Latest news with #HughFreeze
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
SEC Commissioner calls Hugh Freeze golf controversy 'misplaced'
There has been a lot said about Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze and his golf outings. Freeze's golf outings of late have come to light, especially since Alabama has had so much success recently on the recruiting trail. It also doesn't help that two Auburn football players have been arrested on major charges in the past few weeks as well. While the media and fans alike have come for Freeze, he does have his defenders. One of them is SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. Sankey said on an appearance on 'The Opening Kickoff' that criticism of Freeze has been 'misplaced.' 'It's healthy for me to go outside and play golf,' Sankey said. 'I think the criticism (of Freeze) is misplaced.' Sankey recalled a conversation he once had with former Florida and South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier. Spurrier, too, was coming under fire at the time for playing too much golf as well. 'That's overblown,' Sankey said Spurrier told him. 'He said, 'Look, I'm not going to be in the film room, so I can brag how much film I watch. When I have time, I'm going to go play golf. I don't do it during the season.'Years later, Spurrier faced the same criticism again while at South Carolina, and eventually, he quit in the middle of the 2015 season when the Gamecocks were 2-4 at the time. Sankey said that golf is a way for a lot of coaches to relax as they try to find that work/life balance. 'Given the stress of football coaches, I think it's the most healthy thing you can do,' Sankey said.'Every piece of that is balance in your life. ... It doesn't diminish your coaching ability.' But this is the SEC, where there are no vacations in this conference. Freeze is not only bleeding recruits but doesn't appear to bother him, and that's what got fans in an uproar. If Freeze was coming off a College Football Playoff run, or even a victory over Alabama, no one would care, but as they say in the SEC, it just means more.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Preseason SEC hot seat index: Plenty of coaches enter 2025 with varying levels of heat
ATLANTA — Hugh Freeze normally likes to talk. Not so this week at SEC media days. The Auburn coach gave short answers, uninterested in offering up long, introspective answers on the state of his program. Freeze acted like a guy who, well, maybe had a tee time. The background for those who missed it: Freeze posted 11 rounds of golf to the U.S. Golf Association database in June, as uncovered. This revelation came at a bad time for Freeze, whose recruiting class lost three recruits and fell to 78th in the nation. Advertisement Freeze's golfing became a sore point for some Auburn fans, and Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin seemed to needle Freeze on social media. When asked about it this week, Kiffin at first did a version of 'who me?' But as Kiffin insisted he was just innocently talking about fishing, he got in his shot: '(It) had nothing to do with his golf game, which sounds like he's doing amazing at that. That's great for him.' Being a punchline for your peers probably isn't a great sign for job security. Entering Year 3, Freeze appears squarely on the coaching hot seat — but is far from alone in the SEC. In the conference where 'It Just Means More' often leads to more … buyouts, there were no head coaches fired during or after the 2024 season. That's not unheard of in the SEC, but it likely means this year will make up for it. The hot seat is clogged. Less than half of the SEC's head coaches would seem safe this year, barring some sort of scandal: Kiffin, Georgia's Kirby Smart, Texas' Steve Sarkisian, Tennessee's Josh Heupel, Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz, South Carolina's Shane Beamer and Texas A&M's Mike Elko. That leaves nine other coaches who, to varying degrees, need to win this year. Here's a look at the SEC's preseason hot seat index: The inspired — or desperate — decision to bring Bobby Petrino back as offensive coordinator quietly paid off last year: Arkansas improved from last to third in the SEC in offensive yards per play. That helped the Razorbacks go 7-6 and fend off the vultures for another season. Pittman has winning seasons in three of the past five years, and still looks great compared to the disaster he inherited. Essentially, he has the program back to Bret Bielema territory — Bielema also had three winning seasons in five years, but was never better than 8-5 (Pittman does have a 9-4 in his pocket). But how long before Arkansas decides it needs to get back to, say, how things were under Petrino before his unfortunate motorcycle ride? Advertisement The dean of SEC coaches is coming off a clunker of a 4-8 season, which might have been an opportune time for Stoops and his bosses to shake hands and move on. The fact he didn't speaks either to Stoops' competitive fire to get the program back to a solid level, or apathy in the administration. Or maybe both. This season doesn't look too promising, unless new quarterback Zach Calzada — now on his fourth team (and third SEC school) in seven college seasons — is this year's Diego Pavia. That doesn't seem likely. But Stoops, whose teams are known for defense and hard-nosed offense, could still get this team back to respectability. Lebby has only had one season, but it was pretty bad: 2-10, and 0-8 in the SEC. This week, Lebby was asked, given how Mississippi State did well in baseball and men's and women's basketball, when he would get football back? Lebby replied by pointing out that the school's softball team also did well. 