Former Auburn OC Eric Kiesau joining Florida staff, per reports

Former Auburn OC Eric Kiesau joining Florida staff, per reports

Former Auburn offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau will reportedly be back in the SEC this fall, albeit in an off-field role.

Kiesau is expected to join Billy Napier’s Florida staff as an offensive analyst, according to multiple reports. On3 first reported the move for Kiesau on Sunday morning.

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Kiesau’s addition to Florida’s support staff would reunite the 50-year-old coach with Napier, who he previously worked alongside at Alabama during the 2015 season. Napier was the Tide’s wide receivers coach at the time, while Kiesau was an offensive analyst on Nick Saban’s staff.

Kiesau spent less than two seasons at Auburn as part of former coach Bryan Harsin’s staff, starting off in an analyst role working with the Tigers’ wide receivers in 2021 before being promoted to wide receivers coach midseason following the firing of Cornelius Williams after the first four games that year. Kiesau was then promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the 2022 season after Harsin fired Mike Bobo and then saw his replacement, Austin Davis, step down six weeks after accepting the job and before ever coaching a practice at Auburn.

Kiesau served as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator for the first eight games of the year but was fired, along with Harsin, on Halloween amid a 3-5 start to the season. Kiesau was one of several Auburn staff members with ties to Harsin and Boise State who were fired midseason, joining tight ends coach Brad Bedell, strength coach Jeff Pitman, chief of staff Brad Larrondo and director of recruiting Darren Uscher. Kiesau was in the first year of a two-year contract that paid him $800,000 annually as Auburn’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach.

At the time of Kiesau’s firing, Auburn’s offense was at its worst since 2012—when the team went 3-9 — in several key areas, including pass efficiency (118.17), scoring (22.9 points per game) and sacks allowed per game (2.62). The Tigers’ passing offense ranked 12th in the SEC and 90th nationally under Kiesau, while its passing efficiency numbers were the worst in the league and 110th nationally. Auburn’s scoring offense was 13th in the SEC and 103rd nationally during Kiesau’s tenure as offensive coordinator.

Prior to joining Harsin at Auburn, Kiesau spent four seasons on Harsin’s staff at Boise State, including two as offensive coordinator. He was the Broncos’ wide receivers coach during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, then added the co-offensive coordinator title in 2019 before serving as Boise State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2020.

Along with his experience working with Harsin and his aforementioned one-year stop at Alabama, Kiesau has more than two decades of coaching experience. He got his start at Utah State in 2000 coaching running backs and then shifting to wide receivers the following year. That was followed by four seasons coaching receivers at Cal, five seasons at Colorado—including two as offensive coordinator from 2009-10—before a return to Cal in 2011. From 2012-13 he was the offensive coordinator at Washington under Steve Sarkisian before a one-year stint at Kansas.

That was followed by his season at Alabama and one at Fresno State before he linked up with Harsin at Boise State.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.