SOURCE: Hugh Freeze is top coaching target Part III

[Concrete Helmet]

I never said he was. My frustration with you is that you keep implying that I'm on my hands and knees hoping and praying for Freeze, and I am not. Never have been. All I've said is I wouldn't be disappointed in the hire. I think he's done an admirable job at Ole Miss, and we know he can recruit, which we desperately need right now.

The ONLY possible candidate that meets the standards you have set is Bob Stoops. That's it. I'd love to land him, too.

Don't get frustrated by me. I'm just debating the merits of a coach. My standards are not the same ones used by Foley and whomever else is involved in the decision making process.

 

[Gator Fever]

Who's ready? Thirsty for news on who it is..praying Foley don't shi! Himself again

I am scared what Foley might do if Freeze turns the job down.

 

[Slevin]

I am scared what Foley might do if Freeze turns the job down.

Freak out and give it to Ron Zook again is my guess

 

[Concrete Helmet]

if not Freeze then who is your source claiming to be the likely next coach?

Won't say.....I guess he knows I would put it on a message board...He did say I would be pleasantly surprised if it happens and he knows how I feel about Freeze.

 

[g8rgolfer]

I have been trying to put my finger on what it is about Freeze that I dont want. I think he is a very good coach. I think he has the charisma needed to get through to high school to college age kids. I think he knows how to draw up the X's and O's, assess and go after the Jessie and Joes and coach the coaches. Overall, I think he would be about as good a hire that we are probably going to get.

However ... something about him has been nagging at me that makes me not want him. I looked at his numbers ... which are very mediocre at best. But, I think he has shown enough to reveal the potential he truly has ... and at this point, looking at what realistic candidate are out there, potential is what we will be hiring. He has SEC experience ... Head Coaching experience ... and has shown he can win big games. So what is it about him that makes me not get fully on board?

It occurred me today. This whole time I thought his Alma Mater was Ole Miss. But it isn't ... it is Southern Miss. I just dont think I could want a guy that left his Alma Mater ... especially after being right on the verge of starting something big. So it isn't his Alma Mater and that makes me a feel better about it. Just comes down to what the family has to say about it, I guess.

I am kinda hoping he is our next coach now ... but I just dont think he will take the job. And I am not very confident on what Foley has lined up for the job either. Not so much because I dont think Foley is capable (for the most part I dont think that) ... but more because there aint chit out there worth hiring right now.

 

[HogtownGator]

There is really never "chit out there worth hiring." By definition the good coaches have jobs where they are successful. With the exception of UM, I don't know of coaches that telegraph their desire to leave a successful situation.

 

[g8rgolfer]

There is really never "chit out there worth hiring." By definition the good coaches have jobs where they are successful. With the exception of UM, I don't know of coaches that telegraph their desire to leave a successful situation.

Uh ... yes they do telegraph their desires. Coaching isn't much different than other jobs. When a job comes open they show interest in it. So far there have been some names that floated to the surface that have shown interest in the jobs ... Hudspeth, Gundy, Holliday, and a couple others. But right now ... there really isn't anything out there to go get ... huge buyouts ... timing is off ... Freeze may be the biggest name and available guy to go get. Florida is one of the best jobs in the country ... but if the timing isn't right it doesn't matter.

 

[HogtownGator]

Uh ... yes they do telegraph their desires. Coaching isn't much different than other jobs. When a job comes open they show interest in it. So far there have been some names that floated to the surface that have shown interest in the jobs ... Hudspeth, Gundy, Holliday, and a couple others. But right now ... there really isn't anything out there to go get ... huge buyouts ... timing is off ... Freeze may be the biggest name and available guy to go get. Florida is one of the best jobs in the country ... but if the timing isn't right it doesn't matter.

I'm not talking about rumors of showing interest through back channels, as supposedly done by Gundy, et al. I'm saying coaches don't telegraph interest in a new opportunity out in the open like UM did. And all of those guys you mentioned will deny any interest. FTR, I don't think Freeze is an option. Finding a qualified coach is always a small pool of candidates, and timing is never good. That's the nature of it.

 

[g8rgolfer]

I'm not talking about rumors of showing interest through back channels, as supposedly done by Gundy, et al. I'm saying coaches don't telegraph interest in a new opportunity out in the open like UM did. And all of those guys you mentioned will deny any interest. FTR, I don't think Freeze is an option. Finding a qualified coach is always a small pool of candidates, and timing is never good. That's the nature of it.

Yes and no. When a top job comes open in the college coaching profession, you better believe there are a lot of phone calls made by proxy to let the employer know they are very interested. That is the way this business works ... and to be honest, that is how it pretty much works in all professions that are small and connected.

