REPORT: Auburn is supposedly negotiating the open Athletic Director job with current Mississippi State AD John Cohen

Pete Thamel, senior school soccer author for ESPN, dropped a bombshell on twitter throughout Auburn’s matchup towards Arkansas: Auburn is seemingly “in discussions” with Mississippi State’s present athletic director John Cohen for the open athletic director job vacated by Allen Greene earlier this yr.  

Sports activities Illustrated’s Ross Dellinger was in a position to independently affirm the report.

Cohen, 56, has spent the final seven years because the Athletic Director at Mississippi State after one yr as Affiliate AD and, previous to that, a university baseball teaching profession that noticed him function the top coach at Mississippi State from 2009-2016 and Kentucky from 2004-2008 earlier than that.

Regardless of widespread notion that Cohen has excelled at Mississippi State, together with capturing a nationwide championship in baseball in 2021 below head coach Chris Lemonis, conversations popping out of Starkville paint a unique image. 

Based on Justin Hokanson of On3, a number of sources have expressed concern concerning the longevity of Cohen’s tenure in Starkville, with conversations expressing concern that he’s on his method out of the Bulldogs prime spot. 

The Mississippi Clarion Ledger just lately wrote concerning the “legacy” of Cohen, citing latest regression in all main sports activities, even baseball, in addition to questionable dealing with of NIL and unsure hires each inside the athletic administration and training staffs.

One specific observe concerning the latest slide in on-field efficiency was reasonably sobering:

If the coaches fail, it’ll be on Cohen. He prolonged Leach, who’s under .500 in his tenure at State with two Egg Bowl losses. Lemonis adopted up baseball’s first nationwide title with a shedding season. Ladies’s basketball fell from a Ultimate 4 program to at least one with 4 coaches since 2020. Males’s basketball hasn’t been to the NCAA Event since 2019 and had a mean attendance of solely 6,830 final season.

Increased-ups at Mississippi State would reportedly be pleased with Auburn taking John Cohen, because it’s by no means simple to maneuver on from a former participant and “lifer” (just like Nebraska’s expertise with Scott Frost). 

The rumored favourite for the Athletic Director place at Auburn, Utah State’s John Hartwell, continues to be thought of to be within the operating, in addition to New Mexico’s Eddie Nunez. Each males are thought of to be achieved and skilled athletic administrators, with Hartwell having run the Outdated Miss Athletics Basis in addition to being AD at Troy earlier than his present stint at Utah State whereas Nunez has 15 years of expertise, together with 14 at LSU in varied capacities inside the athletics division. 

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