It is no secret that up-and-coming coaches from small programs would entertain the notion of speaking to larger institutions if the timing is right.
Jackson State head coach [autotag]Deion Sanders[/autotag] admitted in a recent episode of 60 Minutes that he would be willing to listen to an athletic director of a Power Five program if the said program were interested in Sanders leading its’ program.
“I’m gonna have to entertain it,” Sanders said in the interview. “Yes, I’m gonna have to entertain it. Straight up. I would be a fool not to.”
Not only has Sanders been vocal about the possibility of taking a step forward in his coaching career, but it also appears that Liberty head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] has joined the movement.
Freeze was a recent guest on the Aaron Torres Podcast, where the possibility of leaving Liberty for a Power Five opportunity was one of the topics discussed.
In the interview with FOX Sports’ Aaron Torres, Freeze says that there are only a small number of programs that he would listen to if the call were to come.
“I don’t know that there will ever be a time where I leave. But if it does, it would be in Jill (Hugh’s wife) and my mind there is only a few that really would say, ‘we really want to listen to that.’ Because it fits our culture, it fits our location in mind,” Freeze said. “We are a small, college-town family. I’m not a big-city guy, I don’t belong there. If that select few, I do have a list in mind that if they ever were to have an interest, it would be something that we certainly would listen to.”
Out of all the current Power Five openings, Auburn appears to fit his criteria the most. Is Freeze interested in returning to the SEC West? He did not say for sure, as he has found a place that he considers special in Lynchburg at Liberty University.
“I have no idea that if we even listen, that we would want to leave (Lynchburg), it is such a good place on the mountain,” Freeze said. “But that is kind of how we will go about it. But there is very few that we would even take the calls from.”
Freeze has led Liberty to a 7-1 record this season, with its lone loss coming to No. 19 Wake Forest on Sept. 17 in Winston-Salem. This week, Freeze leads the Flames to Arkansas to face the Razorbacks. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on Saturday afternoon.
[mm-video type=video id=01ggz71ecscsv0f2y50t playlist_id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01ggz71ecscsv0f2y50t/01ggz71ecscsv0f2y50t-6087e1f0a7abee2df7b2ad710bd7bfcd.jpg]
[listicle id=56575]