Ryan Roberts became the new head coach of the Auburn Tigers after deciding to part ways with Georgia Gymnastics nearly a couple of weeks ago. He revealed that the reason for leaving the Georgia GymDogs was not to let the opportunity to become a sole head coach pass by.

For the last two years, Roberts was the co-head coach of the Georgia GymDogs alongside Cecile Landi. He was speaking at the Neville Arena on Tuesday, April 28, during an event where he was formally introduced as the head coach of the Tigers.

Gymnastics Now on X posted the interview, Roberts heaped praise on Landi, calling it a sibling relationship. The 33-year-old said,

“So, I mean, obviously, last year was probably one of my funnest years coaching. I mean, I love working with Cecile and Alexis. I feel like Cecile and I are like brother and sister. It's like we just work so well together.”

Roberts delved into what led to his arrival in Auburn by saying, “At the same time, you know, this opportunity to be head coach and be able to, or not be, unilaterally make decisions. I don't want to collectively make decisions, of course, but I have a little, you know, it's an interesting situation to be a full head coach, and so I just feel like it's an opportunity I couldn't pass by.”

The conversation with Auburn athletics director John Cohen sealed it for Roberts to join as the head coach.

“And then speaking with John about, you know, he was a coach. He gets it, and the things he was saying about work, hard work, you know, pushing athletes to be the best,” explained Roberts.

After spending his last eight years in different coaching roles in the SEC, Roberts sounded ready to assume the role of Tigers’ head coach.

Ryan Roberts spent his first week as Auburn’s head coach speaking with current team members

In a whirlwind first week as head coach of the Auburn Tigers, Ryan Roberts spoke to the current members of the team individually and recruited prospective gymnasts for the future. Boasting a resume of a No. 1 class and top-5 signing classes, he said,

“They’re hungry to go, and I think they’re ready to roll. We’re going to have success sooner than later.”

It is the need of the hour, especially after the Tigers finished a low-key 25th overall in the recently concluded 2025-26 season. Their performance on the uneven bars was even worse, settling for 28th spot. The uneven bars is a specialty of Roberts, and he took the Georgia GymDogs to seventh place in four years after they were lowly 27th before his arrival.

Moreover, his overall success in Georgia can’t be understated, securing them sixth place at the nationals alongside Landi, their best in a decade last season. Roberts was an assistant coach at the GymDogs for two years prior to being their co-head coach, and before that, spent four years as the assistant coach at the Alabama Crimson Tide.

He also provided his roadmap for preparing student-athletes to earn success in their careers. Roberts said,

“My metric of success is, in 10 years, are they going to say, ‘I’m a better person for being an Auburn gymnast’. We’re going to train with purpose, we’re going to compete with edge, and we’re going to represent Auburn the right way.”

Read more at Gymnastics Digest!

Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi