Auburn has been successful treatment with Liberty manager Hugh Freeze for weeks astir him becoming the school's adjacent coach, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Sources said the Tigers volition not marque a ceremonial connection until aft Saturday's Iron Bowl crippled against Alabama, but the sides person informally discussed a declaration for much than a week.
Auburn's pursuit of Freeze has travel into absorption arsenic Ole Miss manager Lane Kiffin said earlier this week that helium intended to stay with the Rebels adjacent if the Tigers offered him their head-coaching position. Sources told ESPN's Chris Low connected Saturday that Kiffin has reiterated to Ole Miss unit and officials that helium is staying astatine the school.
Freeze would instrumentality to the SEC aft spending 5 seasons astatine Ole Miss from 2012 to 2016. Freeze went 39-25 for the Rebels earlier helium resigned successful July 2017 aft being recovered to person utilized a university-provided cellphone to telephone a fig associated with a pistillate escort service.
But the 53-year-old roseate backmost to prominence with the Flames. After Turner Gill went 6-6 successful Liberty's archetypal full-time FBS play successful 2018, Freeze raised the bar, going 8-5, 10-1 and 8-5 successful his archetypal 3 seasons. That tally included a Cure Bowl triumph implicit No. 9 Coastal Carolina successful 2020.
The Flames are 8-3 this season, including a triumph implicit Arkansas connected Nov. 5.
Sources told ESPN that Freeze's past of winning and the survey of his analytics and backmost improvement made him attractive. Auburn officials besides considered Freeze an elite acceptable successful the community, with an outgoing quality that fits the program's small-town vibe.
Freeze had signed a caller eight-year declaration with Liberty successful October. His salary, which sources told Thamel was conscionable nether $5 cardinal per year, enactment him among the highest-paid coaches successful the Group of 5.
Auburn fired Bryan Harsin connected Oct. 31 aft a four-game losing streak dropped the Tigers to 3-5 connected the season. They are 2-1 nether interim manager Cadillac Williams, a erstwhile prima moving backmost astatine the school.
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