Auburn football coaching staff tracker: Hugh Freeze's staff after firings, resignations
AUBURN — It's been a season of change for Auburn football.
The Tigers will have two new coordinators in 2024, and a couple of beloved former players turned staff members − Cadillac Williams and Zac Etheridge − have resigned from their roles. Hugh Freeze isn't the first coach to shuffle the deck after a disappointing first season, but it's a lot to keep track of.
Here's a breakdown, which will be updated throughout offseason developments. Auburn, along with every other program in the country, is allowed 10 on-field assistants. A coordinator can sometimes also coach a position. For example, Philip Montgomery was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2023.
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Offensive coordinator: Derrick Nix
It took Freeze a little under two weeks to find his replacement for Montgomery, landing on Ole Miss assistant head coach/wide receivers coach Derrick Nix. Nix has been with the Rebels since 2008, coaching RBs for the first 12 seasons before coaching WRs for the last four.
Defensive coordinator: DJ Durkin
It was reported by Matt Zenitz of 247Sports on Jan. 29 that DJ Durkin had accepted the role of defensive coordinator with the Tigers. Durkin's most known for his time at Maryland and his subsequent ouster related to the death of a player. He's been a DC at three other SEC programs: Florida, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
Co-DC: Charles Kelly
Charles Kelly was announced as a co-DC on Freeze's staff Jan. 12. He was most recently working under coach Deion Sanders at Colorado, but he's also made notable stops Alabama, Florida State and Tennessee. He's regarded as one of the best recruiters in the country.
QBs: Kent Austin
Montgomery's departure meant Auburn needed a new QBs coach, and Kent Austin has been promoted to take over that role. Austin was a special assistant to the head coach last season.
RBs: Derrick Nix
Nix will also coach RBs at Auburn. He's replacing Williams, who announced his resignation from the staff Jan. 11. Williams spent five seasons as a coach on the Plains, first hired by former coach Gus Malzahn in 2019, retained by Bryan Harsin in 2020 and then retained again by Freeze in 2022.
WRs: Marcus Davis
Another former player who has returned to the Tigers in a coaching role, Marcus Davis helped Auburn land a couple of five-star receivers in Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson. The Tigers also have signatures in the Class of 2024 from four-star prospects Bryce Cain and Malcolm Simmons, and they're still chasing five-star phenom Ryan Williams.
TEs: Ben Aigamaua
Rivaldo Fairweather turned in one of the best all-time seasons for an Auburn tight end in program history in 2023, catching 38 passes for 394 yards and six touchdowns. TEs coach Ben Aigamaua has been with Freeze since the latter's time at Ole Miss, and Aigamaua followed him to Liberty.
OL: Jake Thornton
Auburn is set to have 15 scholarship offensive linemen on the roster in 2024. Of that bunch, only three predate the arrival of Jake Thornton, who has turned over his position group more than any other member of the staff. The Tigers recently landed a pledge from Mississippi State transfer OT Percy Lewis.
DL: Jeremy Garrett
Jeremy Garrett was another position coach to follow Freeze to the Plains from Liberty. Marcus Harris had a breakout season under his guidance, totaling career-high marks across the board in tackles (40), tackles for loss (11) and sacks (7). Harris is off the NFL, and Garrett has landed a couple of transfers this offseason in attempt to survive his departure: Gage Keys (Kansas) and Trill Carter (Texas).
LBs: Josh Aldridge
A key recruiter on the staff who has been listed by 247Sports as either the primary or secondary recruiter on four blue-chip prospects, Josh Aldridge joined Aigamaua, Thornton and Garrett in the Liberty-to-Auburn pipeline. The Tigers ran a true two-deep rotation at linebacker last season with Eugene Asante, Austin Keys, Larry Nixon III and Cam Riley. Three of those players are set to return.
DBs: Wesley McGriff
Wes McGriff began the 2023 season coaching cornerbacks before he took a step back from the position and became what Freeze called the "chief of accountability and in-house recruiting" in October. McGriff left this offseason for a spot on Texas A&M's staff, but he's since reportedly reversed course and plans to return to the Tigers in 2024.
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football coaching staff: Tracking Hugh Freeze's moves
