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5 candidates to replace Matt Rhule as Baylor football head coach

By Brad Berreman

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 01: Head coach Matt Rhule of the Baylor Bears looks on during the Allstate Sugar Bowl against the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 01, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 01: Head coach Matt Rhule of the Baylor Bears looks on during the Allstate Sugar Bowl against the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 01, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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Mandatory Credit: James Gilbert/Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: James Gilbert/Getty Images /

4. Hugh Freeze, Liberty Head Coach

After a couple of years out in exile after his troubled ending at Ole Miss, Freeze landed at Liberty and led the Flames to eight wins in the program’s first year as a full FBS member. For whatever it might be worth, former Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw is in the same post at Liberty and obviously hired Freeze. Maybe someone in the current athletic department structure at Baylor is ready to place a call about Freeze.

Level of competition has to be noted, but Liberty is 32nd in the country in total offense (439.4 yards per game) with the 22nd-ranked pass offense (288.9 yards per game) as quarterback Stephen “Buckshot” Calvert sits tied for 10th in the country in passing yards. Freeze’s fast-paced offensive system will surely play in the Big 12, just as it did in the SEC when he was at Ole Miss.

Freeze’s role in the issues at Ole Miss may push Baylor away from him to some degree, so as not to invite a repeat of the off-field issues Briles oversaw. But in terms of pure coaching ability, and a fit that will keep the offense rolling as it has been rolling, Freeze going back to a Power 5 job after a one-season redemption at Liberty is a real possibility now.

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