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Hugh Freeze is officially the new head coach of the Auburn Tigers.
AU made the announcement Monday evening, hours after it was reported by national outlets that a deal was being finalized.
New AD John Cohen said Freeze emerged as the best fit after the coaching search was conducted.
“After a thoughtful, thorough, and well-vetted search, we ended where we started, with Hugh Freeze,” Cohen said, via the program announcement. “Of all the candidates we considered, Hugh was the best fit. Fit has several meanings, but the most important factors were student-athlete development, football strategy, recruiting and SEC experience.”
Freeze’s SEC experience comes from 5 seasons as the head coach at Ole Miss, bitter rival of Mississippi State, Cohen’s former school.
Freeze succeeds Bryan Harsin as the full-time head coach. He praised Auburn great Cadillac Williams’ work as interim head coach.
“First, I want to acknowledge Cadillac Williams for the incredible job he did as interim head coach. The impact he made is immeasurable and cannot be overstated,” Freeze said in his released statement. “Secondly, Auburn is one of the preeminent programs in college football and I’m very appreciative of President (Christopher B.) Roberts and John Cohen for this opportunity at Auburn.
“I’ve been fortunate to witness first-hand how special Auburn is during my time as a head coach in the SEC and while visiting my daughter Jordan who attended Auburn and currently lives in the community. I can’t wait to work with our student-athletes and the Auburn family to bring championships back to the Plains.”
Freeze has 12 seasons of experience as a college football head coach. He was Liberty’s head coach the past 4 seasons, posting a 34-15 record and taking the Flames to 4 bowl games.
Welcome HOME, @CoachHughFreeze?
? https://t.co/RAyeZbj2zW pic.twitter.com/ohcTWhSwUn
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) November 28, 2022
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
