Following his resignation as the head coach at Ole Miss back in July of last year after a "pattern of personal misconduct," there was no doubt that Hugh Freeze still wanted to coach, and there were a number of schools that expressed interest directly in bringing him on staff.
According to AL.com, at least five SEC schools had contact with Freeze about on-field jobs this off-season, and near the top of the list of head coaches hoping to bring Freeze on board was Nick Saban.
While Saban's interest in Freeze was no secret (the article points out Saban wanted him to be co-offensive coordinator), the other schools who expressed an interest in hiring him as an offensive coordinator include both LSU and Missouri. Saban eventually lured Josh Gattis away from Penn State for the role.
According to the piece, Saban learned a few days after originally meeting with Freeze about the co-offensive coordinator role that it wasn't going to happen, due to a relatively new SEC bylaw that states, in short, that a school must directly consult with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey before offering a job to a coach who participated in an activity that resulted in a major infraction.
Here's the bylaw verbatim that gives Sankey that power, courtesy of the SEC Constitution and Bylaws:
