BY WIL CREWS
SPORTSCREWS@OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM
AUBURN —
Hugh Freeze’s Auburn staff has two more pillars. The program announced this week that Freeze has hired Phillip Montgomery as offensive coordinator and Ron Roberts as defensive coordinator.
Roberts comes to the Plains from Baylor, where he spent the last three years as defensive coordinator under Baylor head coach Dave Aranda. Roberts helped the Bears win the Big Ten title in 2021, when his defense gave up just 18.3 points per game. Baylor defeated Ole Miss 21-7 in the Sugar Bowl that season. While the Baylor defense’s numbers slipped some in 2022, the Bears still posted the No. 3 run defense in the conference. Roberts, a highly sought after assistant, had been interviewed by Arkansas and Georgia Tech prior to committing to Freeze. Roberts worked at Louisiana for two years before his Baylor stint, spent 2012-17 at Southern Louisiana and spent 2007-11 as Delta State’s head coach.
Montgomery, who was announced as offensive coordinator the same day as Roberts was named as defensive coordinator, also has ties to Baylor. He was the Bears’ quarterbacks coach when Robert Griffin III won the Heisman Trophy — college football’s highest honor — in 2011. Montgomery spent seven years (2008-2014), first as co-offensive coordinator and secondly as offensive coordinator, at Baylor. Most recently, Montgomery was fired after spending the past eight seasons as head coach at Tulsa. He compiled a 43-53 record with the Hurricanes and went 2-2 in bowl games. He led Tulsa to a 10-win season and a Miami Beach Bowl victory over Central Michigan in 2016. Under Montgomery, the Hurricanes also earned an American Athletic Conference (AAC) championship berth in 2020.
The additions of Montgomery and Roberts means Freeze has hired them, along with Ben Aigamua (tight ends), Jake Thornton (offensive line), Jeremy Garrett (defensive line) and Wesley McGriff since arriving on the Plains Nov. 29. Freeze retained Cadillac Williams, Zac Etheredge and Christian Robinson from the previous staff.
Now, Freeze and his near-complete staff can turn its attention to the early national signing period which opens on Dec. 21. It has been reported that Freeze targeted Montgomery — and other potential offensive coordinators — who possessed head coaching and play calling experience in an effort to open his time for recruiting. Auburn’s 202 class currently ranks No. 32 in the nation according to On3.com and No. 48 according to 247sports. The Tigers will likely hit the transfer portal hard in order to quickly revamp a talent-deficient roster.