Hugh Freeze, Auburn announce firing of OC Philip Montgomery

After struggles on offense in Year 1 under Hugh Freeze, the Auburn head coach is making some changes. The biggest one came on Friday, as he announced that offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery was being relieved of his duties.

Auburn finished No. 90 nationally in total offense in 2023 and struggled to find consistent quarterback play. They were slightly better in scoring offense, ranking No. 71 nationally, but that mark ranked No. 11 in the SEC out of 14 teams.

“I informed Philip today he would not be retained as our offensive coordinator,” Freeze said in a statement. “Philip is a good coach and a good man. Decisions like this are never easy, however, I decided this is best for our program moving forward. I’m appreciative of his efforts this past year and wish him nothing but the best.”

Montgomery was hired to take over the offense at Auburn under Freeze during Year 1 after spending the previous eight seasons as the head coach at Tulsa, where he went 43-53.

Prior that, he was a long time offensive coordinator at Baylor and Houston.

Freeze addressed the need to improve the vibes at Auburn

Freeze spoke to the importance of solidifying a team atmosphere for Auburn following their loss in the Music City Bowl against the Maryland Terrapins.

A tighter-knit team might not have won the Tigers their bowl game, as the Terrapins soared to a win over the SEC program, but it’s something Freeze wants to focus on moving forward, as he sees other top teams deal with it at the moment.

“I don’t know that this is just a case for Auburn, but it’s certainly something that we are battling some. It’s just the disease of me. I think that’s in a lot of areas of life now, and we’re not exempt to it in our locker room. I think we’ve got to face it head on,” Freeze said. “It’s not everybody for sure, but there’s just a lot of things that I’m hopeful that can be a part of the Auburn football program that, man, we really do care, love, trust one another to put the team first. I think those are the ones who are going to excel in building sustainable programs that compete at a high level.

“We’re not the only ones to have to battle that, and you see some that are battling it pretty effectively. We’ve got to — particularly when you’re disappointed and you’re not in the playoffs or you’re not in — what do you do then? I think it’s those challenges that make football the best training ground there is for life, and there’s a lot of lessons that we need to learn for sure.”