Hugh Freeze Resigns

[keesler 5,924]

3 minutes ago, AU64 said:

I sure hope not....and amazing that schools go out and hire folks like this without a thorough background check (apparently) and then are surprised when the stuff hits  the fan on their campus.   The "win at all cost" philosophy sometimes has an even higher cost than folks can imagine.   I know a few OM folks of my generation and they are NOT happy about what is happening to their schools reputation.  

From the Chancellor on down for about 3 levels, there needs to be a housecleaning...JMO    It should have never gotten this far before Freeze and his minions were found out and dismissed.

Agree 100%.  It might be hard to do an efficient back ground check when the coach hails from highschool/Bethune/ArkyState.  And if that high school chose to cover up and kick the can down the road for someone else to deal with, then there'd be no official disparaging records on file for the next employer.

Ole Miss took a position of defense, stuck with Farrar to long and rode Freeze to the brink of collapse.

 

[Barnacle 9,064]

18 minutes ago, AU64 said:

I sure hope not....and amazing that schools go out and hire folks like this without a thorough background check (apparently) and then are surprised when the stuff hits  the fan on their campus.   The "win at all cost" philosophy sometimes has an even higher cost than folks can imagine.   I know a few OM folks of my generation and they are NOT happy about what is happening to their schools reputation.  

From the Chancellor on down for about 3 levels, there needs to be a housecleaning...JMO    It should have never gotten this far before Freeze and his minions were found out and dismissed.

I'm just curious who was running the show this entire time. @mcgufcm is probably closer to all of this than anyone here. Just seems like no one had any idea what the hell was going on in Oxford. 

[CleCoTiger 1,957]

4 hours ago, lionheartkc said:

It just bugs me when people run with something like that without any evidence. All moral turpitude means is that it goes against the moral or legal standards. That could mean he did literally anything that was against the school's expectations of the behavior of a coach. The fact that a 1 minute phone call has suddenly become the head coach personally hiring hookers for his recruits is astounding to me.

Astounds me also, and it runs directly counter to what was said at the Ole Miss presser announcing Freeze's resignation. If the coach had been hiring hookers for players/recruits, that in itself would be yet another NCAA violation and since the university in such an instance would be aware and in possession of evidence that they had alluded to publicly, they'd really have no option but to turn it over to the NCAA on top of everything else.  But instead what they said quite clearly was that none of this had anything to do with the NCAA or its violations case against Ole Miss.  So if one is to go by what the AD and Chancellor were saying at that presser and given the fact that Freeze resigned rather than be fired for cause under the moral turpitude clause in his contract, it seems to me that this points to a pattern of personal misconduct ("moral turpitude") by Freeze.  Was it hookers for Freeze personally? I dunno. It could have been. Was it students?  I dunno.  But I don't see anything at all that points to Freeze hiring hookers for recruits.  If that was it, we will know when the NCAA is done.

[AU64 10,122]

38 minutes ago, Barnacle said:

I'm just curious who was running the show this entire time. @mcgufcm is probably closer to all of this than anyone here. Just seems like no one had any idea what the hell was going on in Oxford. 

 That is a good question course.  As much as the Baylor situation stunk, I give credit to someone on their trustees who had the guts to hire an outside firm to investigate the school .

They are going to pay a big price but the cover-up did not run all the way to the trustees it seems and a few people did not put their athletic program above the integrity of the school. 

[CleCoTiger 1,957]

2 hours ago, Barnacle said:

I'm just curious who was running the show this entire time. @mcgufcm is probably closer to all of this than anyone here. Just seems like no one had any idea what the hell was going on in Oxford. 

I've been reading a few Ole Miss message boards since Freeze resigned.  Oddly enough, it appears that a number of people in and around Oxford and the Ole Miss program may have known what was going on with Freeze and what the private side of his publicly pious character really was.  Rumours and rumours of rumours go back many months, as do stories about some of his activities while still a high school coach.  (Without expounding on the details, a few of those rumours boil down to Freeze having an affinity for pretty girls in high school. True? Hell if I know.)

