Three candidates to keep an eye on as Auburn looks for a new offensive coordinator

After just one season leading Auburn’s offence, Philip Montgomery was sacked as offensive coordinator by Auburn on Friday.

Auburn’s passing game woes had the team rank among the nation’s worst 10 offences in terms of passing yards per game. The season was made even worse when head coach Hugh Freeze did not have a major role in game planning.

Money isn’t exactly floating around in abundance, since Auburn owes Montgomery a complete buyout of his contract, which was valued at slightly over $3 million. Freeze is undoubtedly searching for an offensive coordinator who can support his recruiting efforts at the current pace without jeopardising the offense’s performance.

Austin is the most obvious immediate internal contender for the position. Having served as Liberty’s quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator, he has a wealth of experience working with Freeze. Additionally, he served as Ole Miss’ offensive coordinator from 2008 to 2009, giving him prior SEC experience. He spent the most of his career in the Canadian Football League.

The most obvious current internal candidate for the job is Austin. He has extensive experience working with Freeze, having held the positions of co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Liberty. He also had previous SEC experience as Ole Miss’ offensive coordinator from 2008 to 2009. The majority of his playing career was spent in the Canadian Football League.

Luke is a member of the Freeze coaching line, but he may be in a unique situation because he was only appointed as the offensive line coach at Clemson a little over a month ago.

Still, he seems like a great fit for the Auburn position.

Luke was recruited by Freeze to serve as Ole Miss’ offensive coordinator, and he typically oversaw an effective offence. Following Freeze’s resignation in 2017, Luke, an Ole Miss alum, was awarded the head coaching position at Oxford because he was regarded well enough internally.

After two unsuccessful seasons, he was sacked in 2019, although Luke was mainly left to handle the consequences of the rules violations that led to Freeze’s resignation.