FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas – Hugh Freeze jogged to the middle of a field inside an SEC stadium Saturday as a winner for the first time in six years.

He embraced his wife, Jill, and their three daughters. He gave each a quick kiss on their foreheads. They laughed. They shared inside jokes only they could understand. Then they posed for pictures in front of the scoreboard to remember that this, yes, was real.

The former Ole Miss coach is not a memory, nor is he a ghost, and he can no longer be ignored. The man who gave Nick Saban fits and knocked off powerhouse Alabama in back-to-back seasons at Ole Miss has found his groove, and as he celebrated yet another history-making turn at Liberty, he heard the outside noise.

Was this win a moment of redemption after six years away from the SEC? Or maybe this was an audition for another big job, like the one that opened earlier in the week at Auburn?

"I don't know that Auburn wants me. I have no clue," Freeze told 247Sports outside Liberty's celebratory locker room. "I know this: I have won everywhere I've been and my staff and kids have turned programs fast. It's our culture that we instill. I know we do that and the proof is in the pudding."

If what occurred here at Razorback Stadium wasn't redemption or an audition, it was at least the continuation of a career defined by program-changing wins fueled by a coach's high-flying, creative offense and his penchant for recruiting and developing quarterbacks into masters of the stat sheet.

No. 23 Liberty (8-1) is rolling and its only setback came on a failed two-point attempt on the road against nationally-ranked Wake Forest. Fitting, perhaps, that the Flames beat the Razorbacks here by stuffing quarterback K.J. Jefferson on the goal line during a two-point attempt in the final minutes Saturday.

Yes, the Flames are legitimately good. Their offense scores points and the system is as entertaining as Freeze's designs at Ole Miss, sure, but the defense is the nation's best in harassing quarterbacks (3.8 sacks per game) and is also No. 1 in tackles for loss (9.3). The roster is deep and talented, and the wins — and Freeze's 34-12 record at Liberty — should not be surprising. Freeze has won 10 games at least once at all four stops as a head coach (NAIA Lambuth, Arkansas State, Ole Miss and Liberty) and has broken numerous offensive records at each school. He once led Ole Miss to a No. 3 national ranking and was the toast of Oxford, Mississippi, but that meteoric rise was equalled by a faster fall. An avalanche of recruiting violations were discovered in an NCAA investigation and documents in a lawsuit revealed Freeze contacted escort services with a university-issued cell phone. Freeze resigned under pressure in early 2017 and the NCAA vacated 27 of his 39 wins at the school.

Freeze's promising career in big-time football was finished but two years later he was given second life at Liberty University, an evangelical institution in Lynchburg, Virginia, founded by Jerry Falwell Sr. in 1971. He quickly turned the program into a winner, winning eight games in his debut season and then 10 more in 2020. He's beaten Virginia Tech, Syracuse, BYU and now Arkansas.

He also transformed Malik Willis, a backup quarterback at Auburn who almost moved to receiver in the SEC, into a superstar at Liberty, where he threw for more than 5,000 yards and ran for 1,822 yards to go along with 74 total touchdowns in two seasons. Willis was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the third round of the NFL Draft in the spring, leaving Liberty without a quarterback and tampered expectations.

"Nothing motivates me more than proving I can do it again with another quarterback," Freeze said.

Liberty landed former Baylor and Utah quarterback Charlie Brewer in the offseason but injuries and setbacks forced Freeze to turn to third-string quarterback Johnathan Bennett. Bennett needed time to adjust after being thrown to the end of the bench in preseason practices. In frustration, he tuned out Freeze and then came a moment of reconciliation. "I just put my pride to the side," Bennett said. "We're all prideful people and pride is the enemy. It showed earlier with how I was playing. Coach Freeze is a great coach and I figured out if you actually listen to him, good things can happen."

Bennett is now 5-0 as the Flames' starter, with wins against favorites BYU and Arkansas. He threw for 224 yards and three touchdowns Saturday after missing several practices with the flu.

"A couple years ago, if we lost a quarterback we could have been in real trouble," Liberty athletic director Ian McCaw said. "Right now we have several guys able to step up and help us win games."

Those around Freeze beamed with pride Saturday, though Liberty administrators did not flaunt his resume in conversations. After all, there might be other suitors. McCaw said the interest in Freeze is "flattering" to Liberty.

The Flames signed Freeze last week to an eight-year contract worth $40 million through the 2030 season. His average yearly salary is the largest among Group of Five coaches. Other details of the contract have remained private but the buyout is said to not be exceptionally large, which opens the door for other schools to pursue Freeze if they choose.

"I think we have a great situation for him but obviously there are some other really big jobs out there as well and we're going to do everything we can to keep him at Liberty," McCaw said. "We certainly understand there are others that are going to pursue him."

Money is not necessarily the issue in luring Freeze. The road block is whether a big-time program is willing to cast aside their questions and concerns about Freeze's immoral history as quickly as they embrace his winning history on the field.

Six Power Five programs are searching for head coaches and more jobs will open with three Saturdays still remaining in the regular season. Auburn is at the front of the pack and has the most attractive job in the market. The school has won two national titles, most recently in 2010, and played for another after the 2013 season. Auburn is expected to pursue Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin under newly-hired athletic director John Cohen, sources told 247Sports, but Freeze is also a hot name and he has support among some boosters. Freeze said he and his agent, Jimmy Sexton, have not been contacted by Auburn as of Saturday.

"All that is speculation to me because truthfully, I am as happy as I can be here," Freeze said. "I've told my administration and I've told my players as straight as I can be: if something interests me, I'll tell them. To this point, nothing has (interested me) that has called — and I'm not saying the ones who called wanted me. They just call Jimmy and I say that really doesn't fit me, Jill and the kids. But if one does, you have to sit down and have a conversation. That hasn't happened yet."

Moments earlier, on a field peppered with jubilant Liberty players and staff, Freeze tracked down his wife, Jill, and their three daughters. The five Freezes embraced as television cameras and photographers documented the moment. The SEC Network crew inside the press box wondered on national television how much Freeze would be discussed on Auburn message boards that night.

Freeze's grip on his family loosened. His daughter, Jordan, hollered to her father. "The best to ever do it, Hugh Freeze!" She lifted her hands high above her head and her fingers formed the shape of an "L" and "U."

It's been a while but, boy, does winning in the SEC feel good.

"I don't think I have anything else to prove," Freeze said later. "I used to say stupid things three or four years ago like, 'Well, maybe one day I can have a redemption story.' And finally, man, a mentor and friend said, 'Dude, stop it. Your story is done. You don't need to prove anything to anybody.' And they're right."

Brandon Marcello is a national college football reporter for 247Sports. You can follow him on Twitter (@bmarcello).

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