U.S. Sen., former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville weighs in on Hugh Freeze firing
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AUBURN — U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville made his two cents known Thursday, Nov. 6, on his former employer, Auburn football, parting ways with Hugh Freeze last weekend after the Tigers’ loss to Kentucky.
Tuberville, who coached Auburn from 1999 to 2008, was in attendance for the 10-3 loss and had much more to say about what went wrong in Freeze’s tenure than where Auburn goes moving forward.
“I thought defense played well, offensive line didn’t improve, but the main thing is, and Hugh knows this, for three years our quarterback didn’t develop,” Tuberville said in an appearance on Fox Sports 910 in Opelika. “No matter which one, they didn’t develop a quarterback, and you’ve got to have a quarterback in this day and time of these chuck and duck offenses. Quarterback’s got to be able to make a big play out of a bad play when the protection breaks down.”
He pointed to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and former Tiger Bo Nix, now helming the Denver Broncos offense, as examples.
“Nobody’s open, he (Nix) runs it for 40 yards, goes back to the huddle and goes again,” Tuberville said. “You’ve got to have that extra guy on the field, and it just didn’t happen, unfortunately, for Hugh.”
Tuberville said he’s not a fan of any mid-season firing, but added that it wasn’t his call to make.
“(John) Cohen made that call, and he’s got to make sure he makes this right decision, because people have to pay consequences if they don’t,” Tuberville said. “The Auburn people deserve better than what they’re getting right now.”
As for who Auburn picks to replace Freeze? “I’ve got several suggestions, but I’m not on that selection board,” Tuberville said. “I thought Hugh was a good fit, but again, results matter. Next guy’s going to have the same problems.”
Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.To support Adam’s work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Tommy Tuberville weighs in on Auburn football firing Hugh Freeze
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