'It's our turn to go do our job,' Lebby said. Or at least not be terrible. That may be tough, given another hard schedule and a roster showing the effect of three coaches in four years. Two seasons may seem an extremely quick hook at Mississippi State, but Lebby is replacing Zach Arnett, who only got one year. Athletic director Zac Selmon did that because he wanted to hire his own guy, and would probably give Lebby more time. So Lebby had better hope Selmon doesn't leave for, say, the AD job at Oklahoma, where he worked for more than a decade. Venables has had two losing seasons in three years, and three out of four would mean the end. But he looks primed for improvement, bringing in QB John Mateer and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle from Washington State. Better health at receiver should help too. 'You choose to come to Oklahoma to coach or to play on the biggest stage, in the biggest games, and you accept everything that comes with that,' Venables said Wednesday. 'In the new era of college football, we expect to be a program that is year-in, year-out consistently a Playoff contender.' Advertisement Getting to that level this year may be enough to get Venables another year. That and a $42 million buyout. If it's a close call, a complication is the pending retirement of AD Joe Castiglione, who will step down once his replacement is hired. The timing of that, and who it is, could be key. Or Venables could just make the decision easy by winning. Asked about the attention on his golf game, Freeze answered: 'It's something I enjoy doing, but I assure you it does not take away from my time working to take Auburn back to the top of the college football world.' That's not out of the realm of possibility this year, especially if QB Jackson Arnold turns things around after a rough season at Oklahoma (which may have had more to do with injuries around him). Freeze has recruited well the previous two years, and brought in good transfers, including receiver Eric Singleton from Georgia Tech. Still, the first two years have not been great. Auburn went 5-7 last year with four home losses, including California, Vanderbilt and Arkansas. That followed an Auburn debut season when Freeze went 6-7, with a late-season home loss to New Mexico State. And that followed Freeze's hire being somewhat controversial, given his checkered history. So as much as the golfing thing may seem funny, it also shows the Auburn fan base isn't in love with Freeze, and he has work to do this year. The vibes in Gainesville are definitely good, and Napier has turned a corner after winning five of seven to end 2024. After going through the media gantlet on Wednesday, Napier acknowledged it was a nice change from last year. 'A little more narrative about turning around, than how do you turn it around, if that makes sense,' Napier said, adding: 'Look, we're preparing to be dropped in the deep end of the ocean again. That's the world we live in. The good thing is we have a team that's prepared, they know what winning football looks like.' Still, things could go sideways again, especially with a daunting schedule and the health of QB DJ Lagway still a question. And Napier's buyout is down to $20 million. He may not need a College Football Playoff appearance, but he does need to keep momentum in the right direction. Advertisement The natives in Baton Rouge are restless, and the optics of Marcus Freeman doing well at Notre Dame don't help. Kelly does seem to feel the urgency, putting pressure on himself to end the five-game losing streak in openers. Still, Kelly has a $55 million buyout. That's a lot to pay if LSU is 'merely' in 9-3 or 8-4 territory. If things get worse than that, look out. LSU still has a lot of talent, notably with QB Garrett Nussmeier, and the defense could finally be better this year. With Clemson and Florida in the first three weeks of the season, his hot-seat status could shift quickly in either direction. DeBoer, like Elko, is only entering his second season, and had a better record than Elko did at Texas A&M. But everything is relative. DeBoer was asked Wednesday if his first season (9-4, no Playoff appearance) met the Alabama standard. 'If you internally ask us, no,' DeBoer said. 'We fell short of making the Playoffs. It's as simple as that, right? Giving yourself a chance to go compete for a championship.' The good news is DeBoer has back offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, his right-hand man when Washington went to the 2023 national championship game. The bad news is their quarterback isn't Michael Penix Jr., or even Jalen Milroe. It's likely to be Ty Simpson, more of an unknown quantity. That said, there's still plenty of talent, DeBoer has won a lot of football games in his career — including last year — and he's carrying himself in a good way in Tuscaloosa. He should be fine. He should also try to win more than nine games, just to be sure. Last year was great: A winning season, beating Alabama. Lea's voice cracked on Monday as he talked about how far his program had come, using the example of a 2021 game when Vanderbilt was down 35-0 in the first quarter to Georgia before losing 62-0. Advertisement 'I remember the sun beating down that afternoon and it's just like you get put in the position of, are you going to coach the team or blame the team?' Lea said. 'All of that was beating back my ego, and really, it was a way of me learning that it's not about me. That ultimately, I'm here in the service of something. And also, without that, I don't know that I could appreciate these breakthrough moments we're having now.' That breakthrough 2024 season almost certainly bought Lea some time to keep building the program the way he wants. That doesn't mean he can afford to immediately go back to the days of 2-10. Given the return of Pavia, that seems unlikely. (Top photos: Justin Ford, Wesley Hitt / Getty Images)
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze finally stops excuses but is he ready for expectations?
