Hugh Freeze reveals how Auburn will handle play-calling duties with Philip Montgomery

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze made a big addition to his staff earlier this month when he hired former Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery as his offensive coordinator. Not only does Montgomery bring eight seasons of head coaching with the Golden Hurricane, but he has also been an offensive coordinator at the Power 5 level, orchestrating the high-octane Baylor offense from 2012-14.

Freeze appeared in a press conference this past week, where he revealed Montgomery will handle the majority of the play-calling duties for the Tigers in 2023. The announcement comes despite Freeze’s notble experience as an offensive play-caller himself in his past stops.

“Offensively, I’m excited about what Phillip brings to that room,” Freeze said. “The play-calling is going to be on Phillip. Obviously, I reserve the right to jump in and help. I’ll be in those meetings some just to know what we’re doing. We’ll probably share a few things here and there, but I didn’t hire him to not use him. I think I need that help right now. There’s so much to manage in this world of managing your current roster. Recruiting and playing to your strengths. I need some people in there that I know can put a great plan together and then call it.”

Montgomery brings an impressive track record as an offensive coordinator, leading Baylor to back-to-back No. 1 finishes in total offense in 2013 and 2014, while also finishing second in 2012. However, he did not find the same success at Tulsa, going just 43-53 over his eight years.

Hugh Freeze said that while Philip Montgomery will mostly handle the play-calling duties for Auburn, Freeze may still step in from time-to-time.

“I’ve never coached on any staff that the head coach didn’t step in and make calls from time-to-time,” Freeze said. “I’ll reserve the right to do that, too. But I don’t think there’s any egos. I don’t have one anymore and I don’t think they do. It’s just, ‘Man, we wanna do well.’ Don’t care who gets the credit. Let’s just put our kids in a position to win.”

The Tigers were the fourth-worst-scoring offense in the SEC in 2022, and ranked very last in passing yards per game. Their offense could certainly use a boost and a positive change, and hopefully for Auburn, Montgomery can be just that.