Auburn fans are no strangers to the emotional rollercoaster that comes with being part of the SEC.
It’s a rollercoaster that all teams experience, and I happened to spend much of my childhood on the Tennessee football rollercoaster, having grown up with a dad and older brother who are as diehard Tennessee fans as you can get.
College brought me to Auburn and shifted my focus from Tennessee to Auburn football, but after nearly four years at Auburn, it feels as if the Tigers have more in common with the Tennessee I grew up watching than I could have imagined.
From surprising highs to frustrating lows, Auburn is beginning to somewhat resemble what Tennessee football used to be—volatile, full of potential and just a little bit chaotic.
For nearly ten years, in what author Mark Nagi coined the “Decade of Dysfunction,” Tennessee fans were known for their "Is this the year?" mentality. Seasons started with promise, only to end with heartbreak, coaching changes or unfilled potential.
I have been to my fair share of both disappointing Tennessee games and exciting ones, but I will never forget the highs and lows of the Vols’ 2015 contest against Oklahoma when the Sooners, led by Baker Mayfield, came back from a 17-point deficit to win in double overtime.
Auburn’s home loss to Oklahoma this season shares that disappointment, and the Tigers find themselves in a similar position to the Volunteers of the past.
After years of consistency under former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, the program has experienced two coaching searches, and with those, Auburn fans have begun to experience a constant search for the next piece of the puzzle, just as Tennessee endured for over a decade.
In his eight season tenure with Auburn, Malzahn never had a losing season and played for the national championship in 2013, parting with the Tigers after a 6-5 season in 2020. Auburn has not recorded a winning season since the departure of Malzahn.
Similarly, Tennessee entered its ten years of turmoil after parting ways with head coach Phillip Fulmer, who led the Vols for 16 seasons, including 14 winning seasons and a national championship in 1998. After firing Fulmer, Tennessee recorded seven losing seasons over the span of 12 years.
Tennessee's coaching carousel became a defining characteristic of the program — Lane Kiffin, Derek Dooley, Butch Jones and Jeremy Pruitt all came and went, each representing a new era of expectations.
Auburn is seeing its own version of this narrative unfold. Bryan Harsin’s short and turbulent tenure reminded fans that consistency and stability come and go, and Hugh Freeze’s recent arrival carries the same mix of optimism and anxiety that Tennessee fans knew all too well with their new hires.
Like Tennessee, Auburn has a storied football history. National championships, SEC titles and unforgettable Iron Bowls have cemented Auburn’s legacy in the SEC, much like the way Tennessee’s history has established the Volunteers' legacy in the conference.
But, Auburn faces the challenge of bringing those glory days back to the forefront instead of reliving the past. The program’s longing for a revival is reminiscent of Tennessee's hunger to return to the days of Peyton Manning, Tee Martin and Fulmer — a time when Neyland Stadium was the powerhouse of the SEC.
Tennessee’s breakthrough came with Josh Heupel, who brought with him a high-powered offense and understanding of the rich history of the program, and he was eventually able to lead the Vols’ to their first victory over Alabama in 15 years.
Auburn football needs its own version of the Heupel revival – a coach who can connect with the fanbase, energize the players and bring the Tigers back to SEC relevance. There is still hope that Freeze could be that coach, but only time will tell.
When it comes down to it, the similarities between the Tennessee football of the past and the Auburn football of the present are more than just a comparison of struggles and hopes. They highlight the cyclical nature of college football. Programs rise and fall, and what Tennessee fans have experienced over the last two decades has now become a cautionary tale — and perhaps a roadmap — for Auburn.
The Volunteers' recent return to relevance gives Auburn fans a reason to believe that, even after seasons of disappointment, a turnaround is always possible. Tennessee has shown that a program can climb back to prominence, no matter how long the drought. Auburn fans should take heart in that lesson. The search for stability and success may feel long and painful, but if Tennessee’s story teaches us anything, it’s that patience can pay off.
For now, the best thing Auburn fans can do is buckle up, weather the ups and downs and keep faith. If there’s one thing that growing up watching Tennessee football has taught me, it’s that anything can happen on any given Saturday.
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Grace Heim is a senior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in Political Science. She started with The Plainsman in January of 2023.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @graceeheim
