Coaching Hot Board v3.0: Jeff Grimes returns, more intel, plus a brand-new name added

AUBURN — The new Auburn Live Coaching Hot Board sees the return of Jeff Grimes, the addition of Sonny Dykes, and more context on Lane Kiffin’s potential, plus more intel.

Auburn football shifted gears in a big way on Monday, as university president Chris Roberts fired Bryan Harsin.

Shortly after that, Auburn announced officially the hiring of John Cohen as Athletics Director.

Hours later, Auburn Live broke the news that running backs coach Carnell Williams would be the interim head coach for the remaining four games.

Now, it’s all about the football coaching search. We will continue to put out the Coaching Hot Board as new information warrants it.

Here’s v3.0:

— I never should have removed Baylor offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes from v2.0. I was trying to determine the level of support for Grimes and wasn’t sure. I’m more comfortable now inserting Grimes back into the list and keeping him here for awhile. There are some at Auburn that view Grimes as the best longterm fit for a variety of reasons. He has support internally at Auburn.

— I added one name: Sonny Dykes at TCU. Dykes is known for offense, and what he’s doing at TCU this season is outstanding.

— I have left Hugh Freeze and Matt Rhule on here for now, but haven’t received very strong indications regarding either over the last 24 hours.

— Regarding Lane Kiffin, there’s two more elements to consider here. One, the other side of the max four-year deals that Mississippi allows is not just that it limits Kiffin’s contract at Ole Miss, but it will limit Ole Miss’ ability to keep Kiffin. Hypothetically, Ole Miss would have to match the money from Auburn and cram it all in a four-year contract. That’s going to be difficult to do. Two, Kiffin has designs on being the head coach at Texas A&M or Alabama. Does he wait and hope those jobs come open soon, or take the Auburn job and take his chances?

JEFF GRIMES

AGE: 54

Current job:  Baylor offensive coordinator and tight ends coach

411: Grimes was a four-year letter-winner at offensive tackle at UTEP from 1987-90, where his offensive line coach for two of those seasons was future NFL head coach Andy Reid.  After beginning his coaching career at the high school level, Grimes got his first college position at Rice as a graduate assistant in 1995 under coach Ken Hatfield. His first full-time college gig was at Hardin-Simmons and by 2000 he was the offensive line coach at Boise State. He coached the offensive lines at Arizona State, BYU and Colorado before landing the same position at Auburn in 2009, where he was part of the staff during the Tigers’ 2010 national championship season. Since then, he has coached at Virginia Tech, LSU, BYU again and now Baylor. Grimes had great success as recruiter with the Tigers and many of his signees had key roles on Auburn’s national runner-up squad in 2013. Since 2000, 17 offensive linemen that played for Grimes have been drafted, including three 1st-rounders.

Takeaway: Grimes’ salary at Baylor doesn’t appear available, but obviously there wouldn’t be any monetary issues landing Grimes and paying him $5 million-plus annually. Grimes was a candidate to replace Harsin in February, if a change was made, and is once again a leading candidate this time around. He brings offensive prowess and a specific knowledge of Auburn to the table. Grimes’ background also centers around building productive offensive lines, something Auburn hasn’t had since 2017. There is a general consensus that Grimes is a quality person that would fit at Auburn, but his lack of head coaching experience is a concern. Auburn football can’t afford to whiff on the upcoming hire. What Grimes’ potential coaching staff might look like could be an important part in getting hired at Auburn.

LANE KIFFIN

Age: 47

Current job: Ole Miss head coach

411: Although still fairly young by head coaching standards, Kiffin currently is coach at his fourth college program. Additionally, he also was head coach of the NFL’s Raiders for two seasons. There, he went just 5-15 but at the college level, he’s now 81-41, including 20-8 with the Rebels. Kiffin is the son of longtime NFL defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, who helped Tampa Bay win a Super Bowl two decades ago. Lane was a backup quarterback at Fresno State and became a graduate assistant there in 1997. His first full-time college job came in 2001 as tight ends coach at Southern California. In 2005, he was promoted to offensive coordinator, a role he shared with Steve Sarkisian. The Raiders stunned the football world by naming Kiffin coach in 2007. Two years later, he was head coach at Tennessee. The Vols went 7-6 but Kiffin left after just one season for USC. Kiffin was 28-15 with the Trojans but was fired after a 3-2 start in 2013. He spent the next three seasons as Alabama offensive coordinator before getting another shot as head coach at Florida Atlantic, where he went 26-13 over three seasons.

Takeaway: Kiffin makes $7.25 million annually at Ole Miss. For Auburn to land Kiffin, that number would likely need to be between $8.25-9 million annually. Given Auburn’s buyout of Harsin’s contract and still paying on Gus Malzahn’s buyout, that’s a massive investment. There was mutual interest in February, and there’s mutual interest again this time around. Kiffin brings offensive prowess, time learning under Nick Saban, and an ability to market himself and the university to the table. In addition, given Kiffin’s ability to attract high school and transfer portal talent to Oxford, the confidence around Auburn is high in Kiffin’s ability to close the talent gap with Alabama and Georgia. During his time in Oxford, the common rumblings were that Kiffin liked spending as much or more time at his beach house in Florida than Oxford. Kiffin’s personality is an acquired taste, and any potential relationship with the power brokers at Auburn would be an interesting dynamic.

