Hugh Freeze reveals why Auburn was convinced that his previous issues were in the past

Football credentials were not the main issue at play as Auburn examined hiring head coach Hugh Freeze. Freeze previously served as Ole Miss head coach, where he was ousted amidst cascading scandals — and he didn’t entirely shed his shroud of id while at Liberty.

During a hit on the Paul Finebaum Show after being introduced by Auburn, the host asked Freeze what convinced Auburn he was worth taking a shot on now. The answer from Freeze was light on specifics as he explained that Auburn officials trusted the past would stay in the past.

“I heard a lot of people on the way the Ole Miss tenure ended there,” Freeze said. “And we had a great time, a lot of great times over our five years there, but obviously the ending is not one that I’m very proud of. And ever since that day I’ve been trying to earn the trust of those that are important to me, back. And that includes, obviously, my family first. And then the family of my football family, like Liberty and that administration, which, I think I served them very well,” Freeze said.

“And I think I’ve put in a really good plan to show people this is who I really am and who I want to be and how I’m going to be accountable to serve you well, also and, man, I just gotta say to the board of trustees here and to John and our president,” he said. “Gosh, they heard our whole story and chose to trust in us.”

What, exactly, that plan entails was not something Freeze shared. Outside some glancing mentions of his Ole Miss tenure and some more pointed answers to questions about it since taking the Auburn job, there has been no mea culpa or broad public apology from Freeze.

But what Freeze has done is win a lot of football games. He never won fewer than eight games at Liberty, his most recent stop, and picked off back-to-back wins against Nick Saban and Alabama.

“You know, Paul, I think I really wanted John Cohen and the committee — I think they just took the time to really get to know me and Jill and our story,” Freeze said.