Although football is a game that rewards patience, it is also one that devours timidity alive. As we approach the second weekend of November, another former Power Four head coach is out of a job. Hugh Freeze was fired by Auburn early Sunday afternoon, joining the likes of Deshaun Foster, Brent Pry, Mike Gundy, Sam Pittman, James Franklin, Billy Napier, and Brian Kelly in the unemployment line.
Freeze's termination brings us to eight Power Four teams without a full-time head coach, as well as 11 overall with Trent Bray, Trent Dilfer and Jay Norvell being let go at the Group of Six level. If we wanted to make it a dozen, keep in mind that Frank Reich is effectively being the Stanford equivalent of Jim Grobe for the Cardinal. Could there be other jobs opening up, maybe even Wisconsin? Let's hope so.
Even though the amount of prefacing and posturing Chris McIntosh and the entire Wisconsin athletic department has done to keep Luke Fickell in his job is so beyond utterly maddening, we should be applauding Auburn for having the necessary courage to hop on what could be a coaching carousel for the ages. Auburn might only be the third-best opening. Is that why Wisconsin is being so timid?
Plenty of under-qualified candidates will take over in college football, but Fickell cannot be trusted...
Wisconsin continues to look at its football team through the wrong lens
The baffling part in all this is Wisconsin continues to put money above all else when it comes to Fickell's job security. The amount of stooge buffoonery McIntosh put forth to extend this failing football coach ahead of this season when it was not even close to be merited is the epitome of incompetence. Why should we as fans be forced to tolerate this kind of bureaucratic nonsense?
Let's use Auburn as an example. Firing Gus Malzahn after a 6-4 COVID season in 2020 was not the right move. Allen Greene's decision to poach Bryan Harsin away from Boise State was a disaster. Auburn got rid of both of them before hiring John Cohen away from his alma mater of Mississippi State and Freeze away from Liberty. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but Auburn failed again.
Eventually, Auburn will figure this out for two reasons. One, they have the financial resources with all of that YellaWood money, and the fact Tim Cook of Apple is a distinguished alum. As for the second, they want to be better. Auburn hates that rivals Alabama and Georgia are at the top of the sport, while it has regularly circled the doldrums for the better part of a decade. Auburn wants to change so badly.
And that right there is the problem with Wisconsin. Apathy has rained on thee, and now this program ever being good again feels like a soggy dream. Just because Wisconsin thinks that an influx of money and talent could flip the script does not mean it will happen under Fickell. He is not Tony Elliott, who curried favor with key people at Virginia in its long, slow and methodical rebuild for the Cavaliers.
Auburn could at least admit that Freeze was not the answer, while Wisconsin is still living in denial.