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column | Is Auburn football the new Tennessee?

Online Niel October 25, 2024

Auburn fans are no strangers to the emotional rollercoaster that comes with being a part of the SEC.

It’s a rollercoaster that all teams experience, and I happened to spend much of my childhood on the Tennessee football rollercoaster, growing up with a father and older brother who are die-hard Tennessee fans.

College brought me to Auburn and shifted my focus from Tennessee to Auburn football, but after almost four years at Auburn, it seems to me that the Tigers have more in common with the Tennessee I grew up watching than I thought. could have imagined.

From surprising highs to frustrating lows, Auburn is starting to look a bit like what Tennessee football used to be — volatile, full of potential and just a little bit chaotic.

For nearly ten years, in what author Mark Nagi has coined “The Decade of Dysfunction,” Tennessee fans have been known for “Is this the year?” mentality. Seasons began with promise, only to end with heartache, coaching changes or untapped potential.

I’ve attended both the disappointing Tennessee games and the exciting ones, but I’ll never forget the highs and lows of the Vols’ 2015 contest against Oklahoma, when the Baker Mayfield-led Sooners came back from a 17-point deficit. to win in double overtime.

Auburn’s home loss to Oklahoma this season shares that disappointment, and the Tigers find themselves in a similar position to the Volunteers of the past.

After years of consistency under former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, the program experienced two coaching searches, and with them, Auburn fans began to experience a constant search for the next piece of the puzzle, as Tennessee endured for for over a decade.

In his eight seasons with Auburn, Malzahn never had a losing season and played for the national championship in 2013, parting ways with the Tigers after a 6-5 season in 2020. Auburn has not posted a winning season since Malzahn’s departure .

Similarly, Tennessee entered a decade of turmoil after parting ways with head coach Phillip Fulmer, who led the Vols for 16 seasons, including 14 winning seasons and a national championship in 1998. After firing Fulmer, Tennessee posted seven losing seasons over the entire 12 years.

Tennessee’s coaching carousel has become a defining feature of the program—Lane Kiffin, Derek Dooley, Butch Jones and Jeremy Pruitt have come and gone, each representing a new era of expectations.

Auburn sees its own version of that narrative. Bryan Harsin’s short and turbulent tenure reminded fans that consistency and stability come and go, and the recent arrival of Hugh Freeze carries the same mix of optimism and anxiety that Tennessee fans knew all too well with their new hires.

Like Tennessee, Auburn has a football history. National championships, SEC titles and unforgettable Iron Bowls have cemented Auburn’s legacy in the SEC, just as Tennessee’s history has established the Volunteers’ legacy in the conference.

But, Auburn faces the challenge of bringing those glory days back to the fore instead of reliving the past. The program’s desire for a resurgence is reminiscent of Tennessee’s hunger to return to the days of Peyton Manning, Tee Martin and Fulmer — a time when Neyland Stadium was an SEC powerhouse.

Tennessee’s breakthrough came with Josh Heupel, who brought with him a potent offense and an understanding of the program’s rich history, and ultimately was able to lead the Vols to their first Alabama win in 15 years.

Auburn football needs its own version of the Heupel revival – a coach who can connect with the fan base, energize the players and bring the Tigers back to SEC relevance. There is still hope that Freeze could be that coach, but only time will tell.

When it comes down to it, the similarities between Tennessee football of the past and Auburn football of today are more than a comparison of struggles and hopes. They highlight the cyclical nature of college football. Programs rise and fall, and what Tennessee fans have experienced over the past two decades has now become a cautionary tale — and perhaps a road map — for Auburn.

The Volunteers’ recent return to relevance gives Auburn fans reason to believe that even after disappointing seasons, a comeback is always possible. Tennessee has shown that a program can return to prominence no matter how long the drought. Auburn fans should take heart in that lesson. The search for stability and success can be long and painful, but if Tennessee’s story teaches us anything, it’s that patience can pay off.