DEION SANDERS

Age: 55

Current job: Jackson State head coach

411: Now in his third season at Jackson State, Sanders is 19-5 with that program and has been credited with building a strong roster via the recruiting trail and transfer portal. Before that, he was offensive coordinator at Cedar Hill (Texas) Trinity Christian School from 2017-2020. Additionally, Sanders has spent years coaching at various camps for elite prospects, including those run by Under Armour, and has gained a reputation for being extremely hands-on and detailed. Sanders is a native of Fort Myers, Fla., and in a state that has produced one great athlete after the other he no doubt is one of the best ever to come from the Sunshine State. In football, some regard Sanders as the best cornerback in NFL history. He was a two-time unanimous All-American at Florida State, first-round draft pick (No. 5 overall), All-Pro first team six times, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1994 and is a member of both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame. Additionally, he also played several seasons of professional baseball in the major leagues.

Takeaway: Sanders makes around $300,000 annually, part of a $1.2 million deal signed in 2020. From a “fit” perspective, combined with the heightened importance of the hire, this would be the boldest move Auburn could make. There are influential people around Auburn that are pushing for Sanders to be taken seriously and receive a legitimate look. The driving force behind a Sanders hire would be the prevailing thought that Sanders would be the best candidate to close the talent gap between Auburn and rivals Alabama and Georgia. The Atlanta area and the state of Florida, specifically IMG Academy, would immediately be very productive recruiting grounds for Auburn. Would Sanders’ over-the-top personality and coaching style fit with Auburn fans and power brokers? That might be an answer only time would tell.

SONNY DYKES

Age: 52

Current job: TCU head coach

411: He is currently the head football coach at Texas Christian University (TCU), and previously served in the same role at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 2018 to 2021, the University of California, Berkeley from 2013 to 2016 and Louisiana Tech University from 2010 to 2012. Dykes cut his teeth with Hal Mumme at Kentucky and has taken the spread offense everywhere he’s been. He was co-OC with Dana Holgorsen at Texas Tech in 2005, and has been head coach since 2010. Dykes’ career record is 79-63. Dykes’ contract at TCU is six years for around $30 million.

Takeaway: Dykes’ name is one to watch. There aren’t strong indications regarding what Auburn representatives think about Dykes, but there’s enough intel to at least include his name as a possibility. If you want offense, Dykes should be able to provide that. And it doesn’t hurt that Dykes has TCU undefeated eight weeks into the season and sitting around the top five with an opportunity to make the College Football Playoff.

HUGH FREEZE

Age: 52

Current job: Liberty head coach

411: Now in his fourth season as head coach at Liberty, Freeze, known for his innovative offenses, is 30-12 with the Flames and has three bowl appearances. Prior to that, Freeze spent five seasons at Ole Miss, where he had a good amount of success before running afoul with the NCAA. In fact, the Rebels actually beat Alabama in back-to-back years (2014, ’15) as Freeze became only the third college coach to beat Nick Saban in consecutive seasons. In  2016, the NCAA charged Ole Miss with several recruiting violations and Freeze later was forced to resign. On the field, Ole Miss went 39–25 under his watch. But the Rebels had to vacate 27 of those wins, making his official record 12–25. Prior to coaching at Ole Miss, Freeze went 10-2 in one season at Arkansas State and 20–5 at NAIA Lambuth. Additionally, he spent 10 years as head coach at Briarcrest Christian in Memphis, Tenn.

Takeaway: Freeze makes $4 million annually at Liberty, with a contract that runs through 2028. Freeze wanted the job in February, if it opened, and wants the job now. Some Auburn Board of Trustees members support a Freeze hiring. Considering the baggage that Freeze would bring, would new president Chris Roberts support the hiring of Freeze? Would SEC commissioner Greg Sankey sign off on Freeze re-entering the league after his messy departure from Ole Miss? Answers to both of those questions remain unclear. Freeze would certainly bring offensive prowess and a knowledge of what it takes to win in SEC to the table. And the common question remains, what’s the difference between Freeze and the coach Auburn fired after the 2020 season, Malzahn?

MATT RHULE

Age: 47

Current job: Former Carolina Panthers head coach, former Baylor head coach

411: On December 6, 2016, Rhule was named the head football coach at Baylor University, replacing interim head coach Jim Grobe. The Bears finished the 2017 season with a disappointing 1–11 record, which meant Baylor would not qualify for a bowl for the first time since 2009. Baylor finished the 2018 regular season 6–6 and received an invite to the 2018 Texas Bowl, where he led the Bears to a 45–38 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores to finish the season with a 7–6 record. The Baylor Bears, under Rhule’s leadership, finished the 2019 regular season at 11–1, and ultimately fell to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game and Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. During his tenure at Baylor, Rhule’s teams never defeated a ranked team. Rhule was fired from the Panthers on October 10 of this season after a 1-4 start. He went 11-27 in the NFL.

Takeaway: There’s talk that Rhule is a top candidate of president Roberts. That’s unconfirmed though. Rhule did a fantastic job turning Baylor around, but his tenure with the Panthers was a struggle. Rhule attended Penn State, and coached at Temple before Baylor. He has no real ties to the southeast in any meaningful way, and no experience coaching in the SEC, or anything close to the SEC.


SOURCE: Hokanson, Justin. "Coaching Hot Board v3.0: Jeff Grimes returns, more intel, plus a brand-new name added." Auburn Live - On3.com, 1 November 2022, https://www.on3.com/teams/auburn-tigers/news/coaching-hot-board-v3-0-jeff-grimes-returns-more-intel-plus-a-brand-new-name-added/