The Auburn football program has finally done it and announced that they will be pursuing new leadership in the place of Bryan Harsin, whose tenure on the Plains lasted just under two years, and not even a full two seasons.
Since losing the faith of the fanbase after the Tigers got beaten badly by Penn State at home earlier this season, things went from bad to worse for Bryan Harsin. Despite his still being employed by the university, conversations about potential replacement candidates spread like wildfire, and every conversation regarding Auburn football typically centered around the head coaching situation.
Now, with a new university president and a new athletic director, hopefully the trajectory for this team will change. While the most popular head coaching candidates among the fanbase are certainly Lane Kiffin and Deion Sanders, SEC analyst Paul Finebaum tabbed a different coach for the job, per Saturday Down South:
"“So Harsin is gone, whenever that is,” Finebaum said. “… He just did a miserable job. Hugh Freeze I think is going to be the coach to watch. (Lane Kiffin’s) name comes up, but I do think there’s a lot of interest for Hugh Freeze there.”"
However, could Freeze’s past be an issue when it comes to hiring the man back to the SEC? According to Finebaum, no:
"“One thing that Auburn boosters like about Hugh Freeze, and this may sound irrelevant to people around the country, but he has something in his back pocket that resonates in Alabama,” Finebaum said. “He’s beaten Nick Saban twice. … Not many people have beaten Nick Saban twice.”"
Freeze is currently in his fourth season with the Liberty Flames, who are currently ranked #23 in the nation with a 7-1 record. Clearly he has the ability to coach, and with prior SEC experience at Ole Miss, it’s no wonder the powers that be are interested in him. Will he ultimately get the job over the flashy names like Kiffin and Sanders? Only time will tell.