Hugh Freeze has proven himself a virtuoso in the excuse-making arts, but he shelved those abilities at SEC media days and welcomed expectations for Auburn. What Hugh Freeze didn't say became more notable than what he said. The Auburn coach didn't call for patience. He didn't become defensive when asked about the amount of golf he played this offseason. He didn't blame his predecessor for Auburn's 2024 record. Freeze has proven himself a virtuoso in the excuse-making arts throughout his career, but he shelved those abilities Tuesday during his turn in the spotlight at SEC media days. Good. There's no stomach for a coach's excuses in Year 3, anyway. Auburn fans are starved for success after four consecutive losing seasons. So, Freeze might as well vow to deliver results, because that's the only path forward for an embattled coach whose buyout is cheaper than most in the SEC. 'I love this team,' Freeze said from the stage in Atlanta. Earlier this offseason, Freeze said on a Birmingham-based podcast that he's 'no fool' and he knows Auburn must make a bowl game. Excuse me? That comment made Freeze sound like a fool. A third-year coach with an 11-14 record at Auburn, with losses to New Mexico State, California and Vanderbilt, can't think of the Gasparilla Bowl as a safe space. Freeze changed his tune at SEC media days. He talked as if the College Football Playoff is within reach. 'I truly believe that, in the playoff run, we're going to be in this discussion,' Freeze said. 'That is what Auburn should be, in those talks, year in, year out.' For the past several years, there's been more talk of hot seats at Auburn than the playoff, for which the Tigers never have qualified. Auburn's best postseason triumph since the playoff's inception came at the Music City Bowl during the Guz Malzahn era. Auburn cast itself into a pit by making one of the worst college football hires of the 21st century by anointing Bryan Harsin to replace Malzahn. Harsin, an interloper from Boise State, strutted in with a tough-guy attitude. He quickly lost portions of the locker room, and he failed to recruit the type of athletes he'd need to thrive in the SEC. He proved a massive bust. I can say that. Freeze shouldn't, because, no matter how poorly Harsin fared at Auburn, a third-year coach can't cast his program's shortcomings onto his predecessor's shoulders. Not in the SEC, and certainly not in this era when fixes are found in the transfer portal and improvement is possible in leaps, not baby steps, early in a coach's tenure. Auburn showed little improvement throughout Freeze's first two seasons. Auburn's 22 turnovers and an inability to finish games strongly contributed to the Tigers finishing 5-7 last year, when 8-4 was possible. Freeze's recruiting haul buoyed some belief in a brighter future, no matter the on-field results, until recruiting stalled this offseason. Auburn's 2026 class ranks last in the SEC. Freeze offered a feeble explanation earlier this month when asked about the recruiting ranking. Enough already. Athletic director John Cohen promised a big August for recruiting. We'll see. Regardless, recruiting can't be the only thing propping up a third-year coach at a program that last tasted more than six victories in a time before any of us had ever heard the word 'coronavirus.' Instituting a turnaround will require more fortitude and fewer flubs in close-game situations, but Freeze also improved the puzzle pieces. Auburn's bundle of key transfer acquisitions included wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. (Georgia Tech) and offensive tackles Xavier Chaplin (Virginia Tech) and Mason Murphy (Southern California). Freeze described this team's potential as 'limitless.' 'We absolutely want the expectations,' Freeze said, 'and this team deserves them.' Looking at Auburn's schedule, I can talk myself into the Tigers achieving a much better record. So much hinges, though, on quarterback improvement. Auburn transitioned to Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold, a former five-star recruit who didn't live up to the billing with the Sooners. Oklahoma's shoddy pass protection and numerous wide receiver injuries didn't help Arnold's cause. From Freeze's vantage point, Arnold fits 'everything that I believe in doing offensively.' Here again, I say, we'll see. 'I've seen (Arnold's) swagger and confidence come back pretty quickly,' Freeze said. That attitude must spread throughout the roster – and to the head coach. At least the excuses and downplaying of expectations dried up Tuesday. Neither will serve Freeze well at this juncture. Only wins can save him. Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@ and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hugh Freeze: 'I truly believe' Auburn will be in the mix for the College Football Playoff
