Skip to main content
Join Now
Team Avatar
Auburn

John Cohen discusses the process, timeline of hiring Auburn's next head football coach

Nikki Chavanelleby: Nikki Chavanelle11/08/22NikkiChavanelle
new-auburn-athletic-director-john-cohen-on-growing-up-in-tuscaloosa-and-alabama-rivalry
Auburn AD John Cohen (Photo by Justin Hokanson/Auburn Live)

At his introductory press conference on Tuesday, new Auburn athletics director John Cohen discussed the question at the forefront of every Tiger fan’s mind: What’s the plan for hiring the next head football coach?

“I thought someone might ask that question,” Cohen said. “This is a very, very long process. In fact, I have 58 things on this piece of paper that we go through as we go through this process. It starts with culture, it starts with Xs and Os, and it starts with recruiting.

“Those three things have to be upfront but there’s a whole lot of other things that have to be answered before you get really deep into it.”

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

Cohen on head coaching search: ‘It obviously dominates my time’

Despite explaining his top criteria for the job, Cohen didn’t want to discuss timelines for inking a replacement for Bryan Harsin. Ostensibly, the Tigers will have a new head coach in place in time to shore up recruits by the early signing period.

“It obviously dominates my time, which it should,” Cohen said. “The head coaching job of the Auburn football team is a critical decision and we take the utmost seriousness. There will not be anything we don’t look at. Everything’s on the table… but I’m not going to go into dates and times, and process, and when the finish line is going to be. We’ll get there when we get there and we’ll make the right decision for this great institution.

“The 56-year-old version of myself says, ‘I want all the information that’s available to me from everyone that I can get it from at Auburn, and beyond.’ Dr. Roberts made it clear that these decisions will be my own, but it takes a village,” he said. “I’ve been on the phone a lot because we have to make great decisions. That’s what I’m charged with doing.”

The former Mississippi State is not far removed from his last coaching search. During his time as athletic director in Starkville, Cohen hired Mike Leach to lead the Bulldogs.

Auburn president Chris Roberts tabbed John Cohen as the school’s next athletics director on Oct. 31, just as Harsin’s tenure ended. He finished with a 9-12 overall record and a 3-10 record in SEC play.