I'm not sure I can listen or read about Hugh Freeze at Auburn. I don't want to hate-read about my football team. I just experienced 10 years of that from the worst part of the Auburn fanbase. I'd rather check out of Auburn football and wait for him to leave than become like that.
I’m with you. I’m probably going to be just watching anything but football. I don’t support this “win at all cost” forget character crap that has become Auburn.
I'm gonna miss reading the football articles for the next few years. And I bet that Friends of the Program tonight was gonna be good too. I bet Pablo was gonna be all like, "but even if you just look at these stats..." and Dave was gonna go, "OK. Obviously, I did not get Lane [kisses fingers and points at the sky), but I bet if we can put some more money into Auburn's compliance department, maybe throw a few million into legal fees to cover up the hookers and the blow, then this could work out...." and Painter will just sit there and occasionally make up some new phrase like, "the response from Auburn Twitter has just been sandalwood."
[sigh]
Just make sure to tag the basketball content so I can find it, Ferg.
Well I’m in a argument with people right on YouTube over the morality of prostitution now. It blows my mind what people just dismiss out of hand now. This isn’t the Auburn I grew up with. The idea that Freeze only “cheated on his wife” is the only thing wrong with soliciting prostitution is mind boggling.
Freeze is creepy and shlubby and disgusting. Lane very well could have done many of the same things as Freeze, but Lane kept them hidden so we'll never really know. Plus, Lane has charm. He probably cheated on his wife like Freeze, but Lane didn't have to pay women to sleep with him (that we know). Lane isn't disgusting and embarrassing. Also, when Lane was down at FAU, he wasn't continuing to embarrass himself. Freeze continued to be an embarrassment at Liberty. Auburn should not be the next stop on the Hugh Freeze redemption tour. Let other place take the Hugh Freeze risk.
This is a really really bad take. Lane probably did the same things as Hugh, but he is a charming, classy guy so I am fine with Auburn taking him. What kind of thought process is that?
It's a sad day for the sport when a potentially transformative leader like Cadillac is told 'no thanks' in order to satisfy one rich guy's fantasy that he can impose his whims on an entire university.
I only joined AO for the search after hearing Justin on Split Zone Duo, but as an alum of a school that's made a couple similarly mind-bending choices, my thoughts are with Auburn fans feeling disgusted today. My advice is to redirect your energy into non-revenue sports, where a little bit of fan support means a lot to athletes who invest just as much (or more) into your school than football players, and do it mostly for the love of competition and their teammates.
The only person I probably feel worse for is John Cohen, who barely got to take the plastic wrap off the AD chair before he was pretty transparently kneecapped for failing to reel in Kiffin. But then again, as the saying goes, that's what the money is for. Let's just hope the president can keep this cancer contained in the athletic department.
I think this is an unfair argument. It has never been reported that Cadillac actually expressed interest to be the HC or even interviewed for it. Sure, he wants to be at Auburn, but the dude has never said "I want the job". There is a big difference in accepting the interim position when auburn needed it most (crisis mode, if you will) vs wanting to run the program longterm as the actual HC.
I don't think I've ever been more disappointed by a hire, and my colts tried to hire josh McDaniels a few years ago. He's not even being paid like he's a good coach, which should tell you everything you need to know. Jerry hinnen had a brilliant breakdown on twitter today about the whole deal. It's frustrating for many reasons, and while I realize that you need to build relationships with these head coaches, your mailbag responses the other day were perfect. Looking forward to another coaching search in 1-2 years.
Justin, you have absolutely nothing to apologize for. Your coverage of our team is beyond reproach. None of us with a rational thought ever believed this asshole would be our coach. It reeks of BOT interference and arm twisting. President Roberts and John Cohen failed Auburn and the entirety of it's female aluim by this move. Winning football games must be more important than half your fanbase.
Really shocked that this the hire. Disappointment is the only word that describes how I feel. Recruiting violations are one thing, and totally forgivable, but the rest is completely beneath Auburn as a program and an institution. Truly a sad day on the Plains.
As a guy that has been checked out of the football program for about 8 years, it won't change anything, but I'm disgusted that this man is paid to represent Auburn.
Josh Pate tweeted something about all of Freeze's detractors fitting in a phone booth as soon as he gets his first 10-win season. Besides the obvious that he must, first, win 10 games to test this hypothesis (no easy feat), I believe he has seriously misjudged the negative consequences of this hire.
The anger, disappointment and embarrassment by fans will not be so easily placated. This hire has put the entire athletic program in a terrible spot. Think first of Dean, Crouch, Harris, etc., those who coach the women's teams and now not only will be asked to come on board and support the hire but have to recruit young women to Auburn under this cloud. I would hate to be Coach Graba, coaching a sport that has been hit especially hard by predatory men only to have to explain to current gymnasts and recruits how a grown man who hired hooker and intimidates and harasses sexual abuse victims gets to have to highest paid and most visible job at the school.
I’m ok with the hire. I’m not ok with the HORRIBLE vitriol and division of fans on social media. I thought we were done with that after Harsin’s firing and CGM being let go.
