Auburn football fired head coach Hugh Freeze on Sunday. It wasn't exactly a surprise, as Freeze had never truly found his footing with the Tigers. NBC Sports reporter Nicole Auberbach is naming a candidate she thinks would be a good replacement for Freeze.
“Auburn should hire Jon Sumrall. No need to overcomplicate this one,” Auerbach posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.
She isn't the only person linking Sumrall to the job. The Tulane head coach is also getting some love from On3's Pete Nakos. Nakos has Sumrall first on his hot board for Auburn.
While Sumrall has won a lot of games as a head coach, that isn't the only reason why Nakos finds him a strong candidate.
“A former Kentucky linebacker, (Sumrall) has connections to the Alabama high school recruiting scene and would be able to recruit at a high level at Auburn. His name has also been tied to openings at LSU and Virginia Tech. He’s blended a mix of portal and high school recruiting to form his rosters with minimal dollars,” Nakos wrote.
Auburn is now 4-5 on the season, after losing Saturday to Kentucky. Freeze was let go after not even three full seasons at Auburn. He had never been able to post a winning campaign at the school.
Auburn football wants a home run hire to replace Hugh Freeze
The Tigers struggled in the last few years, with Freeze as head coach. Auburn had won just six SEC conference games since the start of the 2023 season. Freeze managed just one conference win this year, over Arkansas.
Auburn football is going to search far and wide for a coach with power 4 head coaching experience. That is something Sumrall doesn't have. There are several candidates available with that pedigree, including James Franklin. Franklin has been named a candidate at several schools, including Virginia Tech, after getting fired at Penn State.
Sumrall though does have the strong winning record as a head coach.
“Viewed as one of the top Group of Six coaches in the country, Jon Sumrall emerged as a proven winner at Troy and has found success at Tulane. With a 38-10 record as an FBS head coach, he won two conference titles at Troy and led Tulane to a conference title appearance in 2024,” Nakos added.
Auburn has a strong football tradition. The Tigers have won several national championships in the sport. Auburn's last national title came in 2010.
Time will tell who takes the job with the Tigers.
