Freeze hoping to earn 'trust' with Auburn faithful

AUBURN, Ala. -- Hugh Freeze has officially returned to the SEC arsenic Auburn's caput shot coach.

He's getting different accidental helium wasn't definite would ever travel aft his self-inflicted downfall astatine Ole Miss and immoderate of the questions that person followed his palmy yet turbulent career.

Freeze, 53, said he's looking guardant to rewriting his vocation astatine Auburn aft taking Liberty to unprecedented heights the past 4 seasons, and anterior to that, starring Ole Miss to back-to-back wins implicit Nick Saban and Alabama successful 2014 and 2015 and helping the Rebels triumph their archetypal Sugar Bowl since 1970.

"It's humbling. I don't judge successful deserving something. I judge successful earning something, and I bash judge we fought to gain this," Freeze said. "It's been rocky astatine times. You tin go flooded with emotion due to the fact that truthfully I consciousness similar -- and this is nary discourtesy to different schoolhouse oregon thing -- but I consciousness similar I've leapfrogged wherever I was astatine that clip by being successful this household and this civilization here.

"And I loved my clip determination (Ole Miss), but I spot this arsenic 1 of the apical 10 shot programs successful the nation."

Freeze, who's lone had 1 losing play successful 12 years arsenic a caput coach, resigned astatine Ole Miss successful 2017 successful the weeks starring up to preseason signifier aft assemblage officials discovered helium had made a bid of calls to aggregate numbers associated with an escort service. Ole Miss was placed connected NCAA probation successful 2017 for violations that occurred successful portion nether Freeze, and the sanctions included a two-year vessel ban.

Freeze, portion cited by the NCAA Division I Committee connected Infractions for nonaccomplishment to show his adjunct coaches and the school's boosters, did not person a show-cause punishment and "promoted an ambiance of compliance," according to the NCAA report.

Freeze said Monday helium understands his past volition travel him, but it's the aboriginal -- Auburn's aboriginal -- that has him excited. As for immoderate backlash among fans, Freeze had 1 request.

"Give maine a accidental to gain your trust," Freeze said. "Give maine immoderate time. Get to cognize us. Get to cognize our family. Get to cognize the information of our story, and I deliberation the ones who person done that person said, 'Man, you cognize what? I benignant of similar this feline and this family.' But that's each you tin ask. Give america a accidental to gain your trust, and I deliberation you'll similar the extremity result."

The quality of Freeze's hiring angered immoderate fans, who flooded the Auburn president's bureau with emails. There was besides a backlash dating to this past summertime erstwhile Freeze was criticized for nonstop messaging a erstwhile Liberty pupil and defending Liberty diversion manager Ian McCaw. The student, Chelsea Andrews, was 1 of respective students to writer Liberty successful 2021 for allegedly mishandling intersexual battle cases and Title IX matters. Freeze was not employed astatine Liberty astatine the clip Andrews was assaulted.

Freeze was not asked astir his nonstop messages to Andrews during the quality conference. But successful a one-on-one interrogation with ESPN pursuing the quality conference, Freeze said, "I learned from this concern that I should wholly recognize different people's circumstances archetypal earlier communicating oregon commenting connected someone's situation. It was an inadvertent misstep with nary sick intent, and I americium sorry."

Freeze besides denied a study Monday that helium would person to relinquish his societal media accounts successful taking the Auburn job.

"That's not accurate. How could you successful this time and age?" Freeze said. "There whitethorn beryllium contented successful that, though."

Auburn diversion manager John Cohen did not instrumentality questions during the quality league but said Freeze was wholly transparent astir his past transgressions.

"He showed remorse, and he's had an accountability program that he's utilized for the past five-plus years," helium said. "Everything helium disclosed to america turned retired to beryllium close aft speaking with credible manufacture sources."

Cohen besides said during the quality league that Freeze was astatine the apical of Auburn's database from the beginning.

"And we ne'er wavered from that," Cohen said.

Ole Miss manager Lane Kiffin was besides astatine the forefront of Auburn's hunt and idiosyncratic schoolhouse officials talked to. But Kiffin said past week helium was staying astatine Ole Miss and has since signed a caller woody that volition wage him $9 cardinal annually. Sources told ESPN thatg Auburn talked to much than 15 coaches astir the job.

Freeze's woody astatine Auburn is for six years and volition wage him $6.5 cardinal per year.

One of the archetypal things Freeze did upon arriving connected field Sunday nighttime was conscionable with Cadillac Williams, the Tigers' erstwhile prima moving backmost and interim manager for the last period of the season. Williams volition enactment connected arsenic Auburn's subordinate caput manager and moving backs coach.

Williams said helium was interviewed for the caput manager occupation astir a week agone but said he's "sold" astir the aboriginal astatine Auburn nether Freeze.

"Sure, I was a small disappointed astatine archetypal astir not getting to beryllium successful this spot arsenic caput coach, but it's God's timing," Williams said. "I get to larn much and proceed to make nether Coach Freeze. I emotion his vision."

Williams heard and saw immoderate of the pushback to Freeze's hiring but said it won't interaction his caller boss' quality to bash the job.

"We each request grace. We each request forgiveness. We each request 2nd chances," Williams said. "Nobody's perfect. Lord knows I've made mistakes astatine times, truthful I don't deliberation his past volition hinder him. He's owned up to his mistakes, and I'm each for him. We privation the aforesaid thing, to instrumentality Auburn backmost to the apical of assemblage football."

Freeze said he's received countless texts from "big-time coaches" wanting to travel to Auburn.

"What volition beryllium the deciding origin is putting a unit unneurotic that complements each different and drives the civilization consistently," said Freeze, who added that helium mightiness adjacent see giving up play-calling duties connected discourtesy and bring successful a coordinator.

Freeze told ESPN his travel has been "humbling" and that helium volition everlastingly beryllium grateful to Liberty for giving him a 2nd accidental aft not coaching astatine each successful the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

There were immoderate rumblings that SEC commissioner Greg Sankey blocked Freeze from returning to the SEC aft helium was pushed retired astatine Ole Miss. Freeze said he's not definite that was close and that Sankey had ever been honorable with him and told him what helium thought was champion "not lone for the conference, but for me."

Sources told ESPN that Sankey told Freeze it was his beardown penchant that Freeze spell extracurricular the league to manager portion Ole Miss was inactive connected probation and past travel backmost to the SEC if determination were opportunities. Both Auburn and Alabama were funny successful Freeze for coordinator roles earlier helium went to Liberty.

Freeze fought backmost tears erstwhile helium thanked his wife, Jill, and the remainder of his family. He besides thanked his cause Jimmy Sexton, who present represents 11 of the 14 caput coaches successful the SEC.

"My communicative is well-documented. I fto a batch of radical down, and I'm precise atrocious for that," Freeze said. "But I've spent the past six years trying to gain the respect and gain the spot of my family, teams, administrations, everyone that was astir me. That's the acquisition I astir apt learned, is conscionable keeping moving to gain people's trust."