Cohen outlines coaching search parameters
AUBURN | John Cohen has a list.
He pulled it out and unfolded it during his introductory press conference as Auburn’s athletic director Tuesday.
While he’s not sharing that full list, he was more than willing to discuss some of the main criteria he’s considering when hiring the Tigers’ next head football coach.
“This is a very, very long process. In fact, I have 58 things on this piece of paper that we go through with this process of looking for a new head football coach,” said Cohen. “It starts with culture. It starts with X’s and O’s. And it starts with recruiting.
“Those three things have to be up front, but there’s a whole lot of other things that have to be answered before you get really deep into it.”
Cohen’s list includes the criteria he looks for in a prospective coach and questions he needs to ask. But there’s more than just what’s written on a piece of paper.
“It's about fit. And there's not an exact science,” he said. “There's analytics. There's a little bit of gut feel. There's a lot of factors. I could read you off this list, a lot of this is commonsensical, a lot of this is really important to me as I've been through the hiring process several times.”
Cohen hired Mike Leach as Mississippi State’s head coach in 2020, but that’s not as relevant to his search at Auburn as one might assume.
“What is a fit for Mississippi State University is a different fit for Auburn University,” said Cohen. “That alters the paradigm and you have to make those considerations.”
Cohen was hired Oct. 31, the same day Auburn fired Bryan Harsin. Finding AU’s next head coach could be the most important decision Cohen makes during his Auburn tenure.
“I won’t talk about the process, per se. It obviously dominates my time, which it should,” said Cohen. “The football head coaching position at Auburn University is a critical decision and we take it with the utmost seriousness. There will not be anything we don’t look at. Everything is on the table every day.
“I’m not going into dates and times and the process and when the finish line is going to be. We’ll get there when we get there and we’re going to make the right decision for this great institution.”
Cohen said he will use a search firm for logistic purposes and background checks. He’s been assured that the final decision on the hire will be his alone but he doesn’t plan to make it in a vacuum.
“The 35-year old version of myself would have stuck my chest out and said, ‘This is how it’s going to be.’ The 56-year old version of John Cohen says, ‘I want all the information that is available to me from anyone I can possibly get it from at Auburn and beyond.’ Information is a powerful thing and I want that information.
“Certainly, Dr. Roberts made it clear that these decisions will be my own, but it takes a village. It takes a group of people sharing information and sharing knowledge. Quite frankly, I have been on the phone a lot because we have to make great decisions. That’s what I’m charged with doing.”