[Barnacle 9,064]

Just now, CleCoTiger said:

I've been reading a few Ole Miss message boards since Freeze resigned.  Oddly enough, it appears that a number of people in and around Oxford and the Ole Miss program may have known what was going on with Freeze and what the private side of his publicly pious character really was.  Rumours and rumours of rumours go back many months, as do stories about some of his activities while still a high school coach.  (Without expounding on the details, a few of those rumours boil down to Freeze having an affinity for pretty girls in high school. True? Hell if I know.)

Yeah those rumors have been flying around since before they hired him. I have a friend who was very adamant about not hiring him because of the rumors. 

[CleCoTiger 1,957]

1 minute ago, Barnacle said:

Yeah those rumors have been flying around since before they hired him. I have a friend who was very adamant about not hiring him because of the rumors. 

If those rumours are true, and the info is as out there as some claim, I am left wondering "Don't major D-1/FBS programs do their due diligence including a complete background check and investigation of someone's character before paying them millions of dollars to become their coach?"

I gotta say that if I were looking at making a hire and the rumour mill was flying that a former high school coach "had an affinity" for some of the students, I'd want to make double plus sure that those rumours were total BS before extending an offer.  I know at least one poster on an Ole Miss forum claims that Freeze was actually caught in the act of getting his "affinity" on with one of those pretty girls while coaching at Briarcrest Christian.  You'd think that would be a firing offense on the spot.

[AU64 10,122]

1 hour ago, CleCoTiger said:

If those rumours are true, and the info is as out there as some claim, I am left wondering "Don't major D-1/FBS programs do their due diligence including a complete background check and investigation of someone's character before paying them millions of dollars to become their coach?"

I gotta say that if I were looking at making a hire and the rumour mill was flying that a former high school coach "had an affinity" for some of the students, I'd want to make double plus sure that those rumours were total BS before extending an offer.  I know at least one poster on an Ole Miss forum claims that Freeze was actually caught in the act of getting his "affinity" on with one of those pretty girls while coaching at Briarcrest Christian.  You'd think that would be a firing offense on the spot.

The logical answer is: .....you would think so....

But in the real world, PTB can put pressure to hire questionable characters in hopes that they will reform their bad habits or at the very least.... not get caught before they achieve some extraordinary level of success.  Its a short term world out there.

Just notice the responses to posters to this board when they suggest that we should not hire this guy or that one who has some character issues.  It should be understood that most of these guys are like icebergs.....only about 10% of their problems are above the water line....and for everything you hear or know, there is probably ten times that much that has yet to be discovered. 

[keesler 5,924]

16 hours ago, CleCoTiger said:

Astounds me also, and it runs directly counter to what was said at the Ole Miss presser announcing Freeze's resignation. If the coach had been hiring hookers for players/recruits, that in itself would be yet another NCAA violation and since the university in such an instance would be aware and in possession of evidence that they had alluded to publicly, they'd really have no option but to turn it over to the NCAA on top of everything else.  But instead what they said quite clearly was that none of this had anything to do with the NCAA or its violations case against Ole Miss.  So if one is to go by what the AD and Chancellor were saying at that presser and given the fact that Freeze resigned rather than be fired for cause under the moral turpitude clause in his contract, it seems to me that this points to a pattern of personal misconduct ("moral turpitude") by Freeze.  Was it hookers for Freeze personally? I dunno. It could have been. Was it students?  I dunno.  But I don't see anything at all that points to Freeze hiring hookers for recruits.  If that was it, we will know when the NCAA is done.

You make some great point CleCo.  

Personally, I don't believe one word that comes out of the Ole Miss Administrations mouths.  They've consistently and intentionally pushed a false narrative throughout this entire mess.  They pushed it so hard that now they have a former head coach suing them for defamation because he as proof that Freeze/Bjork went out of their way to inform and lead media members/journalists to lay the blame for their NCAA troubles solely on the Nutt staff.  Whether those allegations stand up before a judge or not remains to be seen.

We don't know the intimate details of Freeze's pattern of personal misconduct.  But do you not agree that the ONLY possible thing the AD & Chancellor could have said publicly was that it had nothing to do with the NCAA case?  To state otherwise would suggest that the highest paid state employee in Mississippi was arranging sex for individuals who were quite possibly under the age of 18 across state lines.  Imagine the lawsuit that would entail.

