Hugh Freeze details the value of having Phillip Montgomery's head coaching experience on staff

After eight years as the head coach at Tulsa, Philip Montgomery is an offensive coordinator once again. He’s a key piece of Hugh Freeze’s staff at Auburn, and Freeze said Montgomery brings plenty to the table with his experience running a program.

Montgomery went 43-53 in his time as the Golden Hurricane head coach, but his focus will now be the Auburn offense. Freeze said having someone else who’s overseen every facet of a program is important as the new regime gets settled because of the experience he brings.

“I think we’re all a product of our experiences,” Freeze said. “Obviously, Philip having a vast amount of those is always helpful. … When you’re the primary play-caller, there’s a lot of times you feel like you need to be on the defensive channel as a head coach and aware of, ‘We need a timeout here.’ But you’re also torn because you need to be on the headset saying, ‘Guys, what in the heck are we going to do the next series to fix this?’ I think, obviously, Philip’s experiences are great. But ultimately, the game management part rests on me.

“I think that will also help me be more in tune in the moment, things that we need to do. … Sometimes, when you have a play-caller and you feel like, ‘Look, I know what we can do right now,’ that doesn’t necessarily mean that’s best for the entire team. When you’re calling and you feel like this is what’s best for us to move the ball, is that the best thing for the team at that moment? I’m not sure. I think his experience is going to be helpful, but also I think that’s another positive of me having people that have a great ability to do that.”

Hugh Freeze identifies what still needs to happen after rapid timeline following hire

It’s been quite the whirlwind for Hugh Freeze since his hiring at Auburn. He was introduced Nov. 29, just a few days before the transfer portal opened and just before the Early Signing Period got started, meaning he had to juggle multiple things at once while taking over the program.

That didn’t give him much time to settle in.

“It’s not an ideal calendar for us in year one,” Freeze said. “With the new world, I don’t really feel like we even had a Christmas or a New Year’s or anything. But it’s part of taking over a new job and the transition of it.”