Auburn’s search for a new offensive coordinator has taken a turn as it has entered its second week.
After Auburn moved on from Mike Bobo following one season at the helm of the offense, the program narrowed in on Arizona State offensive coordinator Zak Hill as a potential replacement. Hill previously spent four seasons as Boise State’s offensive coordinator under Bryan Harsin from 2016-19 and was believed to be the favorite to succeed Bobo on the Plains up until this week.
Auburn has moved on from Hill as the target for its offensive coordinator search, according to a source familiar with the situation, and has instead turned its attention to at least three other candidates who have prior ties to the program.
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Among those candidates is current Florida State offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, who previously served as Auburn’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2019 under then-coach Gus Malzahn. According to a source, Auburn reached out and had discussions with Dillingham about the vacancy Tuesday morning.
There is mutual interest between Auburn and Dillingham, according to one source who believes the 31-year-old up-and-comer may be “the leading candidate” for the position. One looming question over the coordinator search is whether the new hire will call the offensive plays or if Harsin will take over those responsibilities. Dillingham did not call plays during his previous stint at Auburn under Malzahn but is the primary play-caller at Florida State, where he has spent the last two seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Mike Norvell.
While there may be other candidates in the mix, the two others with Auburn ties believed to be in consideration are Texas A&M assistant Dameyune Craig and Georgia assistant Dell McGee.
Craig, who played quarterback at Auburn from 1994-97, previously served as the Tigers’ wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator from 2013-15 under Malzahn. He has spent the four seasons at Texas A&M as the Aggies’ wide receivers coach under Jimbo Fisher. Between his time at Auburn and Texas A&M, Craig worked at LSU as wide receivers coach in 2016 and had another stint at Florida State as quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator for Fisher, who he had previously worked under with the Seminoles from 2010-12.
McGee is currently Georgia’s running backs coach and run game coordinator, serving on Kirby Smart’s staff since 2016. During his time with the Bulldogs, McGee has developed a reputation as one of the nation’s top recruiters, helping Georgia land five-star prospects such as quarterback Justin Fields, running backs Zamir White and D’Andre Swift, offensive linemen Jamaree Salyer and Broderick Jones, and defensive lineman Brenton Cox.
The 48-year-old Columbus, Ga., native played cornerback at Auburn from 1992-95 and previously served as an offensive analyst on Malzahn’s staff during the 2013 season. That was followed by a two-year stint as Georgia Southern’s running backs coach, including serving as the program’s interim coach for the 2015 GoDaddy Bowl before joining Smart at Georgia.
Unlike Dillingham, Craig and McGee do not have experience calling plays at the FBS level, and it is unclear if Harsin would grant them play-calling duties if either one was hired as offensive coordinator.
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.