Here are five things Auburn football's next coaching staff must accomplish

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TUSCALOOSA — With Auburn football losing to Alabama on Saturday, the season is essentially over for the Tigers. There's a chance they could still be given a bowl opportunity if the 84 available bowl slots haven't been filled by teams at or over .500, but that's not particularly likely.

The ending of this season is a bit different than most. Auburn fired Bryan Harsin on Oct. 31 and is heading into the offseason without a coach. Rumors have swirled about who the next coach could be, with Liberty's Hugh Freeze being the most prominently-mentioned candidate, but an official hire has yet to be announced by the university.

If the Tigers do get left out of a bowl game, it'll be the first time they've won less than six games since 2012, their last year with Gene Chizik. Before that, it was 2005, the last year of the Tommy Tuberville era.

Here are five things the new coaching staff must do in order to turn the program around:

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Decide on a quarterback

With the offensive line being what it was, and the injury to Zach Calzada, starting Robby Ashford for the majority of this season made the most sense. The redshirt freshman is dynamic with his legs, and he flashed those skills often during his time as the starter.

But what about next year? Does Ashford, with a year of development under his belt, give the Tigers the best chance to win? Will Calzada be healthy? Will T.J. Finley be around? Is Auburn's starting quarterback for next year even currently on the roster?

Those are all questions for whoever is hired, and questions that must be at the forefront of that person's mind the minute they take the job.

Nov 26, 2022; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Auburn Tigers quarterback Robby Ashford (9) carries the ball against the Alabama Crimson Tide  at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2022; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Auburn Tigers quarterback Robby Ashford (9) carries the ball against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Maintain, develop buy-in

Ahead of the Iron Bowl on Tuesday, pass rusher Colby Wooden described what it was like to play for interim head coach Carnell "Cadillac" Williams.

"Not only do guys want to play for him, but they're having fun playing for him," Wooden said. "I think that's the most important thing. When you start having fun with what you're doing, compared to how we were playing earlier in the season, we start playing good football."

The play on the field was uninspired before Williams took over. He developed buy-in over his four weeks as coach, and that was evident in the performance and effort of the team. The players believed in and played for him, and the next coach needs to keep that going. Perhaps the best way to do that is to retain Williams on staff and give him a prominent role, but that's for the selected candidate to decide.

Instill discipline

Auburn committed five false-start penalties in the first half against the Crimson Tide. The environment inside Bryant-Denny Stadium was hectic, but those penalties hurt the Tigers and stymied drives in a game where they desperately needed points.

It'll likely take some time for the next coach to fill out the roster with players in whom the new staff has confidence. Meaning that in year one, when the roster is still in flux and maybe not as talented as Auburn would like it to be, the coach must rely on small, intangible things like being disciplined and avoiding mistakes to be competitive and win games.

Figure out the offensive line

Between injuries and poor play, the offensive line was one of the weaker position groups for Auburn this season. The next coach must make fixing that unit one of his top priorities. We saw the ramifications of ignoring that glaring issue this season.

At this point, though, the next coach is going to be hired less than a month before the early signing period begins. For that reason, his first recruiting class will likely not exactly be full of world-beaters. But that doesn't mean he can't still make upgrades. It's the age of the transfer portal, and the next coach needs to lean into that early to replenish talent.

Unite the fanbase

The Auburn faithful was fractured with Harsin in power. It was temporarily glued back together with Williams as interim coach, but that's not going to last forever, especially with the fanbase wanting different candidates to be hired. Whoever is picked won't satisfy everyone.

But the new coach can change public opinion through his actions. First of all, he obviously needs to win. And secondly, he will need to embrace Auburn. Some coaches struggle with that, but if the next coach wants the fanbase on his side, that's exactly what he needs to do.

Richard Silva is the Auburn beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football coaching search: What the new Tigers coach must do