Reports: Wesley McGriff set to return to Auburn after flirting with Texas A&M
Come Jan. 3, Texas A&M officially announced the addition of McGriff, pinning him as the Aggies’ defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator.
But on Friday, that move to College Station came to a screeching halt as reports of McGriff’s return surfaced.
Justin Hokanson of On3 Sports was the first to report the news Friday afternoon, adding that McGriff would be returning to The Plains to coach Auburn’s defensive backs.
“McGriff left Auburn for Texas A&M the day after the Music City Bowl, but never fully executed his contract,” Hokanson added in a post on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter.
McGriff’s reported return to Auburn comes four days after Ron Roberts jumped ship to Florida after serving as Auburn’s defensive coordinator during the 2023 season.
After Roberts’ departure, Hokanson reported Roberts’ “no non-sense style caused some issues internally” and cited such as the reason for McGriff departing his on-the-field role midway through Auburn’s season.
“Former Auburn defensive backs coach Wesley McGriff departed his on-the-field role on the middle of the season after multiple disagreements with Roberts,” Hokanson wrote.
While away from his on-the-field role, McGriff remained with the Auburn program and was helping with in-house recruiting, head coach Hugh Freeze told reporters on Oct. 23.
Come the conclusion of Auburn’s season, with Roberts still on staff, McGriff entertained other options and ultimately landed on Elko’s staff in College Station.
However, with Roberts now out, it appears McGriff is back in.
McGriff first joined Hugh Freeze’s staff at Auburn on Dec. 23, 2022, making for his third stint at Auburn. McGriff previously coached the Tigers in 2016 and again in 2019-20.
Prior to joining Freeze’s staff a year ago, McGriff was Louisville’s defensive secondary coach in for the 2022 season. McGriff has also held jobs at Kentucky, Baylor, Miami, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Florida, among others.