While the interview exclusive was about Alex Golesh and his adjustment to being the Auburn Tigers' new head football coach and why he chose to leave the USF Bulls for his first SEC head coaching job, USA Today's Blake Toppmeyer still reserved some attention for Hugh Freeze, who was relieved of his duties on the Plains this past November.
Toppmeyer first explained that Golesh has an "Fe" sign in his office, signifying that his attitude is "F*** everybody." Then, Toppmeyer also joked that Freeze had his own version of "Fe" during his time coaching Auburn.
Per Toppmeyer, "Auburn’s first attempt at replacing Gus Malzahn soured from the start. Calling Bryan Harsin a total-system failure would be to understate it. Its second hire after Malzahn? Another whiff. Hugh Freeze, Golesh’s predecessor, had some 'Fe' in him, too. It stood for friggin’ excuses. Freeze was full of them. Unlike Freeze, Golesh is a coach still on his way up, but Auburn needed more than new leadership to elevate. The Tigers needed a quarterback. Not just a game manager, either. It ached for an elite quarterback. Its program drought coincides with underwhelming quarterback play."
That underwhelming quarterback play was often Freeze's excuse for losing. Of course, he's the one who recruited those QBs. Jarquez Hunter, who he didn't recruit, was also often the target of Freeze's ire.
"Player-friendly" coaches don't do that. Freeze was neither player-friendly, nor media-friendly, since he often gave them the same quote after each and every loss: Auburn was "close." Tiger fans never want to hear that word uttered by an Auburn head coach ever again after Freeze's tenure.
Hugh Freeze sold snake oil with supposed culture changes at Auburn
Freeze promised changes in Auburn, but the ones he delivered would've never been wanted in the first place if the athletic department had gotten to try before buying. While Freeze didn't have the level of scandal Bryan Harsin had, his unaccountable culture was costly and led to wasting millions on guys like Cam Coleman, Jackson Arnold, and Eric Singleton Jr.
That was a tough pill to swallow when Harsin's buyout was already being paid, and the program had just finished paying out Gus Malzahn. As money started being paid out to win championships, the Tigers were essentially setting theirs on fire.
Golesh brings bang-for-your-buck value with the USF players he's brought over, and his embrace of past culture, having important figures in Auburn history around, is intangible.
Finally, the Tigers aren't a punchline anymore. Most fans would probably say "Fe" that made Auburn the butt of anyone's joke over the last five years.
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