Freeze leaves Liberty for Auburn after four seasons as Flames head coach

A hush fell over Williams Stadium as the Flames looked extinguished trailing New Mexico State 28-7 at halftime. 

News broke shortly before kickoff that Auburn University had made Liberty Head Coach Hugh Freeze the top candidate to be its next head football coach. Freeze had been linked to having interests in several jobs during his time at Liberty, but this one felt different. 

Following the game, Freeze got heavily questioned in his post-game press conference regarding the report from Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger. The remainder of the weekend was filled with uncertainty about whether Freeze would leave the Mountain. 

On Nov. 28, Auburn officially named Hugh Freeze its next head football coach. His time at Liberty had come to an end. During his time at Liberty, Freeze took the Flames to new heights, including three straight bowl wins, wins over an SEC and multiple ACC opponents and a 35-15 record in four seasons with the Flames.

“Let me start by expressing my gratitude to Coach Freeze for all that he did for Liberty football and university over the past four years,” Liberty athletic director Ian McCaw said. “He and his staff moved this program so far forward that it is really hard to measure.” 

 Freeze’s departure sprung Liberty into an immediate coaching search. On Nov. 29, Liberty athletic director Ian McCaw held a press conference to give insight into the hunt. 

“We are looking forward to moving through the process rapidly,” McCaw said. “My hope is we will be able to complete that very quickly and have a new coach in place by next week.” 

A major factor in the urgency in the coaching search for the Flames was the opening of the transfer portal on Dec. 5. Under new NCAA rules, the transfer portal will be open for a 45-day period in which athletes in the portal will have to enroll in their new university. 

“The Dec. 5 transfer portal date is, I think, driving all the (coaching) searches going around the country right now,” McCaw said. “You certainly want to have a coach in place when the portal opens next Monday so that student-athletes know who their coach is going to be moving forward.” 

Freeze’s departure is not one that caught McCaw off guard, and his preparation aided the process of finding a new leader.

“We knew there was some possibility that Coach Freeze could be going to Auburn,” McCaw said. “We put together a list of perspective candidates, (and) we have hired a search firm to work with us. We’ve been screening candidates and had conversations with a number of candidates already.” 

In the meantime, the Flames have turned to co-defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge to serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Aldridge has been on staff at Liberty since 2019 and will coach the Flames in their bowl game. 

“I have tremendous confidence in Coach Aldridge and their staff,” McCaw said. “They will have the team well-prepared for the bowl game.”

Elmore is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on Twitter