The other part of it is Foley's job. A good JF would have been networking this job ALL the time. I dont care if you have Nick Saban as your coach ... you establish relationships and you let people know that they are on your list when that list becomes a list. Every AD does this and JF is not exception. The problem that messes all that up is timing ... and when the timing is all wrong you get someone like Zook.

I am just saying ... get ready for another Zook.

 

[Okeechobee Joe]

I have been trying to put my finger on what it is about Freeze that I dont want. I think he is a very good coach. I think he has the charisma needed to get through to high school to college age kids. I think he knows how to draw up the X's and O's, assess and go after the Jessie and Joes and coach the coaches. Overall, I think he would be about as good a hire that we are probably going to get.

However ... something about him has been nagging at me that makes me not want him.

It occurred me today. This whole time I thought his Alma Mater was Ole Miss. But it isn't ... it is Southern Miss. I just dont think I could want a guy that left his Alma Mater ... especially after being right on the verge of starting something big. So it isn't his Alma Mater and that makes me a feel better about it. Just comes down to what the family has to say about it, I guess.

I would not put too much stock in the fact that Freeze's alma mater was Southern Miss. Hugh Freeze graduated from Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia, Mississippi. Freeze did not play college football, not one down. He wanted to be a college coach and on his honeymoon to Gatlinburg, Tennessee he and his wife stopped off in Knoxville, parked the car, and walked into Neyland Stadium where Freeze told his new wife he would be a head coach of an SEC school one day. Freeze went to Southern Miss to major in mathematics and coaching and sports administration. Southern Miss offered this degree. He saw this degree as a way to open doors to getting in the coaching profession. Freeze's dad went to Ole Miss. His brother went to Mississippi State. Ole Miss has always been Hugh Freeze's favorite football team and his destination job.

 

[oxrageous]

Ole Miss has always been Hugh Freeze's favorite football team and his destination job.

Ha ha. It's his "destination job" until a team like Florida comes calling. The guy is as good as gone. This whole idea of him staying because it's his home, blahblahblah, will turn out to be a joke. I think his career goals outweigh being at "home". You can always head back to that dump after your career is over.

From what I've seen, it's the people that desperately don't want Freeze to be hired that keep pushing the angle that he'll never leave his home state.

 

[Coach9]

Maybe the fact that he said I'm going to be the HC of an SEC school (not necessarily Ole Miss) someday is revealing.

 

[The Original DC]

Ha ha. It's his "destination job" until a team like Florida comes calling. The guy is as good as gone. This whole idea of him staying because it's his home, blahblahblah, will turn out to be a joke. I think his career goals outweigh being at "home". You can always head back to that dump after your career is over.

From what I've seen, it's the people that desperately don't want Freeze to be hired that keep pushing the angle that he'll never leave his home state.

If we can't lure this cat away from Mississippi, we're in deep trouble. Mississippi leads the nation in "got the hell outta there as soon as I could" among age groups 18-90. I know two people with the means to get the hell out of Mississippi who stayed in Mississippi, Archie Manning and his wife. Everybody else is gone.

 

[HogtownGator]

The other part of it is Foley's job. A good JF would have been networking this job ALL the time. I dont care if you have Nick Saban as your coach ... you establish relationships and you let people know that they are on your list when that list becomes a list. Every AD does this and JF is not exception. The problem that messes all that up is timing ... and when the timing is all wrong you get someone like Zook.

I am just saying ... get ready for another Zook.

I can't be that pessimistic. Zook happens when the coach resigns in January.

 

[jmskjrgator]

The longer this process takes, the lower quality coach we get. If the current negotiation isn't finalized and announced by Tuesday afternoon, we have a problem. Or at least a statement a deal is in the works.

 

[Bullag8r]

new news

Freeze still a contender according to Forde

http://www.onlygators.com/florida-gators-coaching-search-update-ticker/

 

[TheDouglas78]

The longer this process takes, the lower quality coach we get. If the current negotiation isn't finalized and announced by Tuesday afternoon, we have a problem. Or at least a statement a deal is in the works.

It doesn't become an issue unless it takes longer than a week after the championship games have completed.

 

[t-gator]

The longer this process takes, the lower quality coach we get. If the current negotiation isn't finalized and announced by Tuesday afternoon, we have a problem. Or at least a statement a deal is in the works.

Dude calm down, the season literally ended yesterday. We should atleast give muschamp enough time to clean out his office

 

[MatthewM.]

Pat Forde says McElwain is the top target. Some dude named Oxrageous says the top target is Hugh Freeze. Let's see who if either is right