Opelika-Auburn News editor Justin Lee believes Hugh Freeze should only keep one of his Auburn football coordinators hired ahead of the now-completed 2023 season; that being Ron Roberts, while Philip Montgomery is whose job Lee is calling for.
“Keep: Focus on recruiting, Lee prefaced in a response to a reader asking what adjustments Freeze should make in the offseason before saying, “Keep: Ron Roberts. Change: Try to raise (the) ceiling at QB. Change: Offensive coordinator. Adjust slightly: Have some faith in your commits, and live more in the moment instead of future casting. Or losses like NMSU will keep happening. He can’t have those at AU.”
Montgomery lost favor with Tiger fans after the LSU game, while Roberts’ last two weeks — mainly the “fourth and 31” play-call that will live on in infamy during the Tigers’ 27-24 Iron Bowl loss and the thorough outclassing of his unit by New Mexico State’s Diego Pavia (201 passing yards, three touchdowns) in a 31-10 stunner — have made him unpopular with many fans who feel the consecutive showings are too damning to recover from.
Auburn football facing another offseason of change ahead
There don’t seem to be static offseasons on the Plains once a football campaign has been completed anymore. Of course, the free-wheeling nature of the post-NIL/post-COVID college football landscape means every program is set to undergo a level of change.
But the level of change that every offseason has brought since the 2020 season ended is unprecedented. There’s a quarterback question every year, and there are rarely consecutive seasons for coordinators any longer.
The 2023/2024 cycle is no different. Once again, the Tigers are going to see a facelift in personnel, and it’s not for the good reason of star staff members getting hired elsewhere. Unless it’s Cadillac Williams getting a major coaching opportunity somewhere. And then that’d just be sad seeing one of the only constants walk away.