Hiring Hugh Freeze certainly didn’t come without the risk of backlash for the Auburn Tigers. His hiring is something Auburn athletic director John Cohen went into with eyes wide-open. It’s also the reason Freeze is asking his new fan base to give him a chance to win him over.
“Give me a chance to earn your trust,” Freeze said in his introductory press conference, per ESPN’s Chris Low. “Give me some time. Get to know us. Get to know our family,” he said. “Get to know the truth of our story, and I think the ones who have done that have said, ‘Man, you know what? I kind of like this guy and this family.’ But that’s all you can ask. Give us a chance to earn your trust, and I think you’ll like the end result.”
Freeze has been at Liberty for the past four seasons after he resigned from his post as head coach at Ole Miss in July 2017. He left (read: was forced out) Ole Miss after the university found “a pattern of personal misconduct” stemming from a report that alleged Freeze had made a call from a university-issued phone to a number connected to a female escort service. The NCAA was also investigating his program for recruiting violations. Ole Miss was placed on an NCAA probation, which included a two-year bowl ban after Freeze left the school.
Liberty was the head-coaching equivalent of a rehab start for Freeze, but he made the most of it. He went 34-15 in four seasons. His tenure featured wins over Syracuse, Virginia Tech, BYU and Arkansas. He went 39-25 in five seasons at Ole Miss with a notable win in the Sugar Bowl over Oklahoma State in January 2016.
Freeze’s coaching chops are unquestionable. His past, on the other hand? Well, there’s reason to doubt it, but Auburn’s new head coach is hoping he can prove those doubters wrong.
“My story is well-documented. I let a lot of people down, and I’m very sorry for that,” Freeze said. “But I’ve spent the last six years trying to earn the respect and earn the trust of my family, teams, administrations, everyone that was around me. That’s the lesson I probably learned, is just keeping working to earn people’s trust.”
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