11/28/22 Auburn Articles

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Jason Caldwell's Monday morning quarterback column: coaching search thoughts

Jason Caldwell

5–6 minutes

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Coaching search thoughts

Probably the first thing I should mention about Auburn's search to hire a new head football coach is that I was told the process hit a snag because both Auburn and Lane Kiffin had second-thoughts at the 11th hour. I believe a deal was close to being finalized, but that’s why you never say it’s done until you get past the finish line.

When things didn't work out with the current Ole Miss coach and the Tigers, the focus moved to Hugh Freeze and other candidates. Freeze is someone who is thought to have been on the board for the Tigers from the beginning of the search following interviews, background checks, information gathering, etc. 

There have obviously been some questions raised surrounding him from his time as head coach at Liberty to go along with his time as head coach at Ole Miss. Freeze has made some mistakes and he would be the first to tell you that, I believe. Do those things keep Auburn from hiring him if AU officials feel like he is the right guy for the job?

Here’s what I do know about the hire and this situation. Nobody has more information on Freeze and the other candidates than John Cohen, Rich McGlynn, Auburn President Chris Roberts and anyone else involved. If they sign off on the hire of Freeze it’s because they have done extensive homework. Will it be him or someone else? Again, that's why coaching searches are always tough to figure out because things can change in a hurry. 

Something else I know is that the timing matters. The dead period for recruiting ends on Friday and the transfer portal window opens on December 5. That makes getting a head coach and working on a staff an important thing to get done in the next week. 

The Green Machine

Early in the 2022-23 season it’s pretty apparent to me that this Auburn men’s basketball team is going to go as far as Wendell Green, Jr., takes it. The leading scorer for the Tigers, Green has been the most explosive performer offensively for a team that is going to have issues putting the ball in the basket at times. Sunday was the perfect example of that. He scored 22 points on a day when the Tigers had several stretches during which they struggled to put the ball in the basket.

The issue for Auburn is avoiding the down games for Grene and this offense because the defense has been solid during the 7-0 start. Against Northwestern, Green was just 1-9 from the floor and scored two points in 33 minutes of action. Even in that game he grabbed 10 big rebounds to help the Tigers win. Probably the biggest thing for Green down the stretch this season is going to be turnovers. In seven games he already has 22. He had just 73 turnovers in 33 games last season. That’s a number that has to improve as the TIgers get ready to get into the meat of the schedule.

Impressive job

Auburn volleyball had made the NCAA Tournament just one time in program history (2010) before coach Brent Crouch and his team got the news on Sunday night that the Tigers will be heading to Omaha, Nebraska to face the Creighton Blue Jays in the first round.

In just his third season on the Plains, Crouch has made huge strides for a program that has had some lean years in the past, to say the least. The year before he took over in 2020, Auburn won just one SEC match and was 7-22 overall for the season. Auburn now enters NCAA play at 21-8 overall and 10-8 in SEC play. It’s only the third winning record in SEC play for Auburn volleyball since 2000. It is an impressive effort for a freshman-dominated roster.

Super7 time

It sets up to be a fun high school football week at Jordan-Hare Stadium with the AHSAA coming to town for the Super7 games to decide state championships.

Wednesday night gets things going with Thompson High vs. Auburn High in what sets up to be a huge crowd with the AHS Tigers playing a home game for the first time while Thompson looks to continue rolling. Thompson has won the last three 7A titles and will go for a fourth behind eighth grade quarterback Trent Seaborn. Auburn High has Auburn University commitment Bradyn Joiner on the offensive line and a strong defense. This sets up to be a defensive battle with Thompson featuring 5-star Clemson commitment Peter Woods up front and 5-star cornerback Tony Mitchell outside for a loaded defense.

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One of the more interesting players to watch this week will be B.B. Comer junior running back/linebacker Kamore Harris. At 6-1, 235, Harris has really good feet to go along with a bruising running style. He should get plenty of action on Friday with the Tigers taking on perennial powerhouse Fyffe in the 2A title game.

