Who: Philip Montgomery, Auburn
Title: Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach
Previous stop: Tulsa head coach (2015-22)
Why he's important: It was a long road back to the Promised Land for Hugh Freeze. Two seasons out of the game. The right job had to open. He had to succeed in that job. Then, the right SEC job had to open. "Truthfully, when the ending at Ole Miss occurred it was hard to truthfully process would you ever get that opportunity again, so I would have to say at that point no," Freeze said at SEC media days.
It was, ultimately, Freeze's ability as a play-caller that took him from Briarcrest High School to the SEC, but upon his return to college football's premier conference, he realized the job would be too big for him to be the head coach and the play-caller.
I think once upon a time I was probably one of the better play callers in college football. Obviously better players make you a better play caller," Freeze said.
"I don't know that I was the greatest play caller or one of the best play callers the last few years at Liberty. I managed the game really well and gave our kids a chance to obviously win some huge games, and we were really good on defense, and I kind of played to that.
"But coming back knowing what was all-encompassing to bring Auburn back, sitting in the chair that I have to sit in, I needed help."
Freeze wanted someone with a lengthy resume, who can meld with Freeze and special assistant to the head coach Kent Austin (who called third-and-long plays for Freeze at Liberty), who can run the same system Freeze has run previously, but also brings his own terminology.
That search led him to Philip Montgomery, who happened to be free after eight seasons as the head coach at Tulsa.
PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS: No. 15: Bryan Nardo, Oklahoma State; No. 14: Chad Bumphis, Mississippi State; No. 13: Buster Faulkner, Georgia Tech; No. 12 Chris Jackson, Texas
"I have great trust in him, have been very impressed, and obviously it's the same system that we've just melded into his terminology, and I needed that truthfully. I've done my terminology truthfully since high school, and I think I've had too many people get out from under me and I kind of felt some of that last year at Liberty," Freeze said.
"I'm excited about having this new fresh addition to our system in Philip, and obviously not just Philip but the whole offensive staff, and using their wisdom to help us game plan."
Freeze has been careful to say Auburn has improved since his arrival without attaching that improvement to a win total. The Tigers will not catch the Bulldogs and the Tide in the course of one offseason. But 2023 will offer a glimpse of what's to come -- while hopefully ending with a bowl trip. On offense, the most evident change will be pace.
"We've got to make sure it lines up with our goals as a football team offensively, defensively and special teams, but we like to play with place. Our guys getting used to that, it's a totally different way of playing offense than a lot of them are used to. We've got to get set faster, we've got to get our eyes back to the sideline quicker and we've got to mentally rep that play in a manner when we're set, we understand what's fixing to happen."
Auburn ran 66.3 plays per game in 2022 under Bryan Harsin, one of the slower paces in the country. Tulsa got off 70.3 snaps per game last season, but spent most of Montgomery's tenure around 74, peaking at 85.7 plays a game in 2016. (Due to recent rules changes, it's questionable whether anyone averages 80 plays again, but a rolling clock won't necessarily affect pace.)
The quarterback job is still open. Incumbent Robby Ashford (2,322 total yards, 14 touchdowns in 2022) is competing with Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne and redshirt freshman Holden Geriner, and Montgomery said consistency will win the battle.
"He doesn't have to be Superman, but he does have to be consistent in his play and taking care of the football and then moving us down the field and staying ahead of the chains," he said. "When we do that then we're always going to be effective. The quarterback that does that at a more consistent pace is going to win the job."
Tank Bigsby, Auburn's leading rusher and receiver last season, is now a Jacksonville Jaguar. Jarquez Hunter is back after averaging a team-high 6.49 yards on his 104 totes last season. Auburn's top two leading receivers, Ja'Varrius Johnson and Koy Moore, are back, although the duo combined for just 46 catches and four touchdowns last season. The receiving room should receive boosts from Ohio State transfer Caleb Burton, a former 5-star, and North Texas transfer Jyaire Shorter, who in 2022 caught 23 passes for 628 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Freeze and company overhauled the offensive line, bringing in four transfers with 74 combined starts.
The offense will likely be a work in progress, evolving with the team as Freeze and company gear up for the wars to come. But for Freeze, the first step in the battle to bring down the dragons to his west and his east was realizing he wasn't the best choice to do what he does best.
"The game is ever-evolving," Montgomery said. "We want to stay ahead of the curve and find ways to get our guys opportunities to have success. That is our challenge as coaches."