Auburn fired offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery, according to a release from the school on Friday.

“I informed Philip today he would not be retained as our offensive coordinator,” head coach Hugh Freeze said in a press release. “Philip is a good coach and a good man. Decisions like this are never easy, however, I decided this is best for our program moving forward. I’m appreciative of his efforts this past year and wish him nothing but the best.”

Montgomery was hired in early December 2022, to be Auburn’s play caller. It had been just days between Montgomery’s firing as Tulsa’s head coach and the announcement of his position at Auburn.

The plan was he would be Auburn’s primary play caller, giving Freeze the ability to be less involved in the offense and better able to focus on the recruiting it would take to build a talent-depleted Auburn roster.

It didn’t work out that way.

After an inept showing against Texas A&M where the offense accounted for just three points, Freeze said he was going to take a more hands-on approach to the offense.

Not much got better.

Auburn largely ran the ball well, but the passing offense was poor. In terms of yards per game, the passing game was among the 10 worst in the country in 2023. It was far worse statically than many other notable inept Auburn passing offenses of the 21st century.

Many of the problems centered around an uncertain, unsuccessful and unstable quarterback position. Auburn named quarterback Payton Thorne as his starting quarterback but maintained a rotation with backup quarterback Robby Ashford to the point that Auburn effectively had a two-quarterback system until Thorne eventually won the job outright.

Early on in the season, the sputtering offense was blamed on the talent gap Auburn had compared to the rest of the SEC. But it became quickly clear as the season went on that the issue fell on coaching. During press conferences, Freeze frequently mentioned coaching failures to get the right protections set, to make sure receivers ran the right routes and to make sure the team was lined up properly.

The issues were repetitive.

Things turned sour during Auburn’s 28-21 loss to Ole Miss on Oct. 21. Auburn had just 26 passing yards entering the fourth quarter. Auburn wasn’t able to throw for 100 passing yards in each of its first four games against Power 5 opponents in 2023.

Finally, after the Ole Miss game, Freeze said he “put his foot down” in regard to how the offense game-planned.

In advance of Auburn’s bowl game against Maryland, Freeze was not heavily involved in game planning because he was focused on recruiting a top-10 ranked class. Auburn’s offense was abysmal in the Music City Bowl and led Freeze to say he was evaluating the entire program with regard to players and staff after the game.

Auburn owes Montgomery a full buyout of his contract that is worth just north of $3 million. Montgomery’s deal included pay increases each February beginning in 2024. He didn’t make it to his first increase.

It was a first hire that went wrong for the Freeze era. Auburn’s eventual next offensive coordinator will have a significant role in shaping how the program can build forward going into 2024.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]