12/12/22 Auburn Articles

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Auburn expected to hire former Baylor DC Ron Roberts

Lance Dawe

~2 minutes

Auburn is expected to hire former Baylor defensive coordinator Ron Roberts, per Bruce Feldman of The Athletic.

Roberts, who came over with Dave Aranda when Aranda got the Baylor job in early 2020, served as DC for two seasons at Louisiana-Lafayette. Aranda previously served under Roberts when the latter was the head coach at Delta State in 2007.

His defense at Baylor led the Big 12 in run defense in 2021 and was No. 3 this year, BU led the conference in turnovers gained last year and was No. 4 this season. He was fired by the Bears. following their disappointing 6-6 campaign this season. The Bears finished 52nd, 28th, and 55th nationally in yards per play during his three years.

According to reports, the Arkansas Razorbacks were also targeting Roberts to replace defensive coordinator Barry Odom, who left to become head coach at UNLV.

Roberts also has experience as a head coach, going a combined 89-45 in 11 seasons with Delta State and Southeastern Louisiana. This will be his second Power Five job

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Montgomery's coordinator history shows dynamic offenses heading Auburn's way

Jason Caldwell

4–5 minutes

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The coordinator of one of the most successful colleges offenses of the last 20 years, former Baylor offensive coordinator and Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery has been tabbed to lead Auburn’s offense and also coach the quarterbacks under Hugh Freeze, agreeing on Sunday night to join the staff. Bringing with him an offensive attack that has put up huge numbers at every level, Montgomery’s addition is a big one for the Tigers as they head into the 2023 season with some questions on the offensive line, but also playmakers on the offense at the skill positions.

Starting his coaching career at Houston coaching the quarterbacks and running backs for the Cougars, Montgomery moved into a co-coordinator role for the 2006 season and immediately the group improved in every category. That first season, Houston’s offense finished eighth nationally in passing (277.8 yards per game), 28th in rushing (168.2), seventh in total offense (446) and 10th in scoring (33 ppg). One year later the Cougars were up to 501.9 yards per game and 34.5 points.

From there he moved to Baylor where he would eventually oversee one of college football’s best offenses under coach Art Briles. A co-coordinator in his first five seasons in Waco, Montgomery helped the offense improve dramatically. Averaging 28 points per game in year one and just 20.7 in year two, Baylor jumped up to 31.1 points per game in year three before going for 45.3 in 2011 and 44.5 points per game in 2012.

The name that did most of the damage was Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III. In his first season as a redshirt freshman in 2008, RG3 threw for 2,000 yards and 15 touchdowns while adding 843 yards and 13 more scores. By the time he was done as a senior, Griffin would put up video game numbers for the Bears. In the 2011 season, Griffin completed 72 percent of his passes for 4,293 yards and 37 touchdowns with only six interceptions. He also added 699 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns on the ground.

Taking over as the coordinator alone in 2013, Montgomery’s Baylor offense led the nation in scoring (52.4 points per game) and total offense (618.8 yards per game) with quarterback Bryce Petty leading the show. That season he threw for 4,200 yards and 32 touchdowns with only three interceptions. On the ground, former Auburn recruit Lache Seastrunk led the way with 1,177 yards for a group that ran for 3,376 yards and scored 47 touchdowns.

In his final year with the Bears, Montgomery helped them lead the nation again in scoring (48.8 ppg) and total offense (581.3 ypg). They threw for 4,757 yards and 38 touchdowns with only eight interceptions and added 2,800 yards rushing and 43 scores on the ground.

Taking over a Tulsa program that had been very successful under Todd Graham in Conference USA, but won just five games in the previous two seasons under Bill Blankenship, Montgomery took the Golden Hurricane to the Independence Bowl in year one before winning 10 games in 2016. 

The 2016 Tulsa squad finished the season among the nation’s best for total offense (527.0), scoring offense (42.5), rushing offense (261.7) and passing (265.3). The Hurricane ranked 4th for total offense, 7th for scoring, 8th for rushing and 30th for passing.  

Tulsa’s offense also established an NCAA record in 2016, becoming the first team in FBS/DI history with a 3,000-yard passer (Dane Evans), two 1,000-yard rushers (James Flanders and D’Angelo Brewer) and two 1,000-yard receivers (Keevan Lucas and Josh Atkinson).  

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Tulsa established 11 individual school records on offense in 2016, including nine career records, one single-season and one single-game record. It was also an offense that set a school record with eight 300+ rushing games. 

Following three-straight losing seasons, Montgomery led Tulsa to the AAC title game in 2020 and a 6-3 final record. They made another bowl game in 2021 before going 5-7 in his final season at Tulsa. In his final year Tulsa averaged 30 points per game

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#PMARSHONAU: Auburn's new coordinators bring experience, respect

Phillip Marshall

3–4 minutes

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So, it’s finally done. Though no official announcements have been made, former Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery will be Auburn’s offensive coordinator. Former Baylor defensive coordinator Ron Roberts, formerly the head coach at Delta State and Southeastern Louisiana, is the defensive coordinator.

First, let’s get a couple of details out of the way.

The fact that Roberts was fired at Baylor one year after having the Big 12’s best defense doesn’t mean much or, really, anything. Kevin Steele was fired at Clemson and demoted at Alabama before moving to LSU and then to Auburn. Al Borges was fired at California and settled at Indiana before moving to Auburn. The list could go on.

Coaches get fired. It’s part of the business. How much sense would it make for a head coach to say “This is the guy I want, but since he was fired by another coach, I can’t hire him?” No sense, of course.

I have seen what Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said at his introductory press conference described in characterized ways, none of which accurately described his words. What he actually said was he had been receiving text messages from “big-time coaches.” You can be assured he believes his two new coordinators are big-time coaches.

Montgomery and Roberts are not young, but neither are they old. Montgomery is 50. Roberts is 55. Both have had varied experiences and have earned widespread respect. According to reports in Arkansas, Roberts was set to become the Razorbacks’ defensive coordinator until Auburn swooped in and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Fans everywhere want hires to make a splash. When looking for coordinators, there just aren’t many splashes out there available to be hired. But there are lots of good coaches who have done lots of good things.

College football programs are run by the head coach. It his job to hire people who best fit his plan and the culture he wants to build. Making a splash is not part of that, though some would argue that these two hires are pretty splashy. The truth is that most coordinators are not well-known outside of their own fan bases.

Thanks to bad administrative decisions and missteps, Auburn football is in a difficult place. That’s not to say Auburn can’t win next season. But getting the program to the place Auburn supporters want it to be and to where it should be isn’t going to happen overnight.

Freeze has one fulltime coach left to hire. Since Montgomery will presumably be the quarterbacks coach, that spot will likely be filled by a wide receivers coach. The name most often heard has been Central Florida wide receivers coach Grant Heard, but there could be others in the mix.

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If I have learned anything over the years, it is that there are no guarantees in college football. Coaches do the best they can to get the right pieces in place. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t work. Remember when Scott Frost was the hot coach everyone wanted? Tom Herman? Jimbo Fisher?

In the final analysis, it’s not about big names or splashes. It’s about winning.

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4,250 views Streamed live 18 hours ago

Trovon Reed is officially back on the Auburn Football staff. What's the latest with recruiting for Auburn Football. Auburn Basketball is handed their first loss of the season.

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