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As Auburn football enters Week 2 of its head coaching search, more and more football analysts and Auburn greats are sharing their thoughts on the job. The latest was former national champion and Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton, who talked about Hugh Freeze’s firing and what he wants to see in the next coach on a recent episode of his podcast titled, “4thand1 with Cam Newton.” “The people of Auburn deserve better, point blank period,” Newton said at the beginning of the segment. “And when you see certain things happen from the dismissal or the removal of certain players that were as captains, that’s a red flag right there.” The player removal Newton is referring to is Damari Alston, who left the team in mid-October after Freeze said he failed to meet the expectations and standards of our program.” Newton also mentioned that he thought Freeze suffered two losses this season with “very suspicious dog gone referee activity.” Despite those losses, though, Newton said, “you can’t say that, and then still have losses at home,” and added that he doesn’t even watch Auburn games anymore, calling them “depressing.” When talking about the next coach, Newton laid out three things he would bring to people’s attention if he was part of the decision-making process. “Number one, find you somebody who can recruit,” Newton said. “You can’t go to the Kentucky Derby with donkeys. Need a stallion... “Number two, I’m gonna tell you who else you need. You need to find somebody that other coaches respect, and he can assemble his coaching staff accordingly... “Last but not least, you need to hire a coach that understands the SEC, man. You gotta win yesterday, coach. We ain’t got time for you to develop a way of going about it. You ain’t got time to introduce your culture. You ain’t got time for a fan base that’s been fiending for some type of something, for you to say, ‘It’s gonna take time.’” Newton continued on that point, saying, “the time was eight years ago.” “The people in Auburn been waiting in the Plains for somebody that can at least compete,” Newton said. “I don’t even wanna compete no more. Bump that, we’ve been trying to compete. We wanna win, man.”
