Auburn has won two national championships, under Shug Jordan in 1957 and Gene Chizik in 2010, and its coaching history includes three of the most famous names in the sport: John Heisman, Jordan and Pat Dye. The last decade has been harder. Since Gus Malzahn was fired after the 2020 season, Bryan Harsin and Hugh Freeze were both let go before finishing their third full season, and Alex Golesh arrived from USF in November 2025 as the program’s 30th head coach.
The Modern Era
| Coach | Seasons | Record | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Golesh | 2026 to present | First season | None yet |
| D.J. Durkin | 2025 | 1, 2 | Interim |
| Hugh Freeze | 2023 to 2025 | 15, 19 | None |
| Cadillac Williams | 2022 | 2, 2 | Interim |
| Bryan Harsin | 2021 to 2022 | 9, 12 | None |
| Kevin Steele | 2020 | 0, 1 | Interim, bowl only |
| Gus Malzahn | 2013 to 2020 | 68, 35 | SEC 2013 |
| Gene Chizik | 2009 to 2012 | 33, 19 | National 2010; SEC 2010 |
| Tommy Tuberville | 1999 to 2008 | 85, 40 | SEC 2004 |
| Bill Oliver | 1998 | 2, 3 | Interim |
| Terry Bowden | 1993 to 1998 | 47, 17, 1 | None (11 and 0 in 1993 while on probation) |
| Pat Dye | 1981 to 1992 | 99, 39, 4 | SEC 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989 |
| Doug Barfield | 1976 to 1980 | 29, 25, 1 | None |
| Ralph “Shug” Jordan | 1951 to 1975 | 176, 83, 6 | National 1957; SEC 1957 |
Records are wins, losses and ties. Gold rows are coaches who won a national or SEC title. Interim records are counted separately from the head coach they replaced.
Before 1951
| Coach | Seasons | Record | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Meagher | 1934 to 1942 | 48, 37, 10 | None |
| Chet A. Wynne | 1930 to 1933 | 22, 15, 2 | Southern Conference 1932 |
| Mike Donahue | 1904 to 1906, 1908 to 1922 | 106, 35, 5 | SIAA 1910, 1913, 1914 |
| John Heisman | 1895 to 1899 | 12, 4, 2 | None |
Auburn began play in 1892 and had more than a dozen coaches before Jordan, most for a single season. The school did not field a team in 1943 because of World War II.
Shug Jordan, 1951 to 1975
Ralph “Shug” Jordan won 176 games in 25 seasons, the most in school history, and his 1957 team went 10 and 0 to win the AP national championship. He was an Auburn graduate who also coached the basketball team earlier in his career, and the stadium has carried his name since 1973. He is in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Pat Dye, 1981 to 1992
Dye arrived from Wyoming and won four SEC titles in nine seasons, including three straight from 1987 to 1989. He coached Heisman winner Bo Jackson, and in 1989 he brought the Iron Bowl to Auburn for the first time, ending decades of the game being played in Birmingham. The field at Jordan-Hare Stadium is named for him, and he is in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Tuberville and Chizik: 2004 and 2010
Tommy Tuberville won 85 games in ten seasons, and his 2004 team went 13 and 0 and won the SEC but was left out of the BCS championship game, a snub that still defines that era. Gene Chizik replaced him, and in his second season quarterback Cam Newton won the Heisman as Auburn went 14 and 0 and beat Oregon for the 2010 national championship. Two years later Chizik was fired after a 3 and 9 season.
Gus Malzahn, 2013 to 2020
Malzahn, who had been Chizik’s offensive coordinator, took over in 2013 and led one of the great turnarounds in the sport, from 3 and 9 to the SEC title and the final BCS championship game, which Auburn lost to Florida State. That season included the Kick Six, Chris Davis’s missed field goal return that beat top ranked Alabama. Malzahn won 68 games in eight seasons and was fired after the 2020 season.
Harsin, Freeze and a Reset
Bryan Harsin came from Boise State and went 9 and 12 before he was fired midway through his second season in 2022. Hugh Freeze followed and went 15 and 19 over three seasons, reaching one bowl, and was fired during the 2025 season. Defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin finished the year as interim coach.
Alex Golesh
Golesh was hired on November 30, 2025 after three seasons as USF’s head coach, where he rebuilt a program that had won four games in the three years before he arrived. He made his name as an offensive coordinator under Josh Heupel at Tennessee. Our 2026 schedule page has the full slate.
The Bottom Line
Auburn’s two national championship coaches are Shug Jordan in 1957 and Gene Chizik in 2010, and Jordan holds the school record with 176 wins. Pat Dye won four SEC titles, Tuberville went unbeaten in 2004 and Malzahn won the 2013 SEC title. Alex Golesh is in his first season after the Freeze era ended in 2025. See the coaches with the most wins, the hot seat tracker and the Auburn score today.