'SEC Vibes' takes a look at what might have been for the Auburn Tigers

The Auburn Tigers are 3-1 under first-year head coach Alex Golesh. While several aspects of Auburn's first four performances of the season were not perfect, it is apparent that Golesh is working to change the culture of the program, with accountability being a major driving force behind his scheme.

The Athletic's weekly "SEC Vibes" rankings usually gauge the vibes around each SEC program based on the previous week's results. This week, however, Seth Emerson of The Athletic tackles a giant "what-if" scenario involving John Cohen's decision to hire Alex Golesh over Jon Sumrall or Lane Kiffin.

"Auburn may well end up in a great place with Alex Golesh. But it’s also hard not to look wistfully at what (Jon) Sumrall is doing at Florida and realize what could’ve been if LSU hadn’t opened, (Lane) Kiffin hadn’t gone there, and Florida had been able to hire Kiffin," writes Emerson, who placed Auburn at No. 12 in this week's SEC Vibes ranking.

When Auburn decided to dismiss Hugh Freeze last season, all indications pointed to Auburn hiring Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall, a successful head coach who played football in the SEC and married an Auburn alum, while Florida and LSU eyed Lane Kiffin to take over their programs after the firings of Billy Napier and Brian Kelly, respectively.

As we now know, LSU won the Kiffin sweepstakes, which resulted in Florida hiring Sumrall and Auburn hiring Golesh. Heading into Week 5, Florida is winning the race for "who made the best hire," with Sumrall leading the Gators to two quality SEC wins; Golesh and Kiffin not far behind with 1-1 records against SEC competition.

Of those three programs, Auburn's "vibes" are the lowest at No. 12, with LSU at No. 6 after beating Texas A&M, and Florida skyrocketing to No. 1 after stunning Ole Miss by posting 52 points on the Rebels' defense in The Swamp.

All three coaches laid foundations at their respective programs in different ways. Sumrall, alongside offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, brought in several talented transfers to fit their scheme. Sumrall also inherited a great running back in Jadan Baugh and is getting the most out of him early on. Kiffin heavily relied on the transfer portal, bringing in 44 new players to Baton Rouge. Outside of a few reliable defensive pieces and quality special teams players, Golesh basically rebuilt Auburn's roster from scratch, using a few players he developed at USF to fill key roles.

Golesh may not have the early wins Sumrall does, or Kiffin's personality, but he has already accomplished several goals that prove he is capable of leading the Tigers' program. Just last week, he led the Tigers to their first home SEC win in 672 days, dating back to November 2024 when Auburn beat Texas A&M in four overtimes. Justin Ferguson of The Auburn Observer also points out that Auburn won its first SEC game before the final weekend in October since 2022 on Saturday.

While the process may be slow, there is little reason to believe Golesh is not the right fit for Auburn. He will have a great chance to prove his worth in October when the Tigers face No. 17 Tennessee, No. 2 Georgia, No. 11 LSU, and No. 12 Ole Miss, three of which will be on the road. It will be interesting to see how much the perception of Golesh changes over the next 30 days.

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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: 'SEC Vibes' takes a look at what might have been for the Auburn Tigers