Hugh Freeze Addressed Auburn Speculation With Liberty Players Before Loss

The Flames coach is the favorite to land the vacant Tigers coaching position.

Liberty lost its third consecutive game on Saturday, as the Flames were extinguished by New Mexico State 49–14.

The loss was the worst of the three game slide to end the regular season—a stretch that included UConn and Virginia Tech prior to the home defeat to the Aggies on Saturday.

The loss would normally be inexplicable, but the result is not all too surprising considering the swirling rumors around coach Hugh Freeze and Auburn’s coaching opening. In fact, the rumors became so apparent that Freeze felt the need to address them with his team ahead of Saturday’s contest.

“I’ve communicated with [Liberty athletics director] Ian [McCaw] that if someone ever wanted to talk to us that interests us, I would always tell them,” Freeze said per 247Sports‘ Brandon Marcello. “Is the job everyone is talking about one that I would have an interest in talking with? Sure. That doesn’t mean they have offered me a job. Who knows where that’s headed but I’ve always said I love being here on the mountain. I’m happy here, but I’m not going to sit here and say to our kids it’s just absolutely false that there’s no interest in it. The part that is false is that there has been no offer made to me, nor have I accepted anything.”

Freeze was also asked whether or not he believes that the coaching rumors surrounded him affected his team’s play in Saturday’s blowout loss.

“I haven’t been offered a job but it certainly was hard to refute that report and it definitely was bothering some people. Just hate it,” Freeze said.

Following his unceremonious exit from Ole Miss in 2016, Freeze returned to the coaching profession in 2019 as Liberty’s head whistle. He’s compiled a 48–34 record at the school, with three seasons of eight wins or more. His best year came in 2020, when Liberty went 10–1 and won the Cure Bowl for the second consecutive season. 

Liberty also won the LendingTree Bowl in 2021, leaving Freeze with a 3–0 mark in bowl games as Liberty will prepare for a fourth in his tenure next month.

Auburn has “zeroed in” on Hugh Freeze in its coaching search, sources told Sports Illustrated‘s Ross Dellenger on Saturday. Auburn had also spoken with Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin regarding the opening, but Kiffin instead opted to remain in Oxford after reportedly agreeing to a six-year contract extension with the Rebels.