Auburn hires Hugh Freeze

Nov 28, 2022 - 10:46 PM

Hugh Freeze is officially back in the SEC. After a rehab stint at Liberty, Auburn has picked Freeze to replace Bryan Harsin, who was fired in the middle of the season after an all-around disastrous 2022.

You remember the why behind Hugh Freeze resigned at Ole Miss, I’m sure. If you don’t, here you go. Freeze resigned in 2017 and then resurfaced back at Liberty in 2019. He went 34-15 during his four years with the Flames, topping out at 10-1 back in 2020. But Auburn didn’t hire him for his work at Liberty, they hired him for his work at Ole Miss.

Freeze had the Rebels rolling, and most importantly proved that he could beat Nick Saban. That was likely a big draw to the decision makers on the Plains, despite the scandals.

You may also remember Freeze being linked to the Tennessee offensive coordinator job back in 2018, but that hire never materialized. Jeremy Pruitt ultimately went with Jim Chaney.

Now Freeze returns to the league as the head coach of the Auburn Tigers, tasked with getting the Tigers back to national relevance quickly. We’ve seen Josh Heupel and Brian Kelly do that this fall — is Freeze next? We know he can coach some offense, but the baggage remains.

How will his second chance turn out?