Auburn football coaching staff ranked No. 3 most impressive new group in college football

The coaching staff of first-year Auburn football head coach Hugh Freeze is catching people’s attention.

FootballScoop.com has covered the industry of high school and college football coaches for over 20 years, and during a recent ranking of the most impressive new college football coaching staffs in the nation, Freeze’s staff ranked as the No. 3 most-impressive new staff.

For comparison, Deion Sanders‘ staff at Colorado is ranked No. 6, while Matt Rhule‘s staff at Nebraska is No. 4.

Freeze’s first staff consists of Philip Montgomery, Carnell Williams, Marcus Davis, Ben Aigamaua, Jake Thornton, Ron Roberts, Jeremy Garrett, Josh Aldridge, Zac Etheridge and Wesley McGriff.

There were some high-profile hires by Freeze. Montgomery has produced some phenomenal offenses during his years and coached numerous all-conference players, including former Heisman winner Robert Griffin III. Thornton was a coup from the Ole Miss staff under Lane Kiffin, where Thornton was respected and wanted by Kiffin. Etheridge was courted by Georgia and other programs. McGriff was hired away from Louisville. And of course, Williams was kept on after rejuvenating the Tigers’ program during the last month of the 2022 season.

FootballScoop.com sees the hiring of Montgomery as one of the best decisions Freeze made in the offseason.

“I think one of the most intriguing scheme storylines in college football is what the Auburn offense will look like with the combination of Freeze and Montgomery,” Doug Samuels of FootballScoop wrote. “One thing is certain – the new-look Auburn offense will definitely push the tempo.

“Freeze has had explosive and efficient offenses wherever he has been, and Montgomery’s best offenses have stretched the field vertically about as good as any college football teams in recent memory with gap scheme runs dominating on the ground. How Freeze and Montgomery combine their offensive genius is going to be something worth keeping an eye on, because the potential for fireworks is sky high, and we profiled Montgomery’s hire as one of the most important assistant coaching hires (#11) last week.”

Freeze said in February that the hiring of Montgomery allows him to shift some focus towards “game management,” and allow Montgomery to be the primary play caller.

As far as the biggest obstacle ahead, Samuels believes the challenge in front of Roberts is a significant one.

“To win, and compete for national titles like their fan base expects, Ron Roberts and Auburn are going to have to get the defense to play at a higher level than the previous staff, as the offensive gauntlet of the SEC West should be upgraded in a number of areas,” Samuels wrote.

“LSU will be in year two under Brian Kelly, and people are already talking College Football Playoff potential for the Tigers, and Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss always seem to put up 30+. Mississippi State and Zach Arnett brought in Kevin Barbay from Appalachian State this past season and he brings an offense that gave a star-studded roster at Texas A&M all kinds of fits in their upset of the Aggies. Then you’ve got the combination of Jimbo Fisher and Bobby Petrino in College Station that no one is quite sure how the dynamic is going to work, but if they get it dialed it could be really dangerous.

“Bottom line is Auburn ranked 97th nationally in scoring defense last year under Bryan Harsin, giving up nearly 30 points per game. I think they need to rank in the top 50 or so in year one to win 8 games and the type of national championship trajectory that fans are expecting in short order.”

Freeze said in February of Roberts, “I think Ron is as brilliant of a defensive mind as is out there. If you look at all the really good ones that have come from his tree, that learned from him, that speaks as much as anything to me. “

As far as underrated hire, former Liberty offensive coordinator Kent Austin wins that moniker, according to Samuels. Austin is a quality control assistant and special assistant to Freeze at Auburn. Formerly, he was a coordinator at Ole Miss in 2008-2009.

“That quality experience in a key role as a right hand guy will be invaluable for Freeze in his SEC 2.0 go-round,” Samuels wrote.

Freeze said of Austin in February, “He’s the best QB coach I’ve ever been around. He really is the best in looking at a QB and saying this is what he needs to work on and what he needs to improve. He’s also a great game planner. I think he’s going to be huge for us in that off-the-field role. I’m really leaning on him to be the chief quality control for our offense.”

Freeze hopes the totality of his coaching staff hires helps him focus more on the culture of the program moving forward, as opposed to the micro of simply running an offense.

“It’s really just the total landscape of college football and running a program,” Freeze said after being hired. “If I really do what I’ve done in the past and spend all my time game planning, preparing to call a game only… I’m not sure that’s best for Auburn.”