Is Auburn a playoff-caliber team in 2025? Tigers coach Hugh Freeze certainly thinks so. Freeze said Tuesday at SEC media day that he believed his team would be in the playoff conversation at the end of the season. Auburn went 5-7 in 2024, but Freeze said that he felt his team was better than it was a season ago. Advertisement 'I truly believe that in the playoff run we're going to be in this discussion because I love this team,' Freeze said. '… Now we've got to stay healthy and we need the ball to bounce our way a couple times this year instead of against us, I'm sure, but that's our full expectation. We embrace the fact that is what Auburn should be, in those talks year in, year out.' 'It takes a little time to build it, and we've been doing that. Certainly I wish we would have won more games a few times, but the future is very bright in my eyes. We've been blessed everywhere we've been to win, and I expect nothing less than that at Auburn.' The Tigers are 11-14 in Freeze's two seasons and 5-11 in the SEC. Former Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold is in line to start after arriving from Norman in the offseason. But Arnold struggled himself in 2024 and was replaced as Oklahoma's starter during the season. Auburn's schedule is one of the toughest in the country as well. In addition to annual rivalry games with Georgia and Alabama, The Tigers have road games at Oklahoma and Texas A&M and also host a Missouri team that went 10-3 in 2024. A trip to Baylor is on tap in Week 1 too. The Bears ended the 2024 regular season on a six-game win streak and finished 8-5. Advertisement If Auburn is in the playoff discussion, Freeze will get serious consideration for the SEC coach of the year. Conversely, if the Tigers are under .500 for a third straight season, Freeze may find himself under serious pressure. Especially after setting expectations so high before the season.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Hugh Freeze, QB Jackson Arnold are confident Auburn can be a winner in 2025
ATLANTA (AP) — Hugh Freeze is in unfamiliar territory as he heads into year three as Auburn's coach. The former Arkansas State, Ole Miss and Liberty coach only had one losing season in his decade as a Division I head coach, but his first two seasons at Auburn have yielded meager results at 6-7 and 5-7. Last fall marked the first football season without a head coaching change in the SEC since 2018, but Freeze certainly enters 2025 on the hot seat. 'I'm glad I'm at a place that has those expectations,' Freeze said Tuesday at SEC media days. 'I think when you've done this awhile, you really don't give into a lot of the pressure stuff.' Everything starts at quarterback with the highest profile of Auburn's 19 incoming transfers. Freeze signed former Oklahoma starter Jackson Arnold, hoping he can finally provide stability. Starting quarterback Payton Thorne and his backup Hank Brown both struggled last season particularly with ball security, as the Tigers threw 13 interceptions as a team and finished 119th nationally in turnover margin. Arnold himself struggled through a difficult season with the Sooners, losing his starting job for two games and playing the final five games of the regular season with an interim offensive coordinator. But between Freeze's quarterback-friendly system and a year of SEC experience now under his belt, there is optimism about the fresh start being mutually beneficial. 'Coach Freeze isn't scared to push the ball down the field, which I absolutely love,' Arnold said. 'I thought with my experience running the RPO game, I think it meshed well with what Coach Freeze wants to do with his offense.' He will have two of Auburn's top three receivers from last year in terms of both yards and touchdowns back with Cam Coleman and Malcolm Simmons, along with incoming transfer Eric Singleton Jr. from Georgia Tech. That combined with a returning nucleus on the offensive line led by center Connor Lew has Freeze expecting a sizable jump offensively. 'This is my favorite offensive line when I look at it on paper,' Freeze said. 'We'd better be able to run the football and protect the quarterback, because I think we're pretty talented up there.' Heading into 2025 Freeze is not only 11-14 overall, but 5-11 in SEC play, 2-6 in one-possession games and perhaps most damaging in the eyes of fans and administrators, 0-4 against rivals Alabama and Georgia. 'Our roster is one that can compete with those teams,' Freeze said, directly addressing the rivalry shortcomings. 'We've been in the games the first two years, but we haven't found a way to win.' Auburn will get both games at home, with Georgia playing at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Oct. 11 and Alabama coming in for the regular-season finale Nov. 29. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
