Freeze 'has it'

Former Rebel quarterback Archie Manning and FedEx Vice President of Market Development and Corporate Communications Mike Glenn co-chaired the search committee responsible for hiring Hugh Freeze as the next head football coach at Ole Miss. 

The rest of the committee included Richard Noble, who is the President of the Alumni Association and serves on the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee, Ronald Rychlak, who is the Chair of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee, and Ethel Young-Minor, an English and African-American Studies professor as well as the Senior Faculty Fellow of the Lucky Day Residential College.

This committee interviewed candidates from both the college and professional ranks to find the right guy to lead the football program.

Glenn said Manning and himself laid down the mold they were looking for going into the search. That mold included a man of character and integrity, who would focus on winning the state of Mississippi in recruiting. 

They were looking for “a disciplinarian and someone with their personal skill that can unite and galvanize (the) fan base.”

After gathering the mold of who would take the rein of the Ole Miss football program, Manning and Glenn hired the search firm Eastman & Beaudine to help gather a list of potential candidates.

While he would not get into specifics about who all was interviewed for the position, Glenn noted the interest in the job was “broad and deep.”

The committee took each candidate into consideration, but according to Glenn, no one matched up with Freeze.

“Once we completed our interviews, our number one choice was crystal clear,” he said. “Our number one (choice) was coach Hugh Freeze. Coach Freeze is one of the most highly regarded young coaches in the country. He is known as an offensive genius, but he also understands it takes great defense to win in the Southeastern Conference.”

The committee’s decision was further solidified when a member of the search firm told Glenn his thoughts.

“Bob Beaudine of Eastman & Beaudine came back into the room and said ‘You know, I’ve worked to place over 40 coaches around the country, and I know when some folks have it and some folks just don’t. And let me tell you now, this guy (Freeze) has it.’”

Glenn and Manning fell in love with the passion and love Freeze has for both the game of football and Ole Miss as a whole, but one thing that made Freeze stand out above the rest was the preparation he showed during his interview.

“I have never seen a candidate come into an interview more prepared with greater passion, greater energy and regardless of the topic, whether it was offensive philosophy, defensive philosophy, thoughts on strength and conditioning or how to deal with different social issues the kids might have,” Glenn said. “(Freeze has) a passion and energy for the job. I have just never seen anything like that.” 

Freeze also showed great leadership, and he has goal set and a plan in place, both short-term and long-term, for the football program’s success on and off the field.

“I know leadership when I see it,” he said. “I have had the opportunity to hire a bunch of people in my career. Success starts with great leadership and he’s got great leadership skills. He outlined a plan called ‘Ole Miss – The Journey to the SEC Championship.’ That journey starts today.”