Charles Barkley shares who he wants Auburn to hire as head coach

May 20, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Former NBA player and current TNT television personality Charles Barkley prior to game one of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs between the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

In late October, Auburn announced that it had fired head coach Bryan Harsin after less than two seasons. Since then, they’ve been in search of a replacement and NBA legend Charles Barkley has a suggestion.

During a Thursday appearance on “The Next Round” podcast with Lance Taylor, Ryan Brown and Jim Dunaway, Barkley suggested Auburn give his good friend Deion Sanders a call.

“I am going to support whoever is hired,” Barkley, an Auburn alum, said. “I personally want Deion Sanders, because No. 1 he is going to recruit like hell. … Deion is going to win wherever he goes.”

Barkley believes Sanders would give Auburn a recruiting edge over rival Alabama.

“Deion wants to make men men. That’s what I want from a coach, but also … his personality is that he is going to recruit and he won’t be afraid of Coach (Nick) Saban, because you have to have some star power to go against Coach Saban.”

Sanders has been connected to nearly every vacancy at the college level. However, there is some concern that Auburn would not be willing to give him the same power he currently wields as head coach at Jackson State.

Even is Auburn were willing to surrender that power, Sanders is in no rush to move on. However, he did recently acknowledge that he would listen to offers from bigger schools.