A Major Head Coaching Option is Off the Board as Auburn Continues Search

AUBURN, Ala.- With Virginia Tech soon to be finalizing a deal to hire former Penn State head coach James Franklin, that is one fewer coach that the Auburn Tigers have on its coaching board to replace Hugh Freeze. Auburn is currently looking for its third head coach in the last five years.

Sources: Virginia Tech and James Franklin are finalizing an agreement for him to become the school’s next coach. Franklin has won 128 games over 15 seasons as the head coach at Vanderbilt and Penn State. He led Penn State to the CFP semi-finals last year. pic.twitter.com/Pr4TyLBB9N
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 17, 2025

Since the firing of Freeze, Auburn athletic director John Cohen has been very vocal about bringing in a coach who can win and have an edge to compete with the best in the country.

“All the characteristics, somebody with an edge,” Cohen said about what he wants from the next Auburn football head coach.

“Somebody who’s highly competitive. In my career, I’ve found that one or two things have to happen. The head coach of almost any sport either has to have a tremendous edge to them, or they have to be surrounded by assistants who have an edge to them. There are many ways to define that, but you can call it blue collar, you can call it hard-nosed, you can call it aggressive. You can call it all those things, but usually, priority No. 1 is defining the part.

“Then, intelligence, strategic, and forward-thinking. All those things matter. At this level of college football, you’re obviously going to have somebody who has a track record in all these areas, and you can look into that track record with the utmost seriousness. You look at somebody who can lead a building, lead a staff, lead 18 to 22, 23, 24-year-olds to compete in the best league in the country."

Sources: Virginia Tech and James Franklin are finalizing an agreement for him to become the school’s next coach. Franklin has won 128 games over 15 seasons as the head coach at Vanderbilt and Penn State. He led Penn State to the CFP semi-finals last year. pic.twitter.com/Pr4TyLBB9N
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 17, 2025

Auburn’s coaching pool has now taken a hit, which leaves Jon Sumrall and current Auburn interim head coach DJ Durkin as the primary candidates to fill Freeze’s shoes. Lane Kiffin is not likely to become Auburn’s next head coach, and the LSU Tigers and Florida Gators are heavily competing for him.

Jon Sumrall has been the most mentioned name for the Auburn head coaching job. Sumrall is from Huntsville, Ala., and understands what fans want when it comes to winning football games.

For DJ Durkin, the job is almost his to lose. He ignited the Auburn offense in their last outing against the Vanderbilt Commodores, an offense that struggled for two and a half seasons under Freeze. If Durkin were to win out the remainder of Auburn’s games, he has a fair chance at becoming the next head coach at Auburn.

With the coaching search still ongoing, John Cohen plans to announce who the next head coach will be within 24 hours after the conclusion of the Iron Bowl.

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