 

 

 

 

[Barnacle 9,064]

14 hours ago, CleCoTiger said:

If those rumours are true, and the info is as out there as some claim, I am left wondering "Don't major D-1/FBS programs do their due diligence including a complete background check and investigation of someone's character before paying them millions of dollars to become their coach?"

I gotta say that if I were looking at making a hire and the rumour mill was flying that a former high school coach "had an affinity" for some of the students, I'd want to make double plus sure that those rumours were total BS before extending an offer.  I know at least one poster on an Ole Miss forum claims that Freeze was actually caught in the act of getting his "affinity" on with one of those pretty girls while coaching at Briarcrest Christian.  You'd think that would be a firing offense on the spot.

Yeah, and who knows if the rumors are true. Whether Ole Miss did their due diligence is a good question. Don't forget who made up the search committee. Once someone like Archie Manning endorses a coach people are going to bend whatever narrative that might be out there in a favorable light. Freeze had a ton of supporters, and there was a lot to like about him. My sense is that the rumors were never substantiated, but that they probably weren't looked into very thoroughly, either. 

[keesler 5,924]

4 minutes ago, Barnacle said:

Yeah, and who knows if the rumors are true. Whether Ole Miss did their due diligence is a good question. Don't forget who made up the search committee. Once someone like Archie Manning endorses a coach people are going to bend whatever narrative that might be out there in a favorable light. Freeze had a ton of supporters, and there was a lot to like about him. My sense is that the rumors were never substantiated, but that they probably weren't looked into very thoroughly, either. 

Absolutely!

And you are correct, Freeze had a ton of supporters and still does.  I saw where several preachers went to social media yesterday to explain HF's sins and how he has shown contrition, is seeking forgiveness and awaits the grace of God to redeem him.  They even stated that the closer people are to God, the higher the temptations are for that believer. They urged err'body to pray for Hugh.

 

 

[Barnacle 9,064]

1 hour ago, keesler said:

I saw where several preachers went to social media yesterday to explain HF's sins and how he has shown contrition, is seeking forgiveness and awaits the grace of God to redeem him.  They even stated that the closer people are to God, the higher the temptations are for that believer. They urged err'body to pray for Hugh.

 

 

Yeah, its too early to start applauding the man. I'm not suggesting that he isn't, but its easy to show contrition in the beginnings of something like this. He'll have a long road to walk. There are a lot involved that will need extra helpings of grace and mercy, and hopefully they have the humility to accept it. 

[AU64 10,122]

4 hours ago, Barnacle said:

Yeah, its too early to start applauding the man. I'm not suggesting that he isn't, but its easy to show contrition in the beginnings of something like this. He'll have a long road to walk. There are a lot involved that will need extra helpings of grace and mercy, and hopefully they have the humility to accept it. 

He's had a year to show contrition over these issues and instead dragged his friends and those who trusted and believed him along as cover.  

I believe in forgiveness and redemption but I also know that there is a price to be paid....and looks like it will be a big one if he is not able to get any of that contract money.   Lots of opportunities for him to seek redemption....building Habitat houses or something like that for a year or two for example.....not another million dollar coaching job...JMO.

[Barnacle 9,064]

3 minutes ago, AU64 said:

He's had a year to show contrition over these issues and instead dragged his friends and those who trusted and believed him along as cover.  

I believe in forgiveness and redemption but I also know that there is a price to be paid....and looks like it will be a big one if he is not able to get any of that contract money.   Lots of opportunities for him to seek redemption....building Habitat houses or something like that for a year or two for example.....not another million dollar coaching job...JMO.

I worked for Habitat when I got out of college. Great organization. 

[keesler 5,924]

1 hour ago, AU64 said:

He's had a year to show contrition over these issues and instead dragged his friends and those who trusted and believed him along as cover.  

I believe in forgiveness and redemption but I also know that there is a price to be paid....and looks like it will be a big one if he is not able to get any of that contract money.   Lots of opportunities for him to seek redemption....building Habitat houses or something like that for a year or two for example.....not another million dollar coaching job...JMO.

