Ole Miss Football: 5 schools that should hire Hugh Freeze

Massachusetts

Current UMass head coach Mark Whipple was a quarterback at Brown in the 1970’s. He threw more interceptions (18) than touchdowns (13) in two seasons as an player in the Ivy League. His time with the Minutemen of Massachusetts hasn’t been any more illustrious. Whipple is just 8-29 in three years.

UMass has the interesting wrinkle of recently joining the FBS. In 2012 they made the jump from FCS/I-AA to Division I as a member of the Mid-American Conference. The results on the field declined and it wasn’t long before they made a coaching change, bringing in Whipple to replace Charley Molnar who finished his tenure 2-22.

In 2016 UMass left the MAC and became an independent. That doesn’t play a huge role in hiring an upcoming coach, but bringing in Freeze might give the Minutemen an added boost in their scheduling. They’re the team that other schools pay to fly in and take a whipping. Why not sweeten the pot by hiring Freeze?

They face a pair of SEC teams in 2017, Tennessee and Mississippi State. Last year they played Mississippi State and South Carolina. Given the SEC’s interest in padding their non-conference schedule it’s likely that these cupcakes games continue into the future. Programs like Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M and Florida are going to pack their stadiums regardless of who’s on the other sideline. But if you’re South Carolina or a Vanderbilt it wouldn’t be too bad for publicity to invite Hugh Freeze and UMass to town.

Next: 5 potential replacements for Hugh Freeze at Ole Miss

Landing a guy with as much name recognition (good or bad) as Hugh Freeze would be a tremendous get for UMass. If there’s any way they can make it work they need to put a phone call into Freeze right now. They should just be careful they have the right number.