Paul Finebaum breaks down how Hugh Freeze cemented his spot in Auburn coaching search

As different names of head coaches continue to circulate for who could potentially fill the recently opened-up Auburn head coaching job following the firing of Bryan Harsin, one candidate may have separated himself from the bunch this weekend. ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum believes that coach is Liberty head man Hugh Freeze, who secured a 21-19 upset victory on the road against Arkansas on Saturday.

“I don’t remember ever a coach who was in a position to try and get a job to punctuate that any more than yesterday,” Finebaum said. “Because here you’ve got the Auburn folks sitting at home going ‘oh my goodness, this guy really is something’.”

Freeze has led the Flames to an 8-1 record so far this season, and in his previous three seasons to eight-plus win years and three consecutive bowl wins. He would bring a combination of recent success and SEC coaching experience to the table for the Tigers, as he coached Ole Miss for five seasons prior to Liberty.

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But Freeze isn’t the only coach with his hat in the ring, which Finebaum discussed with another college football insider this weekend.

“And I was talking to Pete Thamel yesterday in Athens and he was speculating Matt Rhule and Lane (Kiffin), he even mentioned Bill O’Brien, which I tried not to laugh when he said that, and Hugh Freeze,” Finebaum said.

Finebaum and Thamel may have differing views on who could be Auburn’s next head coach, but it will definitely be interesting to see how Freeze’s tenure at Ole Miss being tainted with various personal off-the-field, recruiting, and academic violations could make an impact on his hiring potential this off-season.

“Hugh has a lot of baggage, okay that’s not breaking news, but winning matters more than anything else in college football and he has won at a very high level,” Finebaum said.

Another important detail regarding Freeze’s potential hire is the new change of guard at Auburn’s athletic director position, as they’ve recently John Cohen. Cohen was formerly the head baseball coach and athletic director at Mississippi State, and was in Starkville during Freeze’s coaching stint in Oxford, likely making him more than familiar with the highs and lows of Freeze’s tenure.

Thamel believes that familiarity makes him less likely to be a potential candidate for the Auburn job, but Finebaum’s take on his winning and its importance in college football is also valid, as time will likely be the only thing that will tell if Freeze will become the Tiger’s 28th head coach this off-season.