Though the sides agreed on a long-term extension last month, Liberty has been making preparations for Hugh Freeze’s departure for weeks. With the regular season ending today, it’s now more likely than not that Freeze becomes Auburn’s head coach by the end of the weekend.
If and when Freeze departs, AD Ian McCaw will have a choice to make.
Consistent with the program’s #RiseWithUs mantra, Liberty is one of the fastest growing programs in major college football. This will be the 17th straight season in which the Flames go .500 or better, and Freeze heads into Saturday’s finale against New Mexico State with a 34-14 record. He’s 3-0 in bowl games and finished in the AP Top 20 in 2020. Its facilities are sparkling. The Flames will join Conference USA next season. Should he stay, Freeze will be among the highest paid Group of 5 coaches in 2023.
Should the job come open, industry sources indicate James Madison’s Curt Cignetti and Coastal Carolina’s Jamey Chadwell would be among the options for McCaw. Cignetti holds a 107-34 mark across a dozen seasons as the head coach at three universities. He’s compiled a 40-8 record up US-29 in Harrisonburg, with three FCS semifinal appearances and a 7-3 mark in the program’s first FBS season. Ironically, Cignetti can share a Sun Belt East championship with a victory over Chadwell today.
Chadwell holds a 99-55 career record, and a 39-20 mark at Coastal. The Chanticleers are 31-4 since 2020 and are in the running to win their second Sun Belt crown in three weeks.
Sources say Chadwell is also a factor in the ongoing Georgia Tech search, and Cignetti could be an option at UAB.
There is also another connection that cannot be ignored.
McCaw hired Art Briles at Baylor, where he witnessed first hand one of the most dramatic turnarounds in major college football. A perpetual Big 12 doormat, Baylor won back-to-back Big 12 championships in 2013-14. From 2011-15, Baylor went 50-15 with four AP Top 15 finishes.
Of course, McCaw and Briles were shown the door together in the spring of 2016 after an internal investigation found systemic failures to report alleged sexual assaults by Baylor football players.
Since that time, Briles has tried and failed to re-join mainstream football. In 2017, the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats hired Briles, then quickly fired him. In 2019, then-Southern Miss head coach Jay Hopson attempted to name Briles his offensive coordinator, but was overruled by university superiors. Earlier this year, Briles lasted just days as an assistant at Grambling State.
Even still, Briles’s coaching ability has never been in question. In 2020, he led Mount Vernon (Texas) High School to the Class 3A Division I state semifinals. This summer, Briles guided Florence Guelfi to an Italian football championship. The ball offenses in FBS and FCS are based on schemes Briles popularized.
As a private institution, Liberty must justify a possible Briles hiring only to itself.
That said, Liberty University has distanced itself from its lightning-rod status following the departure of former president Jerry Falwell, Jr. However, McCaw took a chance on Freeze, a move that worked out for both sides.
Much will play out in the coming hours and days. Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
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