Florida reportedly targeting Hugh Freeze, school denies extending job offer

The coaching carousel is already off to a fast start and one of the more coveted openings – the University of Florida – is connected to another high profile SEC coach.

Sports Illustrated reported that Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze is on Florida athletic director’s short list of candidates to replace Will Muschamp, while SB Nation reported late Sunday night that the Florida position has already been offered to Freeze.

In response to the SB Nation report, Florida denied that the job had been offered to anyone.

“We will have no comment on the recent multiple reports other than to say that we have made no job offers to anyone and reports claiming that are false,” UF said in a statement.

According to SB Nation, Freeze is “considering an offer to coach at the University of Florida for a base salary in the range of $4.2 to $4.3 million annually” while Ole Miss competes to match that offer.

Freeze’s current contract pays him $3 million per season. He just completed his third regular season with the program and has a 24-14 overall record.

Additionally, Yahoo’s Pat Forde reported Sunday that Colorado State head coach Jim McElwain is a “leading candidate” for the Florida job and that McElwain and Foley “discussed the job Saturday night.”

Foley said previously that he’d like to have a new hire in place before Christmas.

For more Florida news, visit InsideTheGators.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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