As Bayloy moves on from the very successful Matt Rhule era, the Bears may look to another coach with experience coaching in the Sugar Bowl.

SEC Network host Dari Nowkhah already raised the name of Hugh Freeze, the former Ole Miss coach now at Liberty.

“Just a hunch,” he tweeted. “Watch for #Baylor to look hard at hiring Hugh Freeze. I realize his past at Ole Miss… but I also think Baylor could look more at his “redemption” at Liberty.”

Freeze has a mixed career history with multiple double-digit win seasons, but also off-the-field trouble. He led Liberty in the 2019 season to an 8-5 season and a win in the Cure Bowl over Georgia Southern. He signed a multi-year contract extension in December.

Before Liberty, Freeze was out of coaching for two years. He resigned his position at Ole Miss in July 2017 under a cloud of NCAA sanctions and personal trouble after he reportedly made a phone call with his university-issued phone to an escort service in Tampa.

Freeze coached the Rebels for five seasons and led Ole Miss to a Sugar Bowl victory after the 2015 season.

Early in the 2019 season, Freeze coached from a hospital bed in the press box during the game against Syracuse. He was recovering from a staph infection and subsequent surgery, and missed time in the preseason while in the hospital. Freeze originally had back spasms that kept him away from the team.