I see where Hugh Freeze has put himself on the shortlist of a lot of teams that may be looking for a replacement this year. I am sorry, but I find him to be a man of low integrity and a terrible representative of any University. Everyone knows he cheated at Ole Miss in recruiting. He stooped to the lowest form of selling his program (hookers). If someone hires him at a high level, that program will be saying “we are willing to win at all costs, integrity be damned”.
This is why I stated during our coaching search, he was the only candidate that would make me not support the team. I am a proud alumnus from the University and he would not represent me and my morals.
I’ll agree with holdenhogfield that due to cash flow issues across the college landscape firing coaches will be tough. Unless the big money folks pony up millions. Just read an article where folks in South Carolina are pushing for Freeze. I’ll also agree that he would be a perfect fit on the plains…he’s a War Eagle kinda guy.
He won’t have the same success. Recruiting parents will be tough. So I’d be fine is he goes to AU. The big question I have is when Gus gets fired next season, what will he do? Big 12?
Hugh at Auburn could be the right fit considering their reputation for top recruiting classes with or without bagmen, mostly with. That said it wouldn’t look so obvious as it did at OM to reel one of the top classes in the country.
Oh I forgot Hugh is born again now though.
I had lunch with a former Vol football player/current donor (he’s in his 60’s) on Sunday. I brought up Freeze to him and asked if there was too much baggage. His response was “I don’t care what the guy did. I’m sick of losing.”
I can see what everyone is talking about when it comes to Auburn being a good fit. Personally, I’d be perfectly fine with them hiring Hugh over there. He beat Saban twice; that’s two more times than we have, but that was also before Nick’s fairly recent epiphany that you need a top-tier offense to win these days. I don’t see Freeze having the same results now.
Unless I messed up my research, I believe we went 4-2 against Freeze from 2011-2016. I remember difficult games against them, but I don’t remember them being impossible to beat–and they certainly had some good recruiting classes.
I could, however, see Freeze causing major havoc as a coach for South Carolina.
“I could, however, see Freeze causing major havoc as a coach for South Carolina.”
I think it is interesting how South Carolina seems to hire high profile coaches but never gets beyond mediocrity. Holtz and Spurrier never got them to a Championship game, so I don’t think Freeze would either. Something about that program that is beyond the coach.
IMO, Spurrier was never 100% bought in at SC. If memory serves me right, I think his membership at Augusta came with his SC job. I believe, without that, he would have never signed a contract to coach SC. He played an awful lot of golf while head coach at SC.
South Carolina is a school that should be frustrated. I don’t particularly think of them as cheapskates, but they don’t seem to get much for their dollar.
Muschamp has these moments where he looks like he can beat a top 20 team, but then he just falls so flat at other times. From the outside, it seems a bit maddening and time for a change over there.