Kent Austin is set to become Liberty’s co-offensive coordinator and QB coach, according to several reports including FootballScoop. Austin is currently a consultant for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. He has also served as the head coach at Cornell and offensive coordinator at Ole Miss.
Austin has spent most of his coaching career in the CFL, with stops at Ottawa, Toronto, Saskatchewan, and Hamilton. These stops were mainly as quarterback coach and/or offensive coordinator. He was head coach at Saskatchewan for one season and of the Tiger-Cats from 2013-2017. Austin was Ole Miss’ offensive coordinator from 2008-2010, but he did not work under Hugh Freeze, instead he was OC for Houston Nutt.
He left Ole Miss in January 2010 to become head coach at Cornell, where he compiled an 11-19 record in 3 seasons. Austin left Cornell to become the head coach, general manager and Vice President of Football Operations for the Tiger-Cats in December 2012. He led Hamilton to consecutive Grey Cup appearances in his first two years as head coach.
He played his collegiate football at Ole Miss before being drafted in the 12th round of the 1986 NFL draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. After one season with the Cardinals, Austin spent the rest of his playing career in the CFL. He ranks 4th in passing yards in the Ole Miss passing annals, behind Eli Manning, Bo Wallace, and Romaro Miller.
Freeze has now filled 8 of his 10 full-time assistant positions, with the final two likely to be on the defensive side of the ball. Austin joins an offensive staff that now includes wide receivers coach Maurice Harris, offensive line coach Sam Gregg, tight ends coach Ben Aigamaua, and one holdover from Gill’s staff in Mike Brown as running backs coach. Other reproted hires include special teams coordinator Tanner Burns, defensive coordinator Scott Symons, and defensive line coach Josh Aldridge.
RJ Fleming is also joining the staff from TCU in an offensive quality control role.