The twisting and inflammation of the facts that have been publicized to foward posters’ agendas are disturbing. Auburn football has been a good distraction from the media’s handling of politics- not anymore. Now it’s politics’ twin brother. Sad.
This is your interpretation of this man’s past , which you are welcome to state. They are not statements of fact - note the emotionally-charged language and lack of verifiable data.
I'm curious what you find "unverifiable." All of the Ole Miss charges have been thoroughly investigated, Freeze resigned and the school was put on probation for the things he did as their HC. He did send multiple, unsolicited messages defending his boss to a woman who was suing his employer for failure to protect women on campus and for failure to adequately address allegations of sexual assault. None of those things are in question.
Lots of angst out there. Hope most folks can get it out of their system fairly quickly and move forward but for now it feels a little like the thing every election year where some extremely online people threaten to leave the country if the vote doesn't go their way. Maybe not. But if they truly can't move forward in the near future, I hope they can make good on their threats of abandoning support for Auburn til Freeze is gone. It will probably be better for everyone in the long run if they do.
I will happily support all the other programs. I have admiration and respect for Cadillac and the players. I'd be lying if I said I don't want us to do poorly so we can fire freeze and move on.
I have zero power to affect any coaching decision before the Freeze hire and now. There was nothing I could do, other than shout into the void of Twitter like the usual AU Twitter, and that’s not me. I would just like to watch and root for the teams I care about. I’ve never cared what outside media said about Auburn...since Cam it’s rarely been focused on any positives and includes the context of all edged activities. People pretending like NOW we’re going to be subjected to the butt of jokes like we were before are being histrionic. Is everything coming out of the Observer going to sound like it’s coming from AL.com until Freeze is gone, or should I expect quality commentary I usually see from Justin?
Disgusting.
I'm not sure I can listen or read about Hugh Freeze at Auburn. I don't want to hate-read about my football team. I just experienced 10 years of that from the worst part of the Auburn fanbase. I'd rather check out of Auburn football and wait for him to leave than become like that.
Auburn let me down today.
I’m with you. I’m probably going to be just watching anything but football. I don’t support this “win at all cost” forget character crap that has become Auburn.
I'm gonna miss reading the football articles for the next few years. And I bet that Friends of the Program tonight was gonna be good too. I bet Pablo was gonna be all like, "but even if you just look at these stats..." and Dave was gonna go, "OK. Obviously, I did not get Lane [kisses fingers and points at the sky), but I bet if we can put some more money into Auburn's compliance department, maybe throw a few million into legal fees to cover up the hookers and the blow, then this could work out...." and Painter will just sit there and occasionally make up some new phrase like, "the response from Auburn Twitter has just been sandalwood."
[sigh]
Just make sure to tag the basketball content so I can find it, Ferg.
Well I’m in a argument with people right on YouTube over the morality of prostitution now. It blows my mind what people just dismiss out of hand now. This isn’t the Auburn I grew up with. The idea that Freeze only “cheated on his wife” is the only thing wrong with soliciting prostitution is mind boggling.
Freeze is creepy and shlubby and disgusting. Lane very well could have done many of the same things as Freeze, but Lane kept them hidden so we'll never really know. Plus, Lane has charm. He probably cheated on his wife like Freeze, but Lane didn't have to pay women to sleep with him (that we know). Lane isn't disgusting and embarrassing. Also, when Lane was down at FAU, he wasn't continuing to embarrass himself. Freeze continued to be an embarrassment at Liberty. Auburn should not be the next stop on the Hugh Freeze redemption tour. Let other place take the Hugh Freeze risk.
This is a really really bad take. Lane probably did the same things as Hugh, but he is a charming, classy guy so I am fine with Auburn taking him. What kind of thought process is that?
I can live with not knowing for sure if the head coach is a scumbag. That changes when he erases doubt.
It's a sad day for the sport when a potentially transformative leader like Cadillac is told 'no thanks' in order to satisfy one rich guy's fantasy that he can impose his whims on an entire university.
I only joined AO for the search after hearing Justin on Split Zone Duo, but as an alum of a school that's made a couple similarly mind-bending choices, my thoughts are with Auburn fans feeling disgusted today. My advice is to redirect your energy into non-revenue sports, where a little bit of fan support means a lot to athletes who invest just as much (or more) into your school than football players, and do it mostly for the love of competition and their teammates.
The only person I probably feel worse for is John Cohen, who barely got to take the plastic wrap off the AD chair before he was pretty transparently kneecapped for failing to reel in Kiffin. But then again, as the saying goes, that's what the money is for. Let's just hope the president can keep this cancer contained in the athletic department.
I think this is an unfair argument. It has never been reported that Cadillac actually expressed interest to be the HC or even interviewed for it. Sure, he wants to be at Auburn, but the dude has never said "I want the job". There is a big difference in accepting the interim position when auburn needed it most (crisis mode, if you will) vs wanting to run the program longterm as the actual HC.
