Hugh Freeze is returning to the SEC. Freeze has been hired to be the next head coach of the Auburn football program, as the two sides are finalizing a deal, per Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated. Freeze's contract with the Tiges is for six years at an average of $6.5 million per year, per Pete Thamel of ESPN.
Auburn football popped up in plenty of head coach reports and rumors over the last couple of weeks, with Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin the most popular name linked to the Tigers job.
It was even reported that Kiffin would step down from his Rebels post and take the Auburn football job, though the rumor turned out to be premature.
All the while, the Tigers were circling around Liberty football's Hugh Freeze, who was reportedly talking with Auburn for “weeks.”
After Kiffin announced that he would be staying with the Rebels, Freeze emerged as the frontrunner for the Auburn football job. Now, the Tigers have officially made the move and dubbed Freeze as the man to lead them into the post-Bryan Harsin era.
It's not hard to see why they like Freeze. In four seasons with Liberty football, Freeze has racked up at least eight wins in every season, securing three bowl game victories during his tenure.
Before going to Liberty, Freeze was the head coach at Ole Miss from 2012 to 2016, where his Rebels squads secured two bowl game wins while winning a pair of contests against Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide.
Only, his last stop in the SEC didn't end well. Hugh Freeze was fired by Ole Miss amid an NCAA scandal involving recruiting violations, among other things.
However, Auburn football is clearly willing to look past that. Given Freeze's winning ways, the move might just pay off.
The Tigers need it to.
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