Auburn defensive assistant Roc Bellantoni not retained under Hugh Freeze

The Tigers have informed Bellatoni that he will not be retained.

Lindsay Crosby | Nov 30, 2022

Auburn defensive assistant Roc Bellantoni not retained under Hugh Freeze /

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Auburn Tigers

Now that Hugh Freeze has officially been named the Auburn Tigers head coach, he is beginning the work of building out a staff, but that group will not include current defensive assistant & special teams coordinator Roc Bellantoni. The news was first reported by Auburn Undercover.

Bellantoni, 52, initially joined Auburn's staff in 2021 as a defensive analyst under Bryan Harsin, being promoted to edge coach after Bert Watts departed Auburn for the NFL's Denver Broncos.

Bellantoni brought 28 years of football experience to Auburn, having spent 2020 at Utah State as tight ends coach and special teams coordinator. Prior to that, he was with Mike Leach's final staff at Washington State as linebackers coach and interim defensive coordinator. Before Washington State, he was at Buffalo with now-Kansas head coach Lance Leipold, coaching special teams and defensive ends.

Bellantoni is considered a strong recruiter of the Florida area, with a majority of his top all-time recruits hailing from the Sunshine State. He coached Auburn's edge rushers this season, including two veteran rushers with Senior Bowl invites in Derick Hall and Eku Leota. Hall, with seven sacks during the regular season, finished as the #5 rusher in the SEC. Leota, who tore a pectoral muscle in week five and missed the rest of the regular season, had five tackles for loss and two sacks.

As Freeze begins building a staff, Bellantoni is one of two assistants to have a fate determined. Interim head coach Cadillac Williams was named associate head coach and running backs coach on Tuesday, shortly before Hugh Freeze's opening press conference.

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