Auburn AD John Cohen on coaching search: 'I am the committee'

Auburn is looking for a new head coach after moving on from Hugh Freeze. It’s athletic director John Cohen who will be making the call, it seems.

During a press conference on Monday, Cohen pointed out that while he’ll take advice from a wealth of experts, he’ll make the final decision: “We’re not sure if we’re going to use a search firm or not. One of the reasons to use a search firm is for background checks and things of that nature. If we use one, it will be more of a peripheral, background type of situation, even though we have opportunities to do those things on our own. Not sure if I use a search firm,” Cohen explained.

“I will tell you this, there is no question that I will take information from industry experts. I will take information from people who really understand college football at a high level. We will go to people who have incredible data. We will go to people who really understand all four corners of the country in this great sport. But, I am the committee. And even though I will listen and I will do as good a job as I possibly can of taking in information, I will be the committee.”

You can’t mistake that answer. That’s pretty blunt from Cohen, as he wants the responsibility of being the one who finds the man who can lead Auburn out of this tough stretch and into a better future.

Will he be successful in that quest? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure, Cohen wants everyone to know it’s his decision, and his alone in the end.

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As Auburn and Cohen look to hire their next head coach, one person making their opinion known is Paul Finebaum. The SEC Network analyst pointed towards Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall as an option, but he recognizes it’s ultimately up to Cohen to get the job done.

“The name I think is most intriguing is Jon Sumrall. He’s hard-nosed. He’ll remind some people of Pat Dye, which is never a bad way to go if you’re trying to identity who the next Auburn football coach should be,” Finebaum explained, via McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning. 

“… I think John Cohen is very confident. A lot of people are opining today, ‘Is he the right person to lead this search?’ Well, I think he is. First of all, John Cohen hired Hugh Freeze, in terms of the actual date, but we all know John Cohen came in as that was ongoing. For anyone to believe that was John Cohen’s decision alone is very foolish. No athletic director at Auburn is independent. There’s a coalition down there. 

“It works from the AD to the President’s office to the board. That’s not dramatically different than any other state. I do think the difference at Auburn is I don’t think the governor of the state is going to be in the middle of this, even though she is an Auburn fan.”

Whether it’s Sumrall or a different choice, Auburn will be hoping to compete for titles now and in the future with their next hire. If it all works out remains to be seen, but the Tigers will be putting everything on the line over the next couple of weeks.