KNOXVILLE - According to a report, Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt and members of his staff met with former Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze on Wednesday in Memphis.
A report on Volquest.com said the point of the meeting was to talk football, with some discussion of the Volunteers' offensive coordinator vacancy. Tyson Helton, who occupied the position in 2018, became the head coach at Western Kentucky on Tuesday.
Pruitt and some of his staff were recruiting in Memphis, which is close to Freeze's home in Oxford, Mississippi.
Like Pruitt, Freeze began his coaching career in the high school ranks. He was the head coach at Briarcrest Christian School near Memphis from 1995 to 2004 before college jobs at NAIA member Lambuth, Arkansas State and Ole Miss - once as a tight ends coach and for five seasons (2012-16) as the head coach.
He was fired before the 2017 season after placing inappropriate calls on a university-issued cellphone to a female escort service, and while the Southeastern Conference blocked a potential move for him to join the Alabama staff in an off-the-field position last season, it appears the league won't be in that same position as the sanctions levied against Ole Miss have now been lifted.
He's expected to have opportunities in both the SEC and Atlantic Coast Conference "before the end of the year," according to the report.
Freeze's success has featured big plays on offense, but like Pruitt he wants his teams to be balanced and physical. His offenses never averaged fewer than 28.8 points or 423.8 yards per game for a season.
Freeze, although a hot candidate, isn't the only one Pruitt is looking at. FootballScoop.com reported Wednesday that Auburn offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey and North Carolina State offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz were Pruitt's top two candidates, while Alabama quarterbacks coach Dan Enos and Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens are in the mix as well.
Pruitt has more familiarity with Enos, Lindsey and Kitchens, having played or coached with them.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.