He's gets zilch from Ole Miss, no buyout/no settlement. He pissed away the equivalent of +/-$16million.

[AU64 10,122]

1 minute ago, keesler said:

He's gets zilch from Ole Miss, no buyout/no settlement. He pissed away the equivalent of +/-$16million.

I'm wondering if that's the OM version...can 't imagine he resigned without some financial inducement.....not the whole contract of course.... but if he was going to get nothing might have been better to make them fire him and take them to court.....though perhaps if he protested, all the dirty laundry would be exposed....but walking away from....$$$$$$ without a protest is hard to imagine.    I'm guessing it's not over yet....or maybe some deal that no one is allowed speak about.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

47 minutes ago, AU64 said:

I'm wondering if that's the OM version...can 't imagine he resigned without some financial inducement.....not the whole contract of course.... but if he was going to get nothing might have been better to make them fire him and take them to court.....though perhaps if he protested, all the dirty laundry would be exposed....but walking away from....$$$$$$ without a protest is hard to imagine.    I'm guessing it's not over yet....or maybe some deal that no one is allowed speak about.

I think what you would find that what you touched on is the whole story... if anyone let you dig that deep, what you would find is that they basically said "Walk away or we're going to air your dirty laundry which will cost you a lot more than your job." If what he had done wasn't personally very embarrassing, I doubt they would have even made the attempt to get rid of him.

[AU64 10,122]

48 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

I think what you would find that what you touched on is the whole story... if anyone let you dig that deep, what you would find is that they basically said "Walk away or we're going to air your dirty laundry which will cost you a lot more than your job." If what he had done wasn't personally very embarrassing, I doubt they would have even made the attempt to get rid of him.

You could be right but to walk away from millions.....people's imaginations will run wild over what could be so bad that he would do that.   Obviously could not have been anything illegal ....or perhaps even a violation of NCAA rules because the school would really be in trouble if they failed to disclose that kind of stuff.   Hard to figure what could be worse than what has already been divulged. ...but some of the more creative folks around the SEC might have more ideas as to what that could be.

I have to say that I was a Freeze fan for a long time....thought he had his priorities straight and was happy to see him make OM a factor in the SEC....and to give the bammers something to stay up worrying about at night.    The hypocrisy is what gets me.....

[lionheartkc 6,150]

1 minute ago, AU64 said:

You could be right but to walk away from millions.....people's imaginations will run wild over what could be so bad that he would do that.   Obviously could not have been anything illegal ....or perhaps even a violation of NCAA rules because the school would really be in trouble if they failed to disclose that kind of stuff.   Hard to figure what could be worse than what has already been divulged. ...but some of the more creative folks around the SEC might have more ideas as to what that could be.

I have to say that I was a Freeze fan for a long time....thought he had his priorities straight and was happy to see him make OM a factor in the SEC....and to give the bammers something to stay up worrying about at night.    The hypocrisy is what gets me.....

You've got grand kids.  Just think about what it would do to them if it got out that you did any number of things of less than stellar morals and became a central focus of public dialog. Even if Freeze is not the paragon of virtue that some made him out to be, I bet he will do anything to protect his family, including give up millions (knowing that he may be able to come back from this if he controls it well enough). 

[AlaskanFAN 1,666]

2 hours ago, AU64 said:

I'm wondering if that's the OM version...can 't imagine he resigned without some financial inducement.....not the whole contract of course.... but if he was going to get nothing might have been better to make them fire him and take them to court.....though perhaps if he protested, all the dirty laundry would be exposed....but walking away from....$$$$$$ without a protest is hard to imagine.    I'm guessing it's not over yet....or maybe some deal that no one is allowed speak about.

 

1 hour ago, lionheartkc said:

I think what you would find that what you touched on is the whole story... if anyone let you dig that deep, what you would find is that they basically said "Walk away or we're going to air your dirty laundry which will cost you a lot more than your job." If what he had done wasn't personally very embarrassing, I doubt they would have even made the attempt to get rid of him.

