A man who was soon to be fired and another about to leave waited outside the interview room set up at the Gaylord Opryland resort in Nashville, Tennessee. On the other side of the doors, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze told reporters how continuity on a coaching staff is “invaluable.” A reporter had asked Freeze about keeping his staff together because — as of that Dec. 29 afternoon fewer than 24 hours before the Music City Bowl — Auburn hadn’t made any changes.

Certainly, continuity is Freeze’s goal. But in his response, he hinted that it wasn’t going to happen.

“We live in times where I doubt very seriously that all of the coaching changes are over,’ Freeze said on Dec. 29. “It’s probably just now getting ready to pick up. Who knows exactly what everybody’s staff will look like in a month from now.”

The next day, Auburn’s offense put up one of its worst performances of the season in a 31-13 loss to Maryland in the Music City Bowl. Payton Throne threw for 84 yards and re-opened a quarterbacks competition Freeze thought he’d closed.

It left Freeze with a clear decision. After a season sputtering out like that, continuity wasn’t going to be an option.

So he fired offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery on Jan. 5, one of the men waiting outside that door. Soon after, it was reported defensive coordinator Ron Roberts would leave for Florida after what was regarded to be a personal fit that just didn’t work.

Auburn’s new offensive coordinator will be its seventh in seven years. The new defensive coordinator with be the fifth in five years. It will be five consecutive seasons where Auburn has a first-year offensive coordinator and first-year defensive coordinator.

Continuity may be invaluable, but Auburn has been nowhere close to it.

“I don’t know that I ever feel like I took over a program and I got every single hire in the whole building right the first time because you’re just so crazy with recruiting,’ Freeze said before the Music City Bowl. “So I think there’s always the evaluation from our chair of can we improve ourselves some way.”

Freeze’s goal when he hired Montgomery was someone who would take charge of the offense and allow him to focus on recruiting. And while Freeze was able to land a top-10 class, the offense suffered when Freeze wasn’t a hands-on participant in game-planning. Freeze said after the Music City Bowl disappointment that he wasn’t involved with the prep because he was on the recruiting trail.

Montgomery and Roberts were two Freeze hires that did not work out. Freeze will have to hire again to replace them. He hasn’t fully filled the open spots on the staff. On Friday, Auburn announced the hire of Charles Kelly as Auburn’s co-defensive coordinator who will help with the defensive backs. Secondaries coach Wesley McGriff is back listed on Auburn’s coaching staff after being announced by Texas A&M as taking a job with new head coach Mike Elko’s staff.

Hiring Kelly as a “co-defensive coordinator” implies Auburn will have someone teamed up with him. It isn’t clear exactly who that will be just yet.

Auburn has also yet to make a hire to fill Montgomery’s spot. Ole Miss associate head coach Derrick Nix, Freeze’s former running backs coach at Ole Miss, has been reportedly linked to the job.

But the lack of continuity has stretched into hires Freeze didn’t make, too.

Former running backs coach Cadillac Williams, who was brought back under former head coach Gus Malzahn, resigned on Jan. 11. Former defensive backs coach Zac Etheridge, hired by the Bryan Harsin staff, resigned on Jan. 12.

Williams and Etheridge and Auburn alumni. Both are gonna after one year of Freeze’s tenure.

Kelly, another Auburn alum with his background in the secondary, will seemingly fill Etheridge’s spot.

Auburn has had five head coaches since 2020 including Williams’ interim stretch and a one-game under Kevin Steele. Auburn hasn’t won a bowl game since 2018. It has had three consecutive losing seasons. It hasn’t been ranked since 2021. It hasn’t had a double-digit win season since 2017.

Winning takes continuity. Auburn hasn’t had it.

“Continuity is invaluable,” Freeze said. “Driving the same culture, the same voice from the staff rooms to the position rooms, and hopefully from the position rooms to the locker rooms is when you get to be a special team. It starts with the staff believing the same things and saying the same things and not wavering from those.”

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