Auburn finally pulled the plug on the failed Bryan Harsin experiment on Monday.

Auburn fired Harsin after he compiled a 9-12 record in less than two full seasons as the program’s head coach. Harsin never seemed to fit in at the Southeastern Conference school and was subject to a much-publicized inquiry into his treatment of players and coaches in February.

With Harsin gone, new Auburn athletic director John Cohen must quickly get to work on finding the right replacement. As I wrote on Sunday, getting the right football coach in place will determine how Cohen’s hire is judged. Cohen needs to deliver a coach who can capitalize on Auburn’s burgeoning NIL efforts and can fire up a fanbase desperate for winning after Harsin’s struggles.

While at Mississippi State, Cohen made two football hires, to mixed results. He hired Joe Moorhead to replace Dan Mullen and then Mike Leach to succeed Moorhead when Cohen dumped him after only two seasons.

Where could Cohen turn to find Auburn’s next head coach to replace Harsin? Here is an early list of candidates getting buzz.

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Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss head coach

Back on Sept. 18, I made the case for firing Bryan Harsin in favor of Lane Kiffin. The Ole Miss head coach was interested in the job when it last opened in 2020, according to sources, and is expected to be one of the top targets of this search. Auburn can sell Kiffin on a much better funded NIL warchest (a source of frustration for him at Ole Miss), a realistic chance to compete for national championships and an opportunity to bug his “buddy” Nick Saban all the time. One drawback is sources have said Kiffin doesn’t enjoy the “fishbowl” component of a small town like Oxford and he’d run into similar problems at Auburn. One other thing to keep in mind: Kiffin is already making $7.25 million at Ole Miss so it’d take a huge offer to sway him away from the Rebels.

Hugh Freeze, Liberty head coach

The former Ole Miss head coach has been mentioned for this job for years and is a popular name amongst some of the school’s most influential boosters. Freeze wants this job, according to sources, and previously went after it back in 2020 when Auburn hired Harsin. Then-Auburn president Jay Gogue wanted no part of hiring Freeze, and it will be interesting to see how new AD Cohen and new president Chris Roberts weigh Freeze’s coaching prowess against his personal and professional baggage. A few of the people I talked to over the weekend expressed skepticism Cohen would want to go this direction, but he knows he has to deliver a winner with this hire and Freeze could be his best option. Freeze recently agreed to a fully-guaranteed contract extension that pays him more than $5 million annually, but it wouldn’t stop a school like Auburn from poaching him if it decides he’s the guy. For weeks now, Freeze has been the most popular name among industry sources to end up as Auburn’s next head coach.

Deion Sanders, Jackson State head coach

Watching the amazing scene in Jackson on College GameDay this weekend was a strong reminder of what Deion Sanders can do for a program. As someone who covered Jackson State during my time at The Clarion-Ledger, this was a program beset by dysfunction, fans lamenting about the good old days and an inability to get national attention. Sanders has quickly fixed all of that with strong recruiting chops, innate marketing charms and some real coaching ability. Sanders is appealing to some top boosters who believe he could recruit at a high level and bring buzz around a program that was severely lacking under Harsin. Sanders recently said he has no plans to leave JSU, but that he’ll entertain other suitors should they pursue him. “I’d be a fool and a liar to tell you I wouldn’t entertain those things because I am,” Sanders said.

Mark Stoops, Kentucky head coach

Could this be the job that pulls Stoops away from “basketball school” Kentucky? There’d be questions about fit with Stoops – can he still successfully recruit the state of Ohio at Auburn? – but he has far exceeded expectations at one of the more difficult jobs in the conference. With Will Levis expected to leave after this season, it could be the right time for Stoops to jump if he’s going to do so. He might not be as intriguing an option as Kiffin or Sanders, but he’s proven he can consistently win in the SEC and that counts for something after the recent issues.

Matt Rhule, former Carolina Panthers head coach

The former Baylor head coach will be one of the hottest names this coaching cycle after the Carolina Panthers fired him on Oct. 10. Would Rhule, who is reportedly owed $40 million after his firing, really want to immediately jump into another job rather than count his money and take a year off? That’s what Auburn will need to figure out, but it is at least worth kicking the tires on a coach who took Baylor to a Sugar Bowl.

Jeff Grimes, Baylor offensive coordinator

Grimes, who previously coached at Auburn, feels like a backup option compared to some of the bold-faced names on this list. Baylor has struggled this season which makes selling Grimes, a first-time head coach, as Auburn’s next guy a bit unpalatable. Still, Grimes is highly-regarded within the industry and would be an option if the big names say no.

Kevin Steele, Miami defensive coordinator

I think by law I’m obligated to include Steele in any Auburn coaching candidates list. Steele, as we reported back in December 2020, was the preferred choice among influential boosters to replace Gus Malzahn until Allen Greene took over the search and instead went for Harsin. It feels like a major long shot at this point, though, that Steele will get seriously in the mix for this job.

John Talty is the sports editor and SEC Insider for Alabama Media Group. He is the bestselling author of “The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban: How Alabama’s Coach Became the Greatest Ever.”