Auburn coaching candidates: Matt Rhule headlines five names as Tigers go 'big-game hunting,' per report

Auburn’s firing of Bryan Harsin prior to the hiring of new athletic director John Cohen signals a coaching search on The Plains, and ex-Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule was the first name Pete Thamel mentioned on College GameDay. Thamel mentioned the Tigers are shooting for the stars and are not afraid to spend big on their next coach.

"Auburn is going big-game hunting in its search to replace Bryan Harsin," Thamel said on College GameDay. "Plenty of attractions in this job to John Cohen, who feels like Auburn has the resources to win a national championship, and that could mean paying more than $10 million for a coach. Expect the Auburn search to be focused on these five names — it will start with former NFL coach Matt Rhule and will include Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, Kentucky’s Mark Stoops, Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien and Liberty’s Hugh Freeze.

"Expect the pitch to these coaches to be a simple one: 'Come in to Auburn and as Nick Saban eventually retires, you’ll have the program in place to potentially rise up in the SEC West and fill that power void that Alabama has occupied for so long.'"

For more on Auburn's coaching search, VIP subscribers can check out Auburn Undercover's hot board.

"I am incredibly disappointed that I won't get to lead the Auburn football program and these players into the future," Harsin said. "I poured my heart and soul into this program and team. We stood together in the face of considerable challenges and outside noise. Through my entire time at Auburn we did things the right way, which is not always the easy way. I am very proud of the resolve shown by everyone in our facility and incredibly grateful for those at Auburn who stood by me and my family. I am certain that this group of players will do great things. I will miss you guys tremendously but will always be there for you and do anything I can to help moving forward. Thank you for believing in me."

Among Harsin's potential replacements, Rhule signed with the Panthers in January 2020 on a contract worth north of $70 million with incentives. But after 2.5 years of ineptitude in the NFL, Carolina moved on from the former college head coach. Carolina was 1-5 this season under Rhule, who finished 11-27 in his career.

Subscribe to 247Sports YouTube for the latest college football, basketball and recruiting news including live college commitments.

During his college coaching career, Rhule was a master developer of talent. At Temple (2013-16) and Baylor (2017-19), Rhule earned the reputation of being a program builder. Rhule went 2-10 during his first season with the Owls before guiding the team to back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2015 and 2016. Baylor followed a similar trajectory under the former Panthers' coach. The team's win totals increased every year under Rhule, who leaped for a seven-year, $62 million deal in Carolina following an 11-3 record in Waco in 2019.

SOURCE: Marsdale, Sam and Straka, Dean. "Auburn coaching candidates: Matt Rhule headlines five names as Tigers go 'big-game hunting,' per report." 247Sports.com, 6 November 2022, https://247sports.com/Article/Auburn-coaching-candidates-Matt-Rhule-headlines-five-names-as-Tigers-go-big-game-hunting-per-report-196822920/