While most were enjoying a winter break free of stress, head coach Gus Malzahn was assembling a new staff of coaches that have more than 100 combined years of SEC coaching experience. While Malzahn may not be the most experienced head coach in the SEC-- in fact, he's one of the least experienced-- his staff is, and many are proven successful recruiters in and out of Auburn's pipeline.
Ellis Johnson is one of the most respected defensive minds in the SEC and brings 16 years of in-conference experience to the Plains. Most recently Johnson was head coach at Southern Miss for a one year winless stint, but before that he was the defensive coordinator for South Carolina for four years. Johnson has also coached defenses at Mississippi State, Alabama and Clemson. He was the outside linebackers coach for Alabama in the early 1990s, and helped the Tide to a national championship in 1992. Along with his extensive coaching experience, Johnson is a solid recruiter and is credited with locking up 2011's top-ranked prospect Jadeveon Clowney.
Rhett Lashlee was named Auburn's offensive coordinator, and while he has only spent two years in the SEC as an offensive graduate assistant, he has spent six years coaching with Gus Malzahn, including this season at Arkansas State. As offensive coordinator at Arkansas State, Lashlee helped lead the team to a Sun Belt Championship, and was nominated for the Broyles Award, which honors the nations top assistant coach, for his contribution. Besides coaching at Auburn and Arkansas State, Lashlee was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Samford.
Dameyune Craig will serve as the co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. Craig was quarterback at Auburn from 1994-97 and holds school records for completions (216), and passing yards (3,227) in a single season. He also holds the record for most all-purpose yards in a game (445). Before being lured to Auburn by Malzahn, Craig was in his third year as recruiting coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Florida State. In 2012 Craig was named Rivals.com ACC Recruiter of the Year and Scout/FoxSportsNext ACC Recruiter of the Year. While at Florida State, Craig helped develop the skills of Christian Ponder, who was the regular season starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.
Rodney Garner was hired away from Georgia to assume the role of associate head coach, defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. Garner held almost identical titles for much of his 12-year tenure with the Bulldogs. Garner was a captain of the 1988 Auburn SEC Championship team, and was honored as an all-SEC offensive lineman that year. Besides playing for the Tigers, he also coached at Auburn from 1990-95, holding different jobs such as assistant strength and conditioning coach, tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator.
Charlie Harbison will assume the position of co-defensive coordinator for the Tigers. Harbison brings 18 years of SEC and ACC coaching experience with him. Harbison is regarded as an excellent recruiter, and was named in Rivals.com's top 25 in the nation in 2010. Along with helping Johnson with the defense in general, Harbison will coach the defensive backs. He helped coach Clemson to consecutive 10-win seasons and the program's first ACC Championship in 20 years. Harbison has experience coaching in similar roles at Clemson, Mississippi State, LSU and Alabama.
Rich Bisaccia has left the NFL to become the Tigers' special teams and running backs coach. He will assume the title of assistant head coach. Bisaccia has 30 years of coaching experience, and has spent the last 11 in the NFL with the Buccaneers and Chargers. He is considered one of the top special teams coaches in all of football, and along with his NFL experience has coached at Ole Miss, Clemson and South Carolina. During his nine years with Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers' special teams players received three Pro Bowl invitations, four NFC Player of the Month awards and 13 NFC Player of the Week awards. The team also had four punt return touchdowns, four kick return touchdowns and 18 blocked kicks.
Tim Horton, formerly the Arkansas running backs coach and recruiting coordinator has been named as Auburn's tight end coach. Horton spent six years with Auburn and coached standout running backs such as Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, Knile Davis and Dennis Johnson. Horton can also be added to the list of Auburn coaches who have been recognized as a top recruiter by Rivals.com.
J.B. Grimes, who has more than 30 years of collegiate coaching experience, including this past season at Arkansas State, will coach Auburn's offensive line. Grimes has coached offensive lines at Mississippi State, Kansas, ECU, Texas A&M, and Arkansas to name a few. His offensive line at Mississippi State had three 1,000-yard rushers in four years.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
