Hugh Freeze Hugh Freeze ( born September 27 , 1969 ) is an American football coach . He is currently the head coach at the University of Mississippi ( Ole Miss ) , a position he assumed in December 2011 . Freeze served as the head football coach at Lambuth University from 2008 to 2009 and at Arkansas State University in 2011 . He was previously a successful high school football coach at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis , Tennessee , and was depicted in the book and motion picture " The Blind Side " . However , in the film , he was portrayed through the character " Coach Cotton , " played by actor Ray McKinnon . Freeze received national attention on National Signing Day 2013 as Ole Miss welcomed the 5th ranked recruiting class in the country [ 10 ] including the # 1 DE , OT , & WR in the country . Early life . Freeze attended Senatobia High School and the University of Southern Mississippi , from which he graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and a minor in coaching and sports administration . Coaching career . Briarcrest Christian School . In 1992 , Freeze joined the coaching staff at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis , Tennessee as the football team ' s offensive coordinator and defensive backs coach . In 1995 , he was promoted to head coach . Freeze ran the no huddle spread offense and led his team to the state championship twice , in 2002 and 2004 , and the regional championship each year from 1995 to 1998 and in 2001 and 2002 . He received Region 8 - AA Coach of the Year honors five times and Associated Press Coach of the Year honors six times . In ten years at Briacrest , Freeze was 94 - 30 as head coach ( . 785 winning percentage ) and 126 - 37 overall . Freeze was depicted in and motion picture " The Blind Side " , about one of his former players , current Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Michael Oher . Ole Miss . In 2005 , the University of Mississippi hired Freeze as an assistant athletic director for football external affairs . The following season , he became the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator , positions he held through 2007 . After that season , he replaced head coach Ed Orgeron on an interim basis before the hiring of Houston Nutt . Freeze interviewed for the offensive coordinator position with Houston Nutt ; a position that eventually went to Kent Austin . Lambuth University . In January 2008 , Lambuth University , a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics ( NAIA ) , named Freeze its head coach . In 2008 , He led the Lambuth to a 8 - 4 record and a first round loss in the NAIA playoffs , marking their first appearance in the playoffs since 2004 under then head coach Vic Wallace . He was considered for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga ' s head coaching position following the 2008 , but remained there for another season and compiled a 20 – 5 overall record , and defeating opponents 41 - 17 on average . In 2009 , he led the Eagles to their best regular season record in school history with an unblemished 11 – 0 mark . Lambuth advanced to the second round of the NAIA playoffs for first time in 11 years — having won one game before suffering elimination to finish 12 – 1 as the sixth - ranked team in the NAIA . Arkansas State . In 2010 , he joined the staff at Arkansas State as offensive coordinator after a brief stint as offensive coordinator at San Jose State University under Mike MacIntyre . The Red Wolves finished with a 4 – 8 record , but their offensive rankings jumped from 95th in total offense and 90th in scoring offense in the NCAA Division I FBS to 43rd and 46th , respectively . The Red Wolves ' offense broke 9 school records including total plays ( 856 ) , first downs ( 262 ) , pass attempts ( 438 ) , pass completions ( 266 ) , completion percentage ( . 607 ) , passing yards ( 3 , 057 ) , passing yards per game ( 254 . 8 ) and passing touchdowns ( 23 ) . The Red Wolves ' offense averaged 403 . 4 yards per game , eclipsing over 300 yards all 12 times it took the field for the first time in the history of the program . A - State posted at least 400 yards of total offense in seven games during the 2010 campaign , the most ever as an NCAA FBS member ; all in his first year as offensive coordinator . After the season , Freeze was promoted to replace head coach Steve Roberts . In 2011 , his only season as head coach at Arkansas State , he led the Red Wolves to a 10 - 2 record and their first Sun Belt Conference title since 2005 . The Red Wolves ' offense averaged 447 . 8 ypg ( 28th nationally , 1st in Sun Belt Conference ) including 293 . 6 ypg passing and 154 . 2 ypg rushing . Freeze left Arkansas State before the GoDaddy . com Bowl following the season . Ole Miss . On December 5 , 2011 , Freeze was announced as the new head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels football team . He is the 37th head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels . During the press conference to introduce Freeze as the head coach , he stated that he wanted to " retire at Ole Miss . " He was signed to a four - year contract with an annual salary of $ 1 . 5 million plus incentives up to $ 2 . 5 million . In his first season at Ole Miss , Freeze led the Rebels to a 6 - 6 record in the regular season , making Ole Miss bowl eligible for the first time since 2009 with a 41 - 24 victory over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl . His Rebels accepted a bid to play in the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham , Alabama , on January 5 , 2013 . They beat the University of Pittsburgh 38 - 17 to finish 7 - 6 . Freeze received national attention on National Signing Day 2013 as Ole Miss brought in the 5th ranked recruiting class in the country including the # 1 DE , OT , & WR in the country . Personal life . Freeze was born in Oxford , Mississippi and grew up in Independence , Mississippi . He has three daughters with his wife , Jill .