What differences have Alabama coaches seen in Auburn since firing Hugh Freeze?

A few weeks ago, Auburn made a big change weeks before the Iron Bowl, firing Hugh Freeze after losing to Kentucky and scoring only 3 points.

The Tigers named DJ Durkin interim head coach. Durkin served as the defense coordinator under Freeze before being named interim head coach.

With Freeze being fired, offensive coordinator Derrick Nix was given the play-calling duties. Since Auburn fired Freeze, the Tigers have scored 107 points over two games.

A few of Alabama football’s coaches commented on the changes made at Auburn and what’ve they’ve noticed about the Tigers since the firing of Freeze.

“Maybe you see a little bit of a philosophical change,” Kalen DeBoer said. “Just a little bit there with the offense and what they’re trying to do, so maybe that as much as anything. So obviously, they seem to be playing free, putting up a lot of points in the last two weeks.”

This is a fairly nice answer to give to the media because no one wants to bash a fired coach by picking apart all the things he did wrong, but Alabama’s defensive coordinator was a little bit more specific when talking about the differences he’s seen in Auburn over the last few games.

In Kane Wommack’s opening statement on Monday, he mentioned how close his is with Nix, and he talked about the things that Auburn are doing well offensively at this point in the season.

“Really happy for Derrick, and he’s doing a great job,” Wommack said. “I mean, you can tell a noticeable difference in some of the things they’re doing from an execution standpoint. I think they’re playing within the framework of what their players can do. They’re getting the ball to their playmakers, and they’re creating some explosive plays both in the run and pass game. So, will be a great challenge for us as always, but certainly we are very much looking forward to the game.”

This was initially interpreted by most overthinkers as a shot at Freeze, but he’s stating something that pretty much every Auburn fan or media member covering the team would agree with. The Auburn offense is why the Tigers are not in playoff contention because their defense has been one of the best in the country.

At the end of the day, to a certain extent, Alabama should worry about its own issues and get those things fixed before facing Auburn, but this coaching change is looking like a solid one that could lead to a competitive matchup between rival schools this Saturday.

It will be another new coaching matchup added to the Iron Bowl’s history books as DeBoer and Durkin are preparing their teams to do battle under the lights at Jordan-Hare Stadium.