News Article: Hugh Freeze Play calling For 2025 Call Into Question

[4Q Basket Case]

Hugh Freeze addresses camp frustration with Jackson Arnold

Hugh Freeze explained to reporters the reason for a heated moment aimed toward Auburn QB Jackson Arnold in practice.

www.saturdaydownsouth.com

There are times and places for conversations like that. But yeah, calling your savior QB an idiot in front of the whole team, and doing it while reporters are still there filming ....that'll instill the confidence he's looking for and make the team have confidence, too.

I'd say he has the self-awareness of a three-year-old. But I don't want to talk bad about three-year-olds.

 

[arthurdawg]

Auburn is still suffering from a roster that is well below what they think it is... And nothing Freeze has done since he arrived makes me think he is going to suddenly have a great year. Everything seems to be crazy dysfunctional down there.

Which makes me quite happy.

 

[BamaMoon]

Melty goodness. Gotta love it!

 

[BamaMoon]

My only hesitation with this is the barn always has a better year when it looks like they are going to crash and burn.

It's really the only formula for their success. They are like the kid in 3rd grade who sneaks up behind you with a sucker punch.

That and outbidding MSU for a laptop-stealing QB when it was not legal to pay players.

 

[TiderJack]

Rev Sleaze is a moron. I heard ex-Auburn player Rob Pate say he said it out loud when he should have just not said anything at all. He does have footinmouthitis.

 

[RTR2u]

I hope their season implodes. I don't want anyone hurt, but I can't stand to see them win at anything.

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Auburn have the distinction of being the only school in the NCAA to have both football AND basketball head coaches with a show/cause?

I think they call it "ALL IN!".

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

I just find it difficult to believe that Gene Chizik was the best available head coach in 2008 when they.....whatever......Tuberville.

Look at who they interviewed and then who they chose:
Gary Patterson (TCU)
Brady Hoke
Todd Graham
Turner Gill
Derek Dooley (before he botched the job at Tennessee)
Houston Nutt
Gene Chizik

Other than Nutt (who was a top to bottom phony), Chizik was the worst candidate on that list. I know Patterson wasn't yet a big name compared with later - but geez! (And I understand they wanted to interview Muschamp back when he was the heir apparent to Mack Brown).

Keeping Tuberville would have been better than what they did.

But yes, they do react way too quickly to everything, almost that 13-year-old girl stereotypical reaction.



Well, he couldn't exactly go out and say, "We've hired a guy none of us like but who was the best of a bunch of bad choices!"

I think that basically everyone on that list told awbern "No!" and that Chizik was the only that said he would take the job...seriously!

I think I remember a stick er that said "Honk, if you turned down the awbern job!"

 

[DzynKingRTR]

I think that basically everyone on that list told awbern "No!" and that Chizik was the only that said he would take the job...seriously!

I think I remember a stick er that said "Honk, if you turned down the awbern job!"

If I remember correctly there was actually some controversy over Chizik getting the job over Gill.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

The FanSided barn site is Fly War Eagle, often abbreviated to FWE.

Here's a column by Ron Evans of BamaHammer that documents the extent to which FWE has given up on Freeze. I'm not familiar with FWE, but Evans says it's, "more than a credible source for Auburn Sports. It provides in-depth perspectives worth the attention of not just Auburn fans."

An SEC Football team-specific site struggles to support the head coach

Evans has a tendency to be a bit much of an Alabama homer for my taste, and he has a tendency to gloat when the barn is twisting in the wind (which has been a lot over the past 5 years). But probably because he spends a lot of space quoting FWE and other writers, this column is one of his more level-headed efforts.

Bottom Line is that a faithful barn site is about to throw in the towel. And normally reliable barn homers (like Matt Hayes) are saying that splitting play calls three ways simply won't work, and further saying that the barn experiment with Freeze is all but over.

And I'd add that the ballyhooed August 1 recruiting miracle has come and gone with no miracle in sight.

Like I said, I'm not familiar with FWE. But I'll take Evans at his word that it's a credible site. Imagine the counterpart -- if JessN or BamaNation started saying this sort of thing about any Alabama coach, not necessarily limited to football.

I'd like for the good rev to stay at the barn. But it looks like a healthy portion of the barn fanbase is sharpening its knives. If they lose to Baylor (depending on who's setting the spready, they're currently roughly a 2.5 point road favorite), it could get deafening.

 

[BamaMoon]

The FanSided barn site is Fly War Eagle, often abbreviated to FWE.

Here's a column by Ron Evans of BamaHammer that documents the extent to which FWE has given up on Freeze. I'm not familiar with FWE, but Evans says it's, "more than a credible source for Auburn Sports. It provides in-depth perspectives worth the attention of not just Auburn fans."

An SEC Football team-specific site struggles to support the head coach

Evans has a tendency to be a bit much of an Alabama homer for my taste, and he has a tendency to gloat when the barn is twisting in the wind (which has been a lot over the past 5 years). But probably because he spends a lot of space quoting FWE and other writers, this column is one of his more level-headed efforts.

Bottom Line is that a faithful barn site is about to throw in the towel. And normally reliable barn homers (like Matt Hayes) are saying that splitting play calls three ways simply won't work, and further saying that the barn experiment with Freeze is all but over.

And I'd add that the ballyhooed August 1 recruiting miracle has come and gone with no miracle in sight.

Like I said, I'm not familiar with FWE. But I'll take Evans at his word that it's a credible site. Imagine the counterpart -- if JessN or BamaNation started saying this sort of thing about any Alabama coach, not necessarily limited to football.

