John Cohen details why he decided to leave Mississippi State for Auburn

The Auburn Tigers are officially under new management. In a press conference today, the school introduced John Cohen as the new athletic director of the Tigers. He arrives after spending the last 14 years at SEC West rival Mississippi State including the last six as the Bulldog’s AD. After all his time and success in Starkville, the biggest question everyone had was why Auburn and why now?

Well, Cohen answered those questions after his introduction today. He says that the decision came down to the brand that Auburn is. While his time and the relationships he had at Mississippi State were all great, the opportunity that the Tigers presented was simply too good to pass up.

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“It’s been emotional. Leaving your alma mater is difficult. The friendships that Nelle and I had? Obviously the working relationships. There’s a passion there. But this is Auburn,” said Cohen. “Auburn is a national brand. Auburn is a powerful entity and Auburn is an incredible place.”

The success that Cohen had over his time as a player, coach, and AD at Mississippi State was unprecedented for the school. With that resume in Starkville, it’s tough to imagine a pitch that would get him to cross enemy lines and join the Tigers who are in desperate need of stable leadership. However, Auburn got it done by simply blowing Cohen away with what they put on the table as a school. When describing his decision making process, only one word came to mind for Cohen when talking about the case that Auburn made.

“As you go through this process and you ask yourself, ‘Okay. Am I being ridiculous here? These 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.’,” Cohen said. “I feel like there’s been a lot of wow for me. And I’ve felt that way about Auburn for a long time.”

The ‘wow’ factor will wear off for Cohen, though, as he now gets into the thick of it within the Tiger’s athletic department. Leaving a place that meant so much to him took a lot from Cohen and now he wants to make sure the decision was worth it by taking Auburn athletics back to the top across the board.