Auburn confirmed today that Ron Roberts will be filling the role of defensive coordinator.
"Ron has been a very successful defensive coach spanning three decades and multiple stops," Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said. "His defenses have always been aggressive and put a lot of pressure on opposing offenses. Ron is a great fit for what we are wanting to do on both sides of the ball, and we are excited to have his experience and expertise leading our defensive unit.”
Roberts has spent the previous three seasons as defensive coordinator for the Baylor Bears. His tenure in Waco, Texas saw a Big 12 Conference Championship.
“I want to thank Coach Freeze for the opportunity to join his staff at Auburn and want to help bring championships to Auburn,” Roberts said. “Historically, Auburn has been known for tough, hard-nosed defenses and we want to create that mindset with our defense unit. We want to be aggressive, put pressure on opposing offenses and fly to the football.”
Roberts landed his first coaching position at the division level in 2003, serving as the defensive coordinator for Texas State. He was the defensive coordinator at Delta State in 2005 and 2006, then head coach from 2007-2011. He was the head coach as Southeastern Louisiana from 2012-2017. Roberts' final job before his time with Baylor was serving as defensive coordinator at Louisiana in 2018 and 2019.
Roberts will have his work cut out for him as he aims to build the Auburn defense back into its old form. Time will tell if that can be achieved.