I'd like for the good rev to stay at the barn. But it looks like a healthy portion of the barn fanbase is sharpening its knives. If they lose to Baylor (depending on who's setting the spready, they're currently roughly a 2.5 point road favorite), it could get deafening.

Agree and feel the same about RE's homerism. I mean, I'm a homer too, but I don't write articles either. But I do think he's improved his craft over time.

He does make a good point. It probably would be better for Alabama if the barn kept Freeze.

I mean, one of these days they might get lucky and accidentally hire a good coach.

 

[lowend]

There are times and places for conversations like that. But yeah, calling your savior QB an idiot in front of the whole team, and doing it while reporters are still there filming ....that'll instill the confidence he's looking for and make the team have confidence, too.

I'd say he has the self-awareness of a three-year-old. But I don't want to talk bad about three-year-olds.

Is the defense still taking it easy on the QB?? I hope so!!

 

[jthomas666]

This reminded of the time we had Calloway (OC) and Stubbs (QB).

Yeah. When things started to go south in 2000, Dubose looked to Calloway for offensive advice, even though the offense had done well with Stubbs at the helm. Reports were that it was because Dubose couldn't quite understand Stubbs' system.

 

[jthomas666]

I think that basically everyone on that list told awbern "No!" and that Chizik was the only that said he would take the job...seriously!

I think I remember a stick er that said "Honk, if you turned down the awbern job!"

Keep in mind, Tubberville left because Auburn tried to pull another Jetgate, only Tubbs found out about it--mainly because both coaches had the same agent.

That enabled Tubbs to walk while receiving his full boyut--though he graciously accepterd a reduced offer.

So it's hardly surprising that no one wanted that job

 

[Cruiser]

Is the defense still taking it easy on the QB?? I hope so!!

Easier than the HC

 

[graydogg85]

Yeah. When things started to go south in 2000, Dubose looked to Calloway for offensive advice, even though the offense had done well with Stubbs at the helm. Reports were that it was because Dubose couldn't quite understand Stubbs' system.

That was a strange arrangement, although very few things made a lot of sense with Dubose. He wanted a portion of Stubbs’ system, which was basically the Joe Tiller one-back spread, but he didn’t trust him to call plays and let his old teammate buddy who was primarily an OL coach call them instead. In 2000, we started out the season running a good chunk of Stubbs’ playbook, and when we lost to UCLA in opener Dubose basically scrapped it and came out the next week against Vandy running option plays out of the I-formation. Dubose would never consistently stick to an offensive philosophy. We had some of the same issues in 1997 - he hired Bruce Arians and told him to basically run Spurrier’s system, and when it stopped working after about two and a half games he scrapped it and went back to essentially the 1992 Mal Moore playbook.

 

[graydogg85]

I’ll say that this situation in Auburn sounds like a hot mess - but a quick cautionary tale as well: the fall camp reports coming out of Lee County in 2010 were that they looked atrocious and completely discombobulated, and we know how that season turned out. Not saying they have anywhere close to that roster offensively (although their defense is likely much better than the 2010 squad). I’ll echo others though - Auburn often does best when their backs are against the wall and there are very low expectations.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I’ll say that this situation in Auburn sounds like a hot mess - but a quick cautionary tale as well: the fall camp reports coming out of Lee County in 2010 were that they looked atrocious and completely discombobulated, and we know how that season turned out. Not saying they have anywhere close to that roster offensively (although their defense is likely much better than the 2010 squad). I’ll echo others though - Auburn often does best when their backs are against the wall and there are very low expectations.

Who said they were atrocious that would have actually known?
I'm not saying it never happened, but I don't pay much attention to Auburn anyway.

Kirk Herbstreit had Auburn winning the SEC West at a time everyone was on our bandwagon.

A bunch of posters here mocked him, but maybe Herbstreit knows a little more about CFB than they do.

I know Alabama fans go into almost every year with this same narrative of "Auburn in disarray" - and to be fair, it's true more often than not, even in years they're successful.

Did anyone see Auburn winning the national title in 2010? I don't think so.

But I also don't think the 2010 reports were as bad as folks are suddenly remembering them being, either.

Now 2011..........

 

[graydogg85]

Who said they were atrocious that would have actually known?
I'm not saying it never happened, but I don't pay much attention to Auburn anyway.

Kirk Herbstreit had Auburn winning the SEC West at a time everyone was on our bandwagon.

A bunch of posters here mocked him, but maybe Herbstreit knows a little more about CFB than they do.

I know Alabama fans go into almost every year with this same narrative of "Auburn in disarray" - and to be fair, it's true more often than not, even in years they're successful.

Did anyone see Auburn winning the national title in 2010? I don't think so.

But I also don't think the 2010 reports were as bad as folks are suddenly remembering them being, either.

Now 2011..........

I would have to do some serious digging and I’m not certain the TF server will allow us to go back that far, but I’m almost positive it was 1-2 mods on this board who knew some AU boosters who had seen practices that fall.

I don’t think the 2025 Auburn team has the same ingredients as that one, especially when it comes to offensive playcalling. I do think that our trip to JH this season will be as adventurous as usual though, unless the bottom just completely falls out and they come into the game with like a 3-8 record.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I would have to do some serious digging and I’m not certain the TF server will allow us to go back that far, but I’m almost positive it was 1-2 mods on this board who knew some AU boosters who had seen practices that fall.

I don’t think the 2025 Auburn team has the same ingredients as that one, especially when it comes to offensive playcalling. I do think that our trip to JH this season will be as adventurous as usual though, unless the bottom just completely falls out and they come into the game with like a 3-8 record.

Like I said, I'm not gonna say it DID NOT happen, but they also are not sitting on a Cam Newton this go around - and everyone can pay players anyway so their hopes are probably gone for good.