There are tons of advantages to being the head football coach at Auburn. Top-notch (and new) facilities, fertile recruiting ground within driving distance and the tradition of a historic program.
But there is a significant challenge, a disadvantage if you will, of the role, and it has never been as unmistakable as right now. The two programs that currently control college football are next-door rivals, two teams your fans want to defeat more than anyone else.
It was apparent Monday night when Georgia ambushed TCU, 65-7, for the Dawgs second-straight national title. Kirby Smart and his program are, and I apologize for the pun, the top dog in the game. With more 5-star and 4-star recruits than can probably fit in a locker room and a former walk-on at quarterback in Stetson Bennett, the Bulldogs have taken their place atop the pyramid and don’t show any signs of slowing down.
And, despite what critics say, neither does Alabama and Nick Saban. After two disappointing seasons (read: not winning the national title), the Crimson Tide put together another ho-hum top-ranked recruiting class, something as normal to them as getting an oil change.
Hugh Freeze knows the challenge he and his staff face. He would have to, spending years in the SEC and seeing firsthand how Saban and Smart took their programs to a level most will never reach. He has accepted that, stating his goal is to get Auburn to the stage where they can equal the Tigers’ forever enemies.
It’s a problem that not many if any, coaches face. Not only does Freeze have to face the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide every year – an honor, or dishonor, only shared by Tennessee – but he must recruit against them for the top talent in the country on a daily, hourly and minute basis. No matter what Trent Dilfer says, Auburn is the biggest threat to the Tide in the state, and the Tigers need to start winning some of the battles for elite talent.
The same can be said when going against UGA. With such a rich and expansive amount of talent coming from the Peach State, something Auburn has long taken advantage of, there has never been a time other than now that the Bulldogs have this type of grip on their home state. And it makes sense. Want to be in the College Football Playoff and win a title? Come up the road to Athens, and that dream will likely be accomplished.
That’s what has sold the Alabama program for more than a decade, and that is what Smart is selling now. That is precisely where Freeze wants and intends to take this program. It will take time, much like it took Kirby in Athens, and it will require a lot of work and commitment, but this is the place that Hugh and his staff are in now. It isn’t for the weak-hearted and uncommitted. The Auburn job has never been that, and it is even more prevalent now.
Signs of positivity have already wiped away the dark clouds that existed during the last month. Seemingly every day, the Auburn football program improves in one way or another. A lot of hours have been put into making sure of that.
Freeze wanted this job for so many reasons. In personal conversations, he told me as such for the longest time. But he also understands the challenges. Right now, that includes going head-to-head against the top two college football programs every day and coming away from those battles victorious.
There are a lot of difficult jobs in college football for different reasons, but there are none where the two top dogs are both your biggest rivals and threats in recruiting.
Buckle up, Hugh. You have a big challenge ahead of you.
