Auburn football: Analyst calls OC and DC hires ‘meh’
Opelika-Auburn News deputy editor Justin Lee is not impressed by Hugh Freeze’s offensive and defensive coordinator hires for Auburn football — sharing as much on Twitter in the aftermath of the announcements Philip Montgomery and Ron Roberts would be Plains-bound on Sunday, December 11.
Lee added that the pair is a perfect set of John Cohen hires in that regard: not too hot of candidates, though certainly not the bottom of the barrel. Just right, like The Berenstain Bears, if you will.
Both coordinator finalists are pretty "meh" — both have done well, both just got fired.
— Justin Lee (@ByJustinLee) December 12, 2022
I suppose it's consistent with Cohen's pick of Freeze to begin with: not too hot, not too cold, the whole idea is to be baby bear right in the middle, apparently.
Auburn football fans like Philip Montgomery hire, accuse Justin Lee of forcing negativity on the Hugh Freeze regime
While neither name is a splashy hire, adding both seasoned vets — who cut their teeth at the high school ranks for years before taking control of a team as head coach themselves — was a solid move by Hugh Freeze as he looks to establish stability for the Auburn football program.
Tiger fans took Justin Lee’s indifference to Philip Montgomery and Ron Roberts as a sign that the Opelika-Auburn News editor was going to find a reason to disparage Freeze no matter who was hired and largely felt satisfied with at least :
Y’all remember when mediocre head coaching records were a good thing? pic.twitter.com/DVp8F6L1fD
— GrAUnd ThAUft AUto 🦚 (@taunybaurnhard) December 12, 2022
Complain about something huh?
— Jeff B (@mynameisjeff924) December 12, 2022
Montgomery couldn’t cut it as a head coach, but great OC. Happens all the time.
— Hunter Smith (@AuburnDude17) December 12, 2022
It’s not really fair to put the Montgomery hire on the same caliber as the Roberts hire. Getting fired as a head coach does not invalidate your chops as a coordinator.
— The Lee County Riot (@leecountyriot) December 12, 2022
See: Kevin Steele, Derrick Mason, Will Muschamp, Steve Sarkisian, and so on.
Montgomery is a GREAT pickup. Our offense is going to be tough to stop. I hear you on the DC pickup, but we did outbid Arky for him. I would rather have him than Grantham.
— Ford Stokes (@fordstokes) December 12, 2022
With Montgomery coming over from Tulsa having gotten his team to a bowl game four of his eight years in Oklahoma, and Roberts being two years removed from coaching a top 10 defense at Baylor, experience is certainly not lacking with Freeze’s latest additions.