The next question seemed a bit obvious.

Hugh Freeze had been asked originally about defensive coordinator Ron Roberts, and the job he’s done this season. Freeze is certainly an offensive-minded coach, but with his hires, he said he is looking to leave them some autonomy.

“You hire people to do a job and you get out of the way and let them do it until they prove they can or can’t,” Freeze said Monday. “That’s always been my philosophy. I try not to get too in the way.”

Do some reading between the lines here and it leaves an immediate question: what about offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery?

Earlier in the press conference, Freeze had been asked about who is calling plays for Auburn at this point. This question has been asked throughout the season in an attempt to determine how much involvement Freeze actually has with running the offense.

And as the season has gone on, Freeze has appeared to have more involvement in the offense. He said Monday that he’s “very involved.”

But based on his remark on how he treats his assistants while talking about Roberts, it raises the question of how much autonomy Montgomery has at this point given that Freeze has not let him do his job.

So Freeze was asked if his comment on Roberts also applies to Montgomery.

“You play to your strengths, but yeah, you hire people and you hope that — you’re not always right,” Freeze said. “I don’t know that I’ve ever totally been right on every single hire that I’ve ever made. You evaluate that every single year, but I think to this point, I’m pretty pleased. We’ve got good men in the building, and I want folks that can drive our culture, for sure. I think I’ve got to play to my strengths, too, and I think that’s something I’m still figuring out, exactly what that looks like.”

Freeze hired Montgomery quickly after he had been fired as the head coach at Tulsa for the sole purpose of calling plays. In July, Freeze said he no longer is the elite playcaller he felt he once was. So he brought in Montgomery to change his offensive terminology and free himself to focus on recruiting and other aspects of building this program.

It didn’t work out.

Auburn’s offense struggled mightily to open the season and by the Georgia game on Sept. 30, Freeze said he wasn’t able to recruit as much as he would have liked on a weekend with a significant number of high-ranked players on campus. That was because he had to spend more time being involved with the offense.

It appears Freeze has maintained involvement since, and over the last two weeks, Freeze’s offense has had its two best performances against Power 5 opponents this season.

Freeze has expressed trust in Montgomery and has expressed that he is still calling plays.

It’s a collaboration, Freeze said.

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