Auburn football: Hugh Freeze and 5 replacements for Gus Malzahn as Tigers head coach
By John Buhler
Gus Malzahn is out at Auburn football and Hugh Freeze could be his 2021 successor.
Auburn football has parted ways with head coach Gus Malzahn after eight seasons.
Malzahn went 68-35 at Auburn, including 39-26 in SEC play. In his first year down on The Plains, Auburn won the SEC Championship and played in the final BCS National Championship vs. the Florida State Seminoles. Auburn would win the SEC West again in 2017, but those were the only two 10-win seasons leading the team. Including Hugh Freeze, who could replace him in 2021?
5 replacements for Gus Malzahn as Auburn football head coach in 2021
Brent Venables. 5. Scouting Report. Defensive Coordinator. Clemson Tigers. player. 879. Pick Analysis
Eventually, he has to get out of Dabo Swinney’s shadow and lead his own team
There is going to come a time where Clemson Tigers defensive coordinator Brent Venables is going to get a head-coaching opportunity too good to pass up. Despite never being a head coach before, Venables has been instrumental in Clemson becoming college football’s reigning dynasty on Dabo Swinney’s staff. Auburn is a top-15 job, and a blue-blood program at that. It is worth it.
Frankly, hiring Venables would be like bringing in an unproven version of Auburn defensive coordinator/interim head coach Kevin Steele to be the leader of the team. Steele had previously been the Baylor Bears head coach before reinventing himself as an outstanding defensive coordinator on Malzahn’s staff the last few years. He too will be a hot coaching commodity.
The issue in hiring Venables is his sons play on Swinney’s football team. This would be a huge move for he and his family to make. It is a near coaching paradise at Clemson, as neither the Florida State Seminoles or the Miami Hurricanes have returned to national prominence just yet to challenge Clemson in the ACC landscape. Then again, jobs like Auburn do not become available often.
Recruitment will not be an issue and neither will establishing a defensive-minded culture. What could be is how will Auburn look on offense under Venables? What kind of staff could he assemble at Auburn that does not require poaching a ton of top talent away from Swinney’s national powerhouse at Clemson? Venables could work, but there are better candidates for Auburn.