New Auburn coach Hugh Freeze has found his play-callers, as the school is set to hire Philip Montgomery as offensive coordinator and Ron Roberts as defensive coordinator, sources confirmed to ESPN.
Montgomery served as Tulsa’s head coach for the past eight seasons before being fired Nov. 27. He previously served as offensive coordinator at Baylor and Houston. A deal with Montgomery isn’t done but should be finalized soon, a source told ESPN.
Freeze has called offensive plays at his previous head coaching stops, including Ole Miss, but will turn over the duties to Montgomery in 2023. From 2011 to 2014, Baylor was the only FBS team to be ranked in the top four nationally in total offense.
Roberts was Baylor’s defensive coordinator the past three seasons, helping the Bears to a Big 12 title in 2021, before being fired Dec. 1. He also has coordinator experience at Louisiana, and was head coach at both Delta State and Southeastern Louisiana. In 2021, Baylor finished 10th nationally in fewest points allowed and tied for seventh in takeaways.
247 Sports first reported Montgomery’s expected hire, while The Athletic first reported Roberts.
ESPN’s Chris Low contributed to this report.