4. Hugh Freeze will have no interference in running his offense.
If Hugh Freeze goes to the Auburn Tigers or the Florida State Seminoles, he’ll be working under offensive coordinators themselves in Gus Malzahn and Willie Taggart. Both clearly want the offense to be based on their identity, and that could create some clashes.
Freeze would obviously want to do his own thing. Sure, they all run elements of the spread, but you’d have to assume their philosophies would be slightly different. After all, look at what just happened with Chip Lindsey at Auburn. He and Malzahn clearly clashed.
Tennessee football would not give Freeze those problems. Jeremy Pruitt is a defensive guy who is actually calling the plays on defense. So he just wants a guy to have complete control of the offense and let him do his thing. Sure, he may have some preferences, but by and large this will be Freeze’s offense.
There’s no better option for that than Freeze. Already an offensive genius, he could do everything his way while Pruitt runs the defense. Considering the way Butch Jones had the offense by the throat, that’s a very good thing.
We’ve seen what can happen when coaches clash, including Matt Canada and Ed Orgeron back in 2017. That’s never a pretty thing, and it could wreck a guy like Freeze who’s trying to resurrect his career. As a result, he would want to go to a place where that’s not an issue. So off the bat, that should eliminate Auburn and Florida State.