College Football

Auburn Football: Two Auburn Greats are No Longer SEC Assistants

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:32 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Chris Roush/FanSided via Fly War Eagle

Here we discuss the departures of two former Auburn football assistant coaches Dameyune Craig and Tracy Rocker from the SEC, and where they are headed.

The departures of two assistant coaches — one each at LSU and Georgia — in the past month could have unintended consequences for Auburn football during the 2017 season.

Former Auburn quarterback Dameyune Craig left Baton Rouge after one year as LSU’s wide receivers coach, apparently not fitting in with coach Ed Orgeron’s future plans.

Meanwhile, former Auburn defensive lineman Tracy Rocker, who had been on Georgia’s staff for the past three years, including a stint as associate head coach, is now abruptly gone from Athens. He left this past week.

The departure of Craig and Rocker mean that there are two less coaches on the opposing sideline who know the Tigers and their systems. Craig, who played for Auburn, is apparently headed out West for a job with the Oregon Ducks.

Craig was an assistant coach and co-offensive coordinator at Auburn for three years before departing for LSU. Before Auburn, he was an assistant coach at Florida State, helping it land quarterback Jameis Winston. He’s known as a top recruiter in the South.

If Craig is gone from the SEC and the region, then Auburn would likely benefit from his knowledge of its players and tendencies being far, far away.

The same goes for Rocker, who was an Auburn All-America defensive tackle, 1988 Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award winner, and inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004. Georgia went undefeated against Auburn during his three years on the Bulldogs staff, and it’s no coincidence that the Tigers scored just 27 points total in those three games.

Rocker is also a former Auburn assistant during 2009 and 2010, when he was credited for turning Nick Fairley into an All-America.

It’s unclear where Rocker will land, but with him off the sidelines for Georgia in 2017, then Auburn gains an advantage. His Georgia players loved Rocker and his “tough-love” coaching style, and a new defensive line coach may not have the same chemistry.

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