Auburn Athletic Director Compares Hugh Freeze to Bruce Pearl

The Auburn Tigers athletic director things that Freeze can still turn things around and used the basketball head coach as an example

Auburn's AD is out there defending his football head coach | Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

When most think of Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze, perhaps the last comparison that would immediately come to mind is Auburn legend Bruce Pearl. Auburn’s basketball coach, led the Tigers to arguably the program’s best season last year, reaching the Final Four for just the second time.

Meanwhile, Freeze has started his Auburn tenure with back-to-back losing seasons and just one bowl berth. Despite this, Auburn Athletic Director John Cohen sees similarities.

Cohen was quick to remind those at SEC Media Days that Pearl was a rough 26-40 in his first two seasons on the Plains, and took some serious time before being able to build up consistent, competitive rosters.

“Look at what the investment in time and understanding how long it takes to build something the right way,” Cohen said. “Look at what that has done for Auburn University. Just imagine if the wrong people had the wrong vision and said, sorry.”

We’ve seen what happens when the wrong people have the wrong vision– after all, Auburn fans did get a couple of years with Bryan Harsin. Perhaps that, above all else, is what fans fear from Freeze– another Harsin.

Simply put, Cohen believes in Freeze in a way that he clearly didn’t in Harsin– he fired Harsin, after all.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s in a car, it doesn’t matter if he’s in a restaurant, it doesn’t matter if he’s with his family,” Cohen said about Freeze. “When a recruit calls, he answers it. We’ve had two top 10 classes in a row because of the tradition of Auburn and because that guy has a personal relationship with our best kids that we recruit. And that matters.”