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Slim pickens for sports articles. nothing new on the coaching search other than phillip marshall seems to still think freeze is going to be the next coach. i will add more as it come out guys.

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Can the SEC stop Auburn from hiring Hugh Freeze as football coach? Here's what league bylaws say

Tommy Deas, Nashville Tennessean

5–6 minutes

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Auburn football is looking for a new coach in the wake of Bryan Harsin's firing Monday. A candidate whose name has come up in discussion, at least among fans, is that of former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze.

With a background that includes major NCAA sanctions under his watch at Ole Miss, would the SEC welcome him back? And if not, could the league do anything to stop it?

Freeze, now at Liberty, left Ole Miss under an NCAA investigation. Additionally, an internal school investigation uncovered a pattern of calls from his university phones to numbers found in ads for escort services.

Ole Miss was accused of 15 Level I violations, and the NCAA infractions committee said the school lacked institutional control and fostered "an unconstrained culture of booster involvement in football recruiting." The NCAA penalties resulted in the school vacating 33 wins over six seasons.

Some of the infractions – which included alleged academic, booster and recruiting rules violations – dated to the tenure of previous coach Houston Nutt, but most occurred under Freeze. Ole Miss ended up with a two-year bowl ban as well as a three-year probation, scholarship reductions and recruiting restrictions. The NCAA issued a two-conference-game suspension of Freeze if he had been hired as a head coach for the following season.

OPINION: If Hugh Freeze becomes Auburn football coach, his first task is obvious

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Freeze spent five seasons at Ole Miss, going 39-25 during that time (before vacated wins) and reached a bowl game in each of his first four seasons. He also beat Alabama twice, raising his profile and that of the program.  He coached Ole Miss to nine-win regular seasons in back-to-back years for the first time since 1962 and took the Rebels to four consecutive bowl games for the first time since 1971.

He was hired at Liberty prior to the 2019 season and has gone 33-12, including a 10-win season in 2020 and a 7-1 record so far this season, landing the Flames at No. 23 in the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll. He has won bowl games after each of his previous three seasons.

Given his background and unceremonious exit from Ole Miss, however, the SEC might have reservations about allowing him back into its coaching ranks. Alabama coach Nick Saban was reportedly interested in hiring Freeze on his staff in 2018, but indicated the league office convinced him to back off when asked about it.

 

Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze has some words over a call with an official during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021. Mississippi won 27-14. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

 

So if Auburn decided to pursue Freeze, could the SEC do anything about it? The short answer is no, but there would be a discussion.

SEC bylaw 19.8.1.2 requires member schools to "exercise best efforts to hire individuals committed to rules compliance." It does not, however, explicitly forbid league schools from hiring coaches with NCAA compliance baggage.

"While each member institution makes its own hiring decisions," the bylaw states, "member institutions shall, at a minimum, request specific information from each candidate concerning his/her rules compliance record and communicate with NCAA enforcement and the Conference office regarding the same prior to offering employment to any candidate."

But there's more.

"In addition," the bylaw reads, "where a member institution considers hiring an individual who has engaged in unethical conduct as defined under NCAA Bylaws or who has participated in activity that resulted, or may result, in a Level I, Level II or major infraction, the President or Chancellor of that member institution is expected to consult directly with the Commissioner prior to offering employment to the individual."

That means Auburn President Christopher B. Roberts would have to have a conversation with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey before hiring Freeze.

Freeze, if he were hired, would not be the first coach Auburn has hired with previous NCAA compliance issues. Bruce Pearl ran afoul of NCAA rules at Tennessee and was fired after admitting that he lied to investigators. Pearl coached at Tennessee from 2005-11 and was hired by Auburn in 2014. Penalties from the Tennessee infractions case included a three-year show-cause order on Pearl.

Auburn hired Pearl in the final months of his show-cause order and he was not allowed to contact recruits until the order expired.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Can the SEC stop Auburn football from hiring Hugh Freeze as coach?