The Auburn Tigers college football team represents Auburn University in the West Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Tigers compete as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 28 head coaches, and 3 interim head coaches, since it began play during the 1892 season. The Tigers current head coach is Hugh Freeze.
The team has played more than 1,250 games over 119 seasons. In that time, eight coaches have led the Tigers in postseason bowl games: Jack Meagher, Ralph Jordan, Pat Dye, Terry Bowden, Tommy Tuberville, Gene Chizik, Gus Malzahn and Bryan Harsin. Seven coaches won conference championships: Walter H. Watkins and Mike Donahue won a combined three as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association; Chet A. Wynne won one as a member of the Southern Conference; and Jordan, Dye, Tuberville, Chizik, and Malzahn won a combined eight as a member of the SEC. During their tenures, Jordan and Chizik each won a national championship with the Tigers.
Jordan is the leader in seasons coached and games won, with 176 victories during his 25 years with the program. M. S. Harvey and Johnny Floyd have the lowest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with .000. Of the 26 different head coaches who have led the Tigers, John Heisman, Donahue, Jordan and Dye have been inducted as head coaches into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Key
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage | ||||
Coaches
| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | DC | CC | NC | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Petrie | 1892 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.500 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 2 | D. M. Balliet | 1893 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 3 | George Roy Harvey | 1893 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.750 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 4 | Forrest M. Hall | 1894 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.250 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 5 | John Heisman† | 1895–1899 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0.722 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0.643 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 6 | Walter H. Watkins | 1900–1901 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0.650 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0.688 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | — |
| 7 | Ralph S. Kent | 1902 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.500 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.500 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 8 | M. S. Harvey | 1902 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 9 | William Penn Bates | 1903 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0.571 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.400 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 10 | Mike Donahue† | 1904–1906 1908–1922 | 146 | 106 | 35 | 5 | 0.743 | 65 | 26 | 3 | 0.707 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — |
| 11 | Willis Kienholz | 1907 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0.722 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.583 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 12 | Boozer Pitts | 1923–1924 1927 | 24 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 0.417 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 0.281 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 13 | Dave Morey | 1925–1927 | 21 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0.500 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0.464 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 14 | George Bohler | 1928–1929 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0.214 | 0 | 10 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 15 | Johnny Floyd | 1929 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 16 | Chet A. Wynne | 1930–1933 | 39 | 22 | 15 | 2 | 0.590 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0.521 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — |
| 17 | Jack Meagher | 1934–1942 | 95 | 48 | 37 | 10 | 0.558 | 26 | 25 | 7 | 0.509 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | SEC Coach of the Year (1935) |
| 18 | Carl M. Voyles | 1944–1947 | 37 | 15 | 22 | 0 | 0.405 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 0.190 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 19 | Earl Brown | 1948–1950 | 29 | 3 | 22 | 4 | 0.172 | 2 | 18 | 2 | 0.136 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 20 | Ralph Jordan† | 1951–1975 | 265 | 176 | 83 | 6 | 0.675 | 85 | 65 | 5 | 0.565 | 5 | 7 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 – 1957 | AP SEC Coach of the Year (1953, 1957, 1972) UPI SEC Coach of the Year (1963, 1972) SEC Coach of the Year (1953, 1963, 1972) |
| 21 | Doug Barfield | 1976–1980 | 55 | 29 | 25 | 1 | 0.536 | 15 | 14 | 1 | 0.517 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 22 | Pat Dye† | 1981–1992 | 142 | 95 | 39 | 4 | 0.707 | 43 | 27 | 3 | 0.609 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | AP SEC Coach of the Year (1987, 1988) UPI SEC Coach of the Year (1983, 1988) SEC Coach of the Year (1983, 1987, 1988) |
| 23 | Terry Bowden | 1993–1998 | 65 | 47 | 17 | 1 | 0.731 | 28 | 15 | 1 | 0.647 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | FWAA Coach of the Year (1993) George Munger Award (1993) Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (1993) Walter Camp Coach of the Year (1993) AP SEC Coach of the Year (1993) |
| Interim | Bill Oliver | 1998 | 5 | 2 | 3 | — | 0.400 | 0 | 3 | — | .000 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 24 | Tommy Tuberville | 1999–2008 | 125 | 85 | 40 | — | 0.680 | 49 | 29 | — | 0.620 | 5 | 3 | — | 5 | 1 | 0 | AFCA Coach of the Year (2004) Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (2004) Walter Camp Coach of the Year (2004) AP Coach of the Year (2004) AP SEC Coach of the Year (2004) |
| 25 | Gene Chizik | 2009–2012 | 52 | 33 | 19 | — | 0.635 | 15 | 17 | — | 0.469 | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 – 2010 | Home Depot Coach of the Year (2010) Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award (2010) Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (2010) Bobby Bowden National Collegiate Coach of the Year Award (2010) AP SEC Coach of the Year (2010) |
| 26 | Gus Malzahn | 2013–2020 | 102 | 67 | 35 | — | 0.657 | 38 | 27 | — | 0.578 | 2 | 5 | — | 2 | 1 | 0 | Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award (2013) Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (2013) Associated Press College Football Coach of the Year Award (2013) Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award (2013) Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year (2013) Home Depot Coach of the Year Award (2013) SEC Coach of the Year (2013) |
| Interim | Kevin Steele | 2020 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 27 | Bryan Harsin | 2021–2022 | 21 | 9 | 12 | — | 0.429 | 4 | 9 | — | 0.308 | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Interim | Cadillac Williams | 2022 | 4 | 2 | 2 | — | 0.500 | 1 | 2 | — | 0.333 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 28 | Hugh Freeze | 2023–present | 13 | 6 | 7 | — | 0.462 | 3 | 5 | — | 0.375 | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Notes
References
General
- "Auburn Coaching Records". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
- 2010 Auburn Football Media Guide. Auburn, Alabama: Auburn Media Relations Office. 2010. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
Specific