The Auburn Tigers are in the midst of a nationwide coaching search after firing Hugh Freeze several weeks back.

While there is still a season at hand to deal with, all eyes are on AU Director of Athletics John Cohen and who he might hire to take the spot.

Since the moment Freeze was fired — and perhaps even before — the most popular name thrown around has been Tulane and former Troy head coach Jon Sumrall.

The Huntsville native is one of the hottest rising names in coaching and is all but guaranteed to take a job in this cycle, and many already have forecasted him to Auburn.

The popular belief is that not only is he the most likely next Tigers head coach, but the best man for the job as well.

During a recent appearance on The Next Round, college football insider Andy Staples offered some wild praise for Sumrall and even threw out a comparison which will have fans salivating.

“Based on what I’ve heard the clubhouse leader seems to be [Sumrall], and look that’s not news to anybody who’s followed the sport for years,” Staples began.

“This is a guy who kinda feels built in a lab to be the spiritual successor to Pat Dye. He’s a defensive guy, he’s from Huntsville, his teams play incredible defense, they’re tough, he won two conference titles at Troy…he might be in the playoff [with Tulane].”

At this point with how much Sumrall keeps on getting connected to Auburn, it feels like it would be a shock if the Tigers were to hire anyone else.

Cohen is still going to go through the process and do his due diligence, but all signs are beginning to point to Sumrall being named the next head coach of the Auburn Tigers.