 

35 minutes ago, AU64 said:

You could be right but to walk away from millions.....people's imaginations will run wild over what could be so bad that he would do that.   Obviously could not have been anything illegal ....or perhaps even a violation of NCAA rules because the school would really be in trouble if they failed to disclose that kind of stuff.   Hard to figure what could be worse than what has already been divulged. ...but some of the more creative folks around the SEC might have more ideas as to what that could be.

I have to say that I was a Freeze fan for a long time....thought he had his priorities straight and was happy to see him make OM a factor in the SEC....and to give the bammers something to stay up worrying about at night.    The hypocrisy is what gets me.....

 

31 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

You've got grand kids.  Just think about what it would do to them if it got out that you did any number of things of less than stellar morals and became a central focus of public dialog. Even if Freeze is not the paragon of virtue that some made him out to be, I bet he will do anything to protect his family, including give up millions (knowing that he may be able to come back from this if he controls it well enough). 

 

“We would have exercised the termination clause in our contract for moral turpitude. We would have exercised termination for cause.” Ole Miss AD Ross Bjork 

[AU64 10,122]

2 minutes ago, AlaskanFAN said:

“We would have exercised the termination clause in our contract for moral turpitude. We would have exercised termination for cause.” Ole Miss AD Ross Bjork 

That's not as easy as it sounds IMO...but Lion is probably right....HF wanted to bury some stuff that would be worse than losing the money.

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

On 7/24/2017 at 2:22 PM, lionheartkc said:

I hope you are right, my friend. I've seen it far too many times. I wish someone could logically explain to me how some of Baylor's administration is still making a salary, among other schools.

I do believe that Freeze did what he did to compete... not just with bama, but with the SEC in general. Heck, he even hinted at it in interviews... leveling the playing field and such. I don't have any problem believing he watched bama, among others, and thought he could get away with it, not realizing the machine some schools have developed to cover themselves. 

The MSU stuff is a load of crap, of course. The only time you see something like that is when it's an isolated incident, which as you know this is far from. 

As for academic fraud and the boosters... that's all about money, plain and simple. Incidentally, the boosters are where we have to stay vigilant. I know our coaching staff has nothing to do with them, but I know we have our share and they think they are above the law.

Track and Field has no logical explanation.

I know he did it to compete because he made several remarks over the years that were pretty much aimed at bammer. And I believe he was going to fight the NCAA with the fact that bammer does what Ole Miss did and a whole lot more. I think Ole Miss would've stood behind him for the long run if those phone calls had not surfaced. 

Track and Field is puzzling....unless there were plans to build an athletic dynasty. I'd almost bet that was the overall idea. 

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

On 7/21/2017 at 2:14 PM, gr82be said:

And it's a good opportunity for Matt Luke. It won't be easy but if he can hold this team together with any semblance of order and be competitive it will only help him down the line. Not an enviable position but the door has been opened for him. 

Per Mr. Marshall - 

"-- Ole Miss will have a better than expected season, and Matt Luke will be named permanent head coach."

http://auburn.247sports.com/Article/PMARSHONAU-How-many-will-Auburn-win-That-prediction-and-more-105481276

[keesler 5,924]

14 hours ago, AU64 said:

That's not as easy as it sounds IMO...but Lion is probably right....HF wanted to bury some stuff that would be worse than losing the money.

I don't think it's too hard when the Head Coach is ultimately responsible for the activities and interactions of his staffers who just so happen to be deeply embroiled in one of the worst NCAA cases since SMU.  Ole Miss may have let Hugh's pattern of misconduct slide if they weren't already on probation  and serving sanctions in 2 other sports + facing Academic Fraud + the Lack of Institutional Control charge + Failure to Monitor on Freeze.

At some point you've just got to cut the damn bait and start over. 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

21 minutes ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

Per Mr. Marshall - 

"-- Ole Miss will have a better than expected season, and Matt Luke will be named permanent head coach."

http://auburn.247sports.com/Article/PMARSHONAU-How-many-will-Auburn-win-That-prediction-and-more-105481276

At this point, a better than expected season would be anything above 6 and 6. That being said, I have no doubt Luke will get the nod as no one else will want to take over what is the biggest dumpster fire in the SEC until the flames are completely extinguished.