Not everyone is a fan of the man AU Athletic Director John Cohen didn’t make a head coach hiring that everyone appreciates in his decision to name Hugh Freeze the new Auburn football HC, but a former national champion quarterbacks coach loves it.
The Tigers head coach during their last national championship appearance in 2013, Gus Malzahn, is a fan of the man that replaced the man that replaced him — and shared as much on social media on November 28.
Four weeks to the day since Malzahn’s former running backs coach on the Plains, Cadillac Williams, was named the interim head coach, the permanent replacement has been found and signed for six years at $39 million over the life of the deal. Here’s what he to the new Auburn football play-caller said in a tweet tagging Freeze:
Happy for my friend @CoachHughFreeze for getting the Auburn job! That’s a special place, you’re going to love it!
— Coach Gus Malzahn (@CoachGusMalzahn) November 29, 2022
I’ve also got a couple old sweater vests laying around if you ever need them 😁
Auburn football has a hedge in case Hugh Freeze crashes and burns
The AU brain trust just launched an inquiry into Bryan Harsin’s program after just one season this past February regarding accusations about his personal conduct, then signed off on someone with a known past rife with controversy. What happens next is anyone’s guess. Gus Malzahn gave the university little reason to wonder what he was doing outside of business hours. This kind of scandal was unheard of for eight years until the Boise native was hired.
Freeze is a polarizing hire, and what makes things even more complicated is Carnell “Cadillac’ Williams is sticking on the Tigers coaching staff. Given his popularity with his players, the fans, and the media — a rare triple play for a college football coach — Williams looms as a ready-made replacement should Freeze prove unfit for the level of spotlight he is about to be in.