Freeze blamed Ole Miss for poor play calling and poor execution. There were times when the coaching staff called plays properly, but the players didn’t carry them out (the game’s opening play, in which Ashford maintained the ball for a loss, is a classic example). However, there were other instances in which the Tigers failed to make the appropriate call.
Auburn squandered opportunities when they presented themselves in one way or another.
“It just seems like every time we would have something positive going like that – not every time – but sometimes, it was we’d get a bad break or obviously we’d make a bad call, or we don’t execute a call correctly,” Free freeze explained.
Freeze doesn’t want this, and ultimately, the fact that Auburn has managed to remain competitive at home against Georgia and Ole Miss is both a source of encouragement and discouragement for him.
“Have I observed the desired outcomes on the field? Once more, we’ve faced some really tough opponents and have had the opportunity to win a few of those games,” Freeze stated. “In it’s own way it’s encouraging, it’s also discouraging that you had some things happen in those games that you know you can do better or coach better.”
READ MORE
After just one season, the Tigers part ways with their offensive coordinator
Montgomery’s brief tenure on the Plains was marred by offensive struggles.
The Auburn offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery has revealed on Friday that he will not be leading the Tigers offense for a second season. Hugh Freeze accepted the Auburn coaching position prior to the 2023 season, and Montgomery was hired soon after.
“I informed Philip today he would not be retained as our offensive coordinator,” Free freeze stated. “Philip is a decent man and coach. These kinds of choices are never simple, but I believe that this is best for the future of our program. I’m grateful for all of his hard work over the past year and send him my best wishes.”
In terms of total offense (351.2 yards per game), offensive yards per play (5.50), and scoring offense (26.2 points per game), Auburn’s offense struggled in 2023 and finished 10th in the SEC. After playing quarterback for two excellent seasons at Michigan State, quarterback Payton Thorne came to Auburn, but he struggled severely in Montgomery’s one season on the Plains. Thorne’s passing average per game was only 135 yards.
In Freeze’s first season as head coach, the offense played a major role in the team’s poor 7-6 record. By halfway through the season, it had become so bad that Freeze was being asked who was really calling the plays.
It’s Montgomery who’s directing the plays. Of course I have opinions,” Freeze stated on October 23. “I’m not one to sit here and point the finger at coaches. It’s a blend. We’re all involved. I do listen to the idea and consider it, but I find that it’s more difficult than I anticipated to be active in every aspect due to the language. I focused a lot on the narrow red zone. While we’ve occasionally performed fairly well in the red zone, we’re not there frequently enough to find
Montgomery had a 43-53 overall record while coaching Tulsa from 2015 to 22 before being hired by Auburn. In his first season, he rapidly turned around the Golden Hurricane offensive, which finished second in the AAC in total offense (507.4 yards per game). In 2016, the team had the best offense in the conference (527 yards per game). But in four of the following six seasons, they finished outside of the top five in the AAC in terms of total offense.
