South Carolina football: hypothetical replacements for Will Muschamp
By Jacob Elsey
HUGH FREEZE
Freeze has been a winner everywhere he’s gone. The Mississippi native started his head coaching career at Arkansas State, leading the Red Wolves to a 10-2 regular season record and an appearance in the GoDaddy.com Bowl.
Freeze’s offense scored 32.5 points a contest, good for the 31st best mark in the NCAA. After just one season, he was off to the SEC, landing a gig with Ole Miss.
With Freeze at the helm in Oxford, the Rebels posted a 39-25 record, including a 10-win season in 2015. Ole Miss was ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation, taking down Alabama for a second consecutive season, on their way to becoming Sugar Bowl champs.
Unfortunately, things fell apart shortly thereafter, as Freeze’s 2016 team went just 5-7, and he was soon involved in a scandal that unveiled his paying of student-athletes and infidelity in his marriage (phone numbers of escort services were discovered on his university issued cell phone).
Freeze was let go, with cause, but landed at Liberty in a 2019 redemption tour. Last year, the Flames won eight games, and earned a trip to the AutoNation Cure Bowl, where they defeated Georgia Southern. This season, Liberty is undefeated, having already taken down ACC programs Syracuse and Virginia Tech.
Of course, there’s baggage with Freeze. And if SEC commissioner Greg Sankey even allows him to come back to the conference, the NCAA would certainly have a close eye on whichever program he landed at.
And speaking of landing back in the SEC, the Gamecocks might not be the only conference affiliate pursuing Freeze’s services. With teams like Tennessee and Auburn struggling, South Carolina could get into a bidding war with other league members. Combine that with the fact that Freeze just signed an extension with Liberty, the price may be too high for the Gamecocks to afford.
Still, he’s a proven winner and has taken one of the SEC’s non-traditional powers to success in college football’s most difficult division. If Muschamp is gone after 2020, Freeze should be the first call.