Depending on what corner of the Internet you occupy, Auburn's hiring of Hugh Freeze is semi-popular, not popular, or an outright travesty. Some have wondered whether Auburn could've whose career winning percentage isn't noticeably better than Gus Malzahn's and Lane Kiffin's, who finished below .500 vs. the SEC in his five seasons at Ole Miss (and that's before you get to the vacated games for the NCAA violations committed under his watch), and who exited Liberty with a thud, losing his final three games, including a 49-14 blowout at New Mexico State's hand.
However, most people who are unhappy with Auburn's hiring of Freeze are unhappy for reasons that have nothing to do with football. There was the Ole Miss stuff, yes, but beyond that, in recent days allegations of improper behavior from his time at Briarcrest Academy (Freeze has denied any wrongdoing), along with the time he DM'd a woman at Liberty who accused the school of improper handling of sexual assault allegations.
Freeze has done his best to leave his past in the past, but he will never fully put it all behind him. AL.com's introduction of Freeze to the Auburn fan base describes his career as "complicated," and Auburn alluded to this when AD John Cohen opened his statement announcing Freeze's by describing the search as "thoughtful, thorough, and well-vetted."
Juxtaposed against the warm feelings of Cadillac's 4-week run as interim head coach and... one can understand why some portions of the Auburn fan base aren't rushing to stand up and cheer.
Freeze will be asked about his "complicated" past at his introductory press conference on Tuesday, and he'll need to have a game plan of how to defend himself sternly without coming off as defiant. But in the long run he'll be judged more by deed than word -- as we all are -- and on that front his first official move as Auburn's head coach was a good one.
Cadillac Williams has confirmed he'll remain on as Auburn's interim head coach.
Right now, the most important endorsement Freeze could possibly attain is Cadillac's, and the former Tiger running back-turned-most popular interim head coach in college football history bestowed it by staying.
"It has always been my desire to remain at Auburn," Williams said in a statement. "Last night, I was able to meet with Coach Freeze where he shared his core values and vision for the football program and young men he will be coaching. He is a man of faith and we share many of the same values when it comes to coaching. I am excited about his vision and plan for getting Auburn back to its winning ways, including winning championships.
"Coach Freeze asked me to stay on as associate head coach. I accepted the position and am excited about working with him and learning from him. I ask that the Auburn family join me in supporting Coach Freeze and getting Auburn football back on the winning track."
The cynic would look at this and say Freeze is using Cadillac as a human shield to deflect criticism, that he's using Cadillac's approval rating to boost his own. The realist would say that Cadillac is a grown man who would've had no shortage of options on the open market and chose to stay anyway.
One of the rules of head coaching is to fill your staff with people smarter than you are. But as college football transitions to a game that is more about relationships than base football knowledge, Freeze's first official move as Auburn's head coach was to hire someone more popular than he is.
Auburn's press conference starts with a standing ovation for associate head coach Carnell Williams.
— Richard🇬🇾Johnson (@RJ_cfb) November 29, 2022
"I knew my first priority was I have to have Cadillac by my side driving the culture of Auburn football," Freeze said Tuesday. "Just thrilled that he's going to be with us, and I look forward to what he's going to impart to me on the knowledge of the Auburn family. Thankful he's going to be with us."
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.