Paul Finebaum: The Auburn job is better than it's getting credit for

The Auburn Tigers are once again on the hunt for a new head coach. This comes after moving on from Hugh Freeze. However, after several seasons of turmoil and not having a winning record in SEC play since 2020, the reputation of the Auburn job has taken a hit.

One person who doesn’t think that’s necessarily fair is Paul Finebaum. He explained on The Matt Barrie Show that the favorite to get the job, Jon Sumrall, would be an excellent hire. Add that hire to what he believes is a better job than its reputation, and there’s a chance the Tigers are quickly competitive again.

“One of those four has a betting favorite, whether that means anything or not,” Paul Finebaum said. “And the betting favorite at Auburn is Jon Sumrall. The Tulane coach who held on Friday night. It’s not the hire that wows America, but if that ends up being the case, and we’re speculating, I think almost every Auburn fan that I’ve talked to would be thrilled. That job is so much better than I think it’s being given credit for.”

Auburn moved on from Gus Malzahn in 2020. That ended an era where the Tigers would have great seasons and threaten to compete for championships, but only won double-digit games twice in eight years. He’d be replaced by Bryan Harsin for a chaotic two seasons and later Hugh Freeze. Auburn is just 31-37 overall and 16-25 in SEC play from the final season of the Malzahn era to now.

It’s also been an expensive habit to go through those coaches. Freeze has a buyout of around $15.8 million. Auburn has also paid buyouts of $15.3 million to Bryan Harsin and $21.45 million for Malzahn.

Whether or not the coach search brings Auburn to Sumrall remains to be seen. As Finebaum pointed out, the current Tulane and former Troy head coach is seen as a very real candidate. He’s far from the only real candidate for the job, though. On top of that, Auburn is expected to be far from the only team interested in his services. So, he may be able to choose between a few programs.

For now, the team itself is going to be focused on trying to end the season on a high note and leave a good impression. They’ll only have two more games to do that, though. With a bye week upcoming, Auburn will play Mercer before looking ahead to the Iron Bowl. They’ll need to win out to get to bowl eligibility this season.