Hugh Freeze is on the verge of being given another opportunity following his scandal-filled tenure as the Mississippi head coach from 2012-16.
According to Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated, the 53-year-old Freeze is finalizing a deal to become the next head coach for the Auburn Tigers.
There were reports leading up to Monday’s news that Freeze had been in talks with the Tigers about taking over the fledgling football program following the October firing of former head coach Bryan Harsin. He had joined current Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin as a top candidate before the latter opted to return to the Rebels.
Freeze is among the most-successful head coaches in modern college football history. Though, his tenure with Mississippi came to an end following numerous recruiting violations for providing “impermissible benefits” to players. Ultimately, Freeze left the program after it was found that he made a dozen calls to an escort service during his time with the Reels.
- Hugh Freeze coaching record: 83-42, 6 bowl wins
Freeze spent the past four seasons as the Liberty Flames head coach, leading the small-school program to a 34-15 record in the process. His tenure with Liberty included helping quarterback Malik Willis turn into a top-end NFL quarterback prospect before the Tennessee Titans selected him in the third round of the 2022 draft this past spring.
Freeze’s first head-coaching gig at the college level came with Arkansas State back in 2011. He was able to land the Ole Miss job after just one season, ultimately posting a 39-25 record with the Rebels. That included a Sugar Bowl win over Oklahoma State back on New Year’s Day of 2016.
For Auburn, the hiring of Hugh Freeze comes after the program posted an ugly 5-7 record. Harsin led the Tigers to a 3-5 mark before being fired and was replaced by legend Cadillac Williams on an interim basis.
Once considered a national title contender on an annual basis, Auburn has fallen on hard times recently. It finished up shop on a second consecutive losing season and has not won double-digit games since back in 2017. This represents the first time Auburn has finished with a losing record in consecutive seasons since all the way back in the 1970s. The hope is that Freeze will help change the dynamics in Auburn.