digit-win season. The Auburn ties are a nice bonus for Lashlee, but his coaching record and offensive background are what matter most.
Jon Sumrall, Tulane Green Wave Coach
There’s a chance that if programs like Penn State (Matt Rhule) and Florida (Lane Kiffin) get laser-focused on their top targets, the Tigers could have more time to do a thorough evaluation of this year’s field of coaching candidates. If that happens, there’s a strong chance Tulane’s Jon Sumrall could end up near the top of the list.
One thing Sumrall really deserves credit for is his immediate success when walking into situations with big shoes to fill. There’s always added pressure with a first head-coaching gig, especially when fans only have to look back three years to remember when their team went 31-8 over three seasons under Neal Brown (2016–18). That’s the position Sumrall found himself in when he was named the Troy Trojans’ head coach after the 2021 season. While the team had won just 10 combined games in the two campaigns prior to his arrival, Sumrall posted a 23-5 record in his first two years. After his departure, Troy dropped to 4-8.
Sumrall then had to follow in the footsteps of Willie Fritz at Tulane. Yet, he showed no signs of feeling the pressure, nor did he fall short of the fan base’s expectations. Tulane went 9-5 last season and is on track to finish 2025 with double-digit wins. Another benefit of hiring Sumrall is that his coaching history gives him connections in key recruiting states such as California, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Willie Fritz, Houston Cougars Coach
If Auburn simply wants immediate stability with its next head coach, one of the most compelling options to consider is Willie Fritz. He’s on the older side — in his age-65 season right now with the Houston Cougars — but his history of success is difficult to match.
Fritz has been a college head coach since 1993, progressively earning his way up to more prominent jobs. He won two junior college national championships at Blinn, turned that success into becoming Central Missouri’s head coach (97-47 record), then went to Sam Houston State (40-15), followed by Georgia Southern (17-7), and then Tulane. With the Green Wave, he improved from 9-15 in his first two seasons to 45-32 overall, which includes a 2-10 mark in 2021 that proved to be an outlier year.
He’s now at Houston, where he’s on the brink of delivering the Cougars a nine-win season for only the second time since 2017. Fritz’s decades of experience and consistent success at every stop could be exactly the kind of safe, stable option Auburn needs to bring long-term stability to the program.
