This is an opinion column

Back in July, before Hugh Freeze had ever coached a down at Auburn, before any of what seemed like a day that would never come finally arrived, Paul Finebaum talked to AL.com about why the day Nick Saban finally left would be among the most important for Auburn in the long history of college football’s biggest rivalry.

That day, this day, whenever that ill-fated day for so much of the Yellowhammer State ticked across the calendar, would be one Auburn had to be ready for.

“At some point, Nick Saban is gone,” Finebaum said. “That’s an opportunity for Auburn. I’ve watched this before. I’ve seen the transition. I covered the transition from Pat Dye and beyond. And watched the end of Bryan, and I wouldn’t have wanted to be the Auburn coach eight or nine years ago, or five years ago. But I’d like to be the Auburn coach right now.”

Nick Saban is retiring. News of the legendary coach’s departure sent waves across the college football landscape on X, formerly known as Twitter, when ESPN broke the news. The waves reverberated into hushed, stunned conversations in coffee shops and group chats across Alabama and the country in moments.

Transition is hard. Finding the right coach to continue a dynasty is an impossible hire. There will not be another Nick Saban — a name synonymous with Alabama, with football, with trophies.

But for Auburn, Alabama is different than the gold standard. It’s the most important team to beat every single season. After 17 years under Saban, Auburn won the Iron Bowl only five times.

Finebaum knew this day was coming. To some level we all did. But it was hard to fathom anyone but Saban being the coach in Tuscaloosa until that day finally came. Finebaum certainly didn’t see it happening so soon.

“Knowing that Saban, in many ways, has a limited shelf life,” Finebaum said. “You know before anybody jumps up and down, I’m not talking about this year or next, but there will come a time in the intermediate that Nick Saban is out of there. And then watch and see the chaos that reigns at Alabama trying to match what he did while Hugh Freeze, assuming he’s on solid ground, is able to take advantage of that at least within the state boundaries.”

Turns out, Finebaum was talking about this year, and he is right. All that position Finebaum stressed Auburn must have when this day came? No time to wait, the time is now.

So where is Auburn, and the program Freeze is building? On this day of historic change, Auburn just had many of the incoming freshmen in its top-10 ranked recruiting class settle into their dorm rooms.

Auburn has recruited inside the state lines like Finebaum described months ago. Freeze flipped five-star wide receiver Perry Thompson away from Auburn. He continues to pursue five-star wide receiver and Alabama commit Ryan Williams. The push for him just got even stronger.

There is momentum at Auburn — for Freeze — right now.

In year one, Auburn came just 31 long-shot yards from toppling Saban.

Freeze needed just one stop to beat Saban in his first year. He didn’t get it. Yet that loss gave Freeze confidence his team was not far off.

But there too are clouds of instability Auburn must solve quickly. Freeze is hiring to replace both his offensive and defensive coordinators. It must get those choices correct. For Auburn to take advantage of this moment, it has to.

The names to get a call from a Tuscaloosa area code will be plentiful and successful. It will be a coaching search of only the nation’s best and biggest names. The man tasked with impossible-to-fill shoes will be one that understands winning, and how to succeed at the highest level of this sport.

The fallout is Tuscaloosa is yet to be seen. What Saban’s retirement will mean for player departures will be felt in the weeks and months to come.

This is the moment where Auburn has to be stable, has to be set up for its chance to return to the contending status it feels it belongs in.

Freeze will forever be the coach at Auburn in the moment Saban stepped away. His hire to lead this program, and the hires he’s yet to make on a reshuffling of his staff have to be the correct one. Auburn has rarely seen pressure to be right like this.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]