Arkansas State AD won't rush coaching search

Arkansas State athletic director Dean Lee says he won't rush the search for the coach to replace Hugh Freeze, who was hired by Mississippi on Monday after spending one season as coach of the Red Wolves. ''We're going to move quickly, but we're not going to get in a hurry,'' Lee said. Arkansas State (10-2) won the Sun Belt Conference and will play Northern Illinois in the GoDaddy.com Bowl on Jan. 8. It's the first 10-win season for the school since 1986, when it was a member of the I-AA Southland Conference. Running backs coach David Gunn has been named the Red Wolves' interim coach and will coach the team in the bowl game, and Lee has hired a Florida company to help find a new coach. Lee said several assistant coaches told him they would likely follow Freeze to Ole Miss but nothing was set. Lee said he hasn't talked to any prospective applicants yet, but he expects to have an easy time selling Arkansas State following Freeze's quick success. The Red Wolves were 45-63 in nine seasons under former coach Steve Roberts, but Freeze's energy and enthusiasm quickly took hold in Jonesboro. The school promoted a ''Feel the Freeze'' ticket campaign, naming it for the former Memphis, Tenn., high school coach mostly known from the the best-selling book and popular movie ''The Blind Side'' about Raven's offensive lineman Michael Oher The wins quickly followed, with Arkansas State securing an undefeated run through the Sun Belt with a 45-14 win over Troy on Saturday. The Red Wolves' only losses this season came to Illinois and Virginia Tech. It was a run of success Lee expects to continue while saying he wants the program to be compared to the likes of Southern Mississippi and Boise State. ''You can come to Arkansas State and make your dreams come true,'' Lee said. ''You can come to Arkansas State and get to where you want to go. You can come to Arkansas State and win double-digits, you can win 10 football games and you can do it in a hurry.'' Lee said Freeze called him Sunday night to say he had interviewed with Ole Miss and that everything had gone well. After sleeping on his decision, Freeze told Lee early Monday that he was taking the job with the Rebels. He told the team at 7:15 a.m. ''We're thrilled and excited about what coach Freeze brought to Arkansas State,'' Lee said. ''Our football program really had a special year. We've experienced things this year we haven't experienced in the past, and it's been felt not only in our athletic department, but on campus and in this community and across the state.'' Gunn said the school has 17 recruiting commitments that he and the staff began contacting them Monday. He said the program's focus for the next month with be recruiting and winning the bowl game. ''Everything is still OK at Arkansas State,'' Gunn said. ''We certainly want to give honor and tribute to coach Freeze and the outstanding job he has done this year, but quickly it's time for us to move forward and that's what we'll do.''