AUBURN — Auburn football has fired offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery.

“I informed Philip today he would not be retained as our offensive coordinator,” coach Hugh Freeze said in a statement released Friday. “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, who joined Freeze's inaugural staff on the Plains in December 2022, came to the Tigers after an eight-season run as Tulsa's head coach. Montgomery guided the Golden Hurricane to 439.8 total offensive yards per game and 30.7 points in 96 contests.

Things were not as successful at Auburn, as the Tigers finished the 2023 season averaging 351.2 yards and 26.2 points a game. Auburn's main issues came through the air; the Tigers averaged 162.2 passing yards. That's the lowest mark since they threw for 156.6 yards per game during former coach Gene Chizik's final year with the program in 2012.

Aside from his run at Tulsa − the Golden Hurricane went 43-53 under his tutelage − Montgomery made other notable stops in various roles at Houston (2003-07) and Baylor (2008-14). He was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Bears when Robert Griffin III won the Heisman Trophy in 2011 and he also won the Broyles Award in 2013.

REPORT CARD: Hugh Freeze's first season at Auburn football is over. What's a fair grade for him?

NEXT YEAR: Payton Thorne or not, Auburn football needs incoming WRs to remedy offensive issues

Montgomery's contract at Auburn, which had a term date of Dec. 12, 2022 to Jan. 31, 2026, stipulates that he is due 100% of "the remaining payments that would've accrued" to him on his deal. That equals approximately $2.5 million. He has no duty to mitigate and offset.

"Any time you're trying to mesh things together, you're always going to come with some hurdles in there," Montgomery said Dec. 29 when asked about merging his offense with Freeze. "There's been some good give and take on that part of it and trying to make sure that we get the best opportunity for our guys to be successful.

"I think background-wise, we're very, very similar, but then just the way you approach things and the way you look at it obviously can be different. I think we've done a good job of just trying to make those things work. Again, making sure that we're putting the team in front of everything else."

Freeze added Dec. 29: "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. I think there's always the evaluation from our chair of 'can we improve ourselves some way?'"

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Philip Montgomery out as Auburn football's offensive coordinator