The Potential Ripple Effect Of The Hugh Freeze Hire
Auburn has officially hired Hugh Freeze as its next head football coach, which has created a lot of buzz over the past twenty-four hours.
The former Ole Miss and Liberty head coach have created conflict within the fan base at Auburn due to his colorful past, including major recruiting violations while at Mississippi.
Freeze will begin his search for a coaching staff despite the turmoil after re-hiring Cadillac Williams as associate head coach. Gamecock fans remember what happened last time Auburn had a coaching change.
Then head coach Bryan Harsin poached three Carolina staff members, Mike Bobo, Tracy Rocker, and Will Friend.
The truth is, whenever an SEC job opens up, especially a job as high profile as Auburn, it causes a ripple effect throughout the SEC and college football landscape. So far, there have not been any direct links between Gamecock staff members and Auburn, but the situation is fluid.
Freeze stated in his opening press conference that he “may look for help” with calling plays. It’s been reported that Freeze may bring staff members with him from his former school, Liberty, but new names are emerging.
Former Carolina coach Will Muschamp has been linked to a possible defensive coordinator position. Muschamp has experience at Auburn, coaching on the Plains in 2006 and 2014. Currently, Muschamp is the co-defensive coordinator at Georgia.
North Carolina offensive coordinator Phil Longo has been mentioned as a candidate for the same position at Auburn, along with Georgia running backs coach Del McGee.
As far as South Carolina is concerned, there has been no connection to any current staff member on Auburn’s end, but Clayton White has been rising on many national Defensive boards.
As Freeze puts his staff together, Auburn will likely look to the portal to revamp its roster. Currently, South Carolina players have yet to announce their plans for next season, but look for that to change when the transfer portal opens on December 5th.
I expect Freeze and his counterparts to move quickly to put a staff together by early signing day, so don’t be surprised to hear some names you didn’t expect during this process.
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