The Auburn Tigers may have found their next leading man.
Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated reported on Monday that the Tigers are expected to hire Liberty head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]. Freeze was reportedly on Auburn’s radar after Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin reportedly backed off on his interest in recent days.
Freeze has been successful at Liberty, and would finish with a 34-15 record should he be hired by Auburn in the coming days. Freeze has dropped his last three games with the Flames, however, with his most recent loss coming against New Mexico State 49-14.
The SEC experience Freeze brings could potentially be a factor in Auburn’s interest. Freeze coached Ole Miss from 2012-16 and finished with an on-field record of 39-25 — officially, that record stands at 12-25 due to NCAA violations stripping him of 27 wins across his tenure. Freeze’s biggest claim to fame during his tenure is perhaps his two victories over Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide.
Freeze, should he be hired, would serve as the Tigers’ 28th head coach in the program’s history.
Auburn is finalizing a deal to hire Liberty coach Hugh Freeze, sources tell @SINow.
Freeze would return to the SEC, where in 2017 Ole Miss fired him amid NCAA and personal scandal. In 12 years as a college head coach, he’s had one losing season.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 28, 2022
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