BREAKING: Auburn football fires offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery

Auburn football offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery will not return for a second season on the Plains

It's the one a lot of Auburn football fans have been waiting for, and it has finally been made official. After the Tigers' offense struggled all season, struggles that were often blamed on game-planning and play-calling, head coach Hugh Freeze will be looking for a replacement at the offensive coordinator position for his second season on the Plains.

As offensive coordinator, Montgomery was one of the first assistant hires made by Freeze, who was adamant that he would step back from play-calling duties primarily to focus on recruiting, which has been a challenge for the Auburn football program after the past few years.

Throughout the season, Freeze often complimented the work of defensive coordinator Ron Roberts while noting that game-planning and play-calling had turned into a team effort. After the dreadful loss in the bowl game, Freeze even admitted he had very little to do with the plan, indicating that the offensive coordinator did not do a good job in prepping the Tigers for the game.

Hugh Freeze offered the following statement on the dismissal, per Auburn Live:

"I informed Philip today he would not be retained as our offensive coordinator,” head coach Hugh Freeze said in a statement. “Philip is a good coach and a good man. Decisions like this are never easy, however, I decided this is best for our program moving forward. I’m appreciative of his efforts this past year and wish him nothing but the best."

Prior to his time with Auburn football, Montgomery was the head coach at Tulsa for eight seasons, and before that had long stints at both Houston and Baylor.

Auburn will owe Montgomery his full buyout, a sum of $3 million, and now the search for a new offensive coordinator is on.