Paul Finebaum Rips Auburn's Hugh Freeze: 'Doesn't Look Like He Wants to be There'

Master agitator Paul Finebaum takes aim at Hugh Freeze, but does apathy really reign deep within the Auburn Tigers?

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze is navigating a tumultuous-second season. / Austin Perryman, Auburn University Athletics

Just how much ESPN chief agitator Paul Finebaum gets under the skin of the protagonists he pokes at remains to be seen, but he's certainly carved out a lucrative career perfecting its dark arts.

Nobody is spared from the veteran analysts' notoriously toxic spitting venom, Finebaum actually prefers kicking a guy when he's down. 

Therefore, Auburn Tigers head Hugh Freeze was easy prey after a disappointing loss to Cal when the invariably salty Finebaum jumped on the "Always College Football" show with host Greg McElroy.

"I've been around Hugh Freeze once or twice down there in interviews, he doesn't really look like he wants to be there," Finebaum told McElroy. "I know that sounds like a bold statement, but I mean, there's something going on with him. I mean, at least act like you want the job. I mean, show some emotion. Brian Kelly, for all the theatrics of punching the table, at least it looked like he cared. I mean, there are times when I don't really know what Hugh Freeze is up to.

"Looks like he's, 'Okay. I got the job I've always wanted. I was able to bounce back from the disaster at Ole Miss. I got the Liberty job. I made the most of it until I mailed it in for the last few weeks. Now, I've got Auburn and is this really what I want?' I know that sounds like I'm out in left field, but that's my impression of being around Hugh Freeze"

Scathing comments are only the tip of the iceberg, if culture problems are indeed systemic deep within the Tigers program, Finebaum also feels that sheer complacency led to last Saturday's shocking reverse against Cal.

"They should be real," Finebaum said of how Auburn is currently underperforming. "For all the good things you can say about this program off the field, the on-field performance lately has been terrible. You go back to New Mexico State, and then the 4th and 31, the complete no show against Maryland, and now this. I didn't see any way they could lose to Cal. Now, that's not showing any respect for any part of the Cal program, but that's just a gut response. When somebody said, 'Hey, you think Cal can beat Auburn?' The answer is no, and they did."

Losing a squeaker to Cal would have been bad enough, but the four interceptions quarterback Payton Thorne threw suddenly plunged the senior into intense levels of personal crisis. Even to the most casual observer, Freeze has been hell-bent on leaving the scene of the crime, but the consequent fall-out within the Auburn locker room could be catastrophic, and it all got started by shamefully losing to Cal.

"You know, since then, Hugh Freeze, really, everything he's saying is being interpreted. Is he blaming his players? Because he doesn't seem to be taking too much blame," Finebaum insisted. "I realize every coach mouths the words, but sometimes you know when they really mean it or not. So, he gambled on Payton Thorne. That's his decision. That's his guy. He's going to ride with him. This is not the same situation as [Billy] Napier. Nobody's firing Hugh Freeze, at least yet. So where this season goes will determine what the off-season looks like."

We all know how much easier it is to bench a struggling QB than it ever is to fire a highly-paid coach like Freeze. Some well-publicized big wins in consecutive recruitment cycles have undoubtedly bought the Tigers head coach serious kudos, and most importantly some precious time.

Having said that, nobody is bigger than the Auburn program, traditionally, the powers at the very top oversee things with a less than sensitive touch. All too often that leads to corrosive meddling, the kind which can derail some more-long term-type planning and team building - at least according to Finebaum.

"Auburn chairs are very proud," Finebaum said. "They take pride in what that football team puts on the field, even in defeat, as painful as that can be. They don't take pride in what we saw Saturday, and what we saw in the other games we've referenced. So, I think there's a disconnect right now, and this is coming after a reboot. I mean, there aren't a lot of familiar faces on that coaching staff from a year ago, and some of that is baked into the cake. You get the job and people are in your ear, 'Hey, we really, we need you to keep this guy.' I much prefer the coach to wipe the place out. ... So, I think he's made some mistakes. His demeanor isn't great either."

In fairness, how the bosses go about their business could well be brushing up against the bullish tendencies Freeze often displays. What Tigers fans might be whispering in hushed tones - Finebaum has gone and said out loud - there could be a huge internal power struggle going on.

What's developing far higher up the food chain at Auburn quite clearly has massive ramifications for the future of the program, but the gory details will remain unknown for now. 

As for the more immediate issues ahead of this weekend's fixture, just how Freeze has dealt with the whole Thorne situation this week has been a lot like a bull entering a china shop.

Freeze has very clearly wielded the whip hand with his under performing signal caller, and forcing Thorne to be perfect on every pass, or else, will most likely deliver mixed results at best.

To say things are getting messy down on the Plains right now is somewhat of an understatement.