AUBURN — <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/coach/philip-montgomery-131728/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Philip Montgomery</a> will not return to Auburn as offensive coordinator.



“I informed Philip today he would not be retained as our offensive coordinator,” head coach Hugh 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.”



Auburn will owe Montgomery his full $3 million buyout.



Under Montgomery, and with Freeze’s involvement, Auburn finished No. 11 in the SEC in scoring offense (26 points per game) and No. 10 in total offense (351 yards per game).



Montgomery was hired by <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/hugh-freeze-134705/">Hugh Freeze</a> last winter to coordinate and run the Tigers’ offense in conjunction with Freeze. It was a struggle almost from the start.



Montgomery implemented his terminology immediately, which later became an issue when Freeze said during the season his ability to intervene and help on offense was hindered because he wasn’t familiar with the terminology and didn’t want to cause more confusion.



Auburn’s offense struggled early in the season at Cal and at Texas A&M, leading Freeze to become more involved. By the middle of the season the offense had morphed into a dual play caller situation and stayed that way the remainder of the season. But with Freeze’s efforts in recruiting, his involvement in the offense varied at times.



<a href="https://www.on3.com/db/payton-thorne-95972/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Payton Thorne</a> and <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/robby-ashford-100872/">Robby Ashford</a> rotated at quarterback until halfway through the season. At times, Montgomery called plays for Thorne and Freeze called plays for Ashford. The results weren’t good, as Thorne was finally allowed to operate the offense in full for the rest of the season.



Following Auburn’s blowout loss to Maryland in the bowl game, Freeze said he wasn’t very involved in the offensive game plan until game week. Freeze cited recruiting reasons for taking his time away from helping prepare the offense.



Prior to the bowl game, Montgomery said this about his relationship with Freeze and their coordination of the offense:



“He’s always been a part of it. We went into this with that mindset. He’s always had influence on it from fall camp until now, and will continue to do that. We went into this with our eyes wide open and the honest approach of putting the best thing on the field for our players and giving them the best opportunity to go win. I don’t think that’s changed.”



Philip Montgomery, who was the University of Tulsa head coach for the last eight seasons, was named offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in December. He also spent five years at the University of Houston and seven at Baylor University, helping with several high-powered offenses during his tenure at both schools.



More coming at AuburnLive.com.

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