Liberty Hires Hugh Freeze After a 6-6 Inaugural Season

After Liberty’s final game, a 52-17 win over Norfolk State, the Flames football program changed drastically in a short period of time. Just two days after the Flames ended the regular season, Head Coach Turner Gill announced his retirement in order to take care of his wife who is suffering from a heart ailment. Gill led the Flames to an overall record of 47-35 in his seven year tenure, including a 6-6 record in the Flames Inaugural FBS season, which hit the bowl eligible mark. Gill never had a losing season at Liberty. Four days after Gill announced his retirement, Liberty announced his replacement, former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze. Footballwise this was an excellent hire, as Freeze led the Rebels to a 39-25 overall record in a difficult SEC conference. In two of those seasons, Freeze led the Rebels to two New Year’s Six bowl appearances (Peach & Sugar Bowls). Off the field however, Freeze had issues. An NCAA investigation revealed multiple infractions within the program under Freeze had taken place. This led the NCAA to impose a two-year postseason ban on the Rebels which ended this season. Freeze also was found to have a pattern of phone calls from his school-issued cell phone to escort services, after this incident Freeze was let go. Now, two years later, Freeze will be coaching again at Liberty University. Many questioned Liberty’s moral standards after this hire, considering Liberty is a Christian school with their mission statement being “Training Champions for Christ.” After being hired, Freeze made this statement, “I believe in teaching young men on our team all of the lessons of when I got it right and when I got it wrong and what the consequences are,”(quote via ESPN). Despite Freeze’s past, people do change and this hire does not mean that Liberty has low moral standards. If Freeze has changed like his quotes suggest, this would not only be a great football hire for Liberty, as Freeze has proven his success on the field, but this second chance gives him the chance to leave a good impression as a role model; a changed man who has learned from his mistakes.