It has been reported that he interviewed for the HC job. Was it a sham interview? Who knows, but if so that points to a separate issue.
If we wanted a scumbag we should’ve got one that was also a good coach
I don't think I've ever been more disappointed by a hire, and my colts tried to hire josh McDaniels a few years ago. He's not even being paid like he's a good coach, which should tell you everything you need to know. Jerry hinnen had a brilliant breakdown on twitter today about the whole deal. It's frustrating for many reasons, and while I realize that you need to build relationships with these head coaches, your mailbag responses the other day were perfect. Looking forward to another coaching search in 1-2 years.
Ferg I'll stay subscribed because you're awesome but I can't promise I'll read many football articles
I too will stay subscribed but won't be reading the football articles. The collateral damage done by this hire will be significant, I fear.
Justin, you have absolutely nothing to apologize for. Your coverage of our team is beyond reproach. None of us with a rational thought ever believed this asshole would be our coach. It reeks of BOT interference and arm twisting. President Roberts and John Cohen failed Auburn and the entirety of it's female aluim by this move. Winning football games must be more important than half your fanbase.
Really shocked that this the hire. Disappointment is the only word that describes how I feel. Recruiting violations are one thing, and totally forgivable, but the rest is completely beneath Auburn as a program and an institution. Truly a sad day on the Plains.
As a guy that has been checked out of the football program for about 8 years, it won't change anything, but I'm disgusted that this man is paid to represent Auburn.
Josh Pate tweeted something about all of Freeze's detractors fitting in a phone booth as soon as he gets his first 10-win season. Besides the obvious that he must, first, win 10 games to test this hypothesis (no easy feat), I believe he has seriously misjudged the negative consequences of this hire.
The anger, disappointment and embarrassment by fans will not be so easily placated. This hire has put the entire athletic program in a terrible spot. Think first of Dean, Crouch, Harris, etc., those who coach the women's teams and now not only will be asked to come on board and support the hire but have to recruit young women to Auburn under this cloud. I would hate to be Coach Graba, coaching a sport that has been hit especially hard by predatory men only to have to explain to current gymnasts and recruits how a grown man who hired hooker and intimidates and harasses sexual abuse victims gets to have to highest paid and most visible job at the school.
It's not even just auburn football. The knock on for the women's sports that are just beginning to find traction has to be very damaging
I think the relationships he has with the high school coaching community will come up big in recruiting.
Do you plan on doing a film room on his offense or offensive iterations over the years?
I'm so embarrassed we hired this guy.
I’m ok with the hire. I’m not ok with the HORRIBLE vitriol and division of fans on social media. I thought we were done with that after Harsin’s firing and CGM being let go.
The twisting and inflammation of the facts that have been publicized to foward posters’ agendas are disturbing. Auburn football has been a good distraction from the media’s handling of politics- not anymore. Now it’s politics’ twin brother. Sad.
If auburn didn't want pushback from fans then maybe they could have hired a guy who wasn't morally bankrupt. Also he's not a good coach.
This is your interpretation of this man’s past , which you are welcome to state. They are not statements of fact - note the emotionally-charged language and lack of verifiable data.
Whatever makes yourself feel better about this garbage bin level hire
I'm curious what you find "unverifiable." All of the Ole Miss charges have been thoroughly investigated, Freeze resigned and the school was put on probation for the things he did as their HC. He did send multiple, unsolicited messages defending his boss to a woman who was suing his employer for failure to protect women on campus and for failure to adequately address allegations of sexual assault. None of those things are in question.
My point was the terms “good coach” and “morally bankrupt “ are subjective statements.
A lot of us are struggling with this decision. I'm looking forward to you helping us make sense of this, Justin––if it ever makes sense.
UHHGHHHHHGHH SHITTTTT JUSTINNNNN WHATTTT HAPPPPENNNNNDDDDUHHHHHHH
Lots of angst out there. Hope most folks can get it out of their system fairly quickly and move forward but for now it feels a little like the thing every election year where some extremely online people threaten to leave the country if the vote doesn't go their way. Maybe not. But if they truly can't move forward in the near future, I hope they can make good on their threats of abandoning support for Auburn til Freeze is gone. It will probably be better for everyone in the long run if they do.
I will happily support all the other programs. I have admiration and respect for Cadillac and the players. I'd be lying if I said I don't want us to do poorly so we can fire freeze and move on.
I have zero power to affect any coaching decision before the Freeze hire and now. There was nothing I could do, other than shout into the void of Twitter like the usual AU Twitter, and that’s not me. I would just like to watch and root for the teams I care about. I’ve never cared what outside media said about Auburn...since Cam it’s rarely been focused on any positives and includes the context of all edged activities. People pretending like NOW we’re going to be subjected to the butt of jokes like we were before are being histrionic. Is everything coming out of the Observer going to sound like it’s coming from AL.com until Freeze is gone, or should I expect quality commentary I usually see from Justin?
hopefully you’ll see the latter, starting with this morning’s story on Cadillac