Mark Richt’s football cuddle wasn’t the most surrealistic moment of the day yesterday. Hands down that would have to go to Hugh Freeze, who chose to coach his Liberty team from a hospital bed.
That’s the look of a man whose afraid he’s gonna be wally pipped if he doesn’t show up for work.
This was… inspirational, I suppose.
Or maybe it was just a thank you for coaching his team to a shutout.
Filed under Freeze!, General Idiocy
Over at The Athletic, Hugh Freeze is asked ($$) the musical question “Is there anything you wish you’d done differently at Ole Miss that you take into this job?“.
(No, that wasn’t part of his answer, sadly.)
Filed under Freeze!
My first instinct is to say there’s no lamer NCAA penalty than vacating wins, except then I remember the way Bobby Bowden bitched about it. So maybe there’s more to it than meets the eye. Maybe.
I only bring this up in light of yesterday’s news that Ole Miss has to vacate a total of 33 wins over six seasons, including Georgia’s horrendous loss in Kirby’s first season.
That, in turn, leads me to ask what the official GTP policy for referring to that game should be going forward. I think it’s only fair to let the people decide, so, without any further adieu, here comes today’s reader poll.
Further suggestions are, of course, welcomed.
Filed under Freeze!, Georgia Football, The NCAA
Today, in America is a great country, comes this heartwarming story of a man who’s learned his lesson so completely that he’s able to skip past the Alabama analyst stage and go straight to coaching again:
After Hugh Freeze and Rich Rodriguez were recently awarded second chances in their coaching careers, Southern Miss may be on the verge of giving Art Briles his.
The former Baylor football head coach is on the Hattiesburg campus to interview for USM’s vacant offensive coordinator position, a source has confirmed to the Sun Herald.
Doesn’t that just give you the warm and fuzzies all over?
Filed under Freeze!
You know, I have to admit I’m mildly impressed with the clever header to this article. Either that, or it’s a helluva Freudian slip.
Filed under Freeze!
Let me just say starting an article about the Hugh Freeze hiring with “Hugh Freeze turned on his cellphone last week after one of his many flights landed and saw a text message…” is about as inspired as it gets.
Well played, . Well played, indeed.
Filed under Freeze!
This is what Gawd’s will looks like, I guess.
How long will this particular redemption tour last, I wonder. Not exactly like working as Nick Saban’s intern…
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UPDATE: Someone has a weird way of winning the presser.
Although I have to admit “handle my junk” has some real potential as a GTP catchphrase.
Filed under Freeze!
F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “There are no second acts in American lives.”
He obviously never met Hugh Freeze, who is suddenly one of the hottest commodities in college football, at least based on what turned up on my Twitter feed yesterday.
I can’t say I’m sure about all four, but Auburn, FSU and Tennessee would all appear to be players. Plus, we all remember that Saban tried to hire Freeze last year, but was blocked by Greg Sankey, who evidently hasn’t changed his stance.
Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Mike Locksley is the favorite for the head coach vacancy at Maryland. If Locksley leaves Alabama, Enos and Freeze would seem like replacement candidates Nick Saban would consider. Saban reportedly tried to hire Freeze last offseason, but SEC commissioner Greg Sankey dissuaded him.
SEC rules include language stating that an SEC school’s president or chancellor must consult with Sankey before considering hiring someone who “participated in activity that resulted, or may result, in a Level I, Level II or major infraction.” The Ole Miss recruiting scandal under Freeze’s watch would seem to qualify.
Ah, Liberty. Now that’s where it gets interesting.
This afternoon, Liberty head coach Turner Gill announced he is retiring.
“It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing my retirement from coaching,” Gill said in a statement. “In the summer of 2016, my wife Gayle was diagnosed with a heart condition. Both Gayle and I wanted to be here to help Liberty through their transition and we are so glad to have done so. We have come to the realization that it is now time for me to step away. I can’t put into words how much this coaching staff, support staff and the players mean to us. We are so thankful for President Falwell, Becki Falwell and Ian McCaw and their support during our time here. They, as well as all of those mentioned, have been and will continue to be blessings in our lives. To God be the glory!”
Immediately speculation began that Hugh Freeze would be the choice to succeed Gill. Freeze has a well established connection with the University and its leadership.
In January Freeze gave his first public talk there.
So we asked the question: is Hugh actually a legitimate candidate? The response we received from a source connected to Liberty is that the school has already advanced the discussions. A source tells FootballScoop Hugh Freeze is indeed a strong candidate at Liberty.
As a private university, Liberty has the ability to move fast here.
How fast? With Art Briles’ old boss at Baylor as AD and Jerry Falwell, Jr., who’s been quite forgiving of sexual peccadilloes when it suits him as Liberty’s chief, I’d say warp speed fast.
What I don’t know is if Freeze wants to settle for a stretch as a head coach at an independent, or sees the easier path back to the big time as an OC at a P5 program. Either way, you know Sexton is on the mother. And that means there’s some hapless AD about to get rolled.
Truly, is there anything that says Tennessee football more convincingly than worrying more about whether Hugh Freeze is a good fit with Jeremy Pruitt’s coaching philosophy than about how a program and its fan base were more squeamish about hiring a guy with a random third-party account about how he may have heard something bad about another coach’s behavior than a guy who chased hookers and whose recruiting practices put his school on NCAA probation?
Though for most Vol fans I have to admit that last point is way more a feature than a bug.
Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange, Freeze!
Talkin’ ball. Heh.
Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange, Freeze!
