Auburn Fires Coach Hugh Freeze After 4–5 Start to 2025 Season

The coach spent much of the season on the hot seat.

Auburn fired Hugh Freeze after a 4-5 start to the season. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

After Auburn dropped its fifth game of the season on Saturday vs. Kentucky, the program fired coach Hugh Freeze on Sunday, sources told Sports Illustrated’s Bryan Fischer. The firing was expected after the team’s 10-3 loss.

Freeze ends his nearly three-year tenure with the Tigers with a 15–19 overall record and a 6–16 record in the SEC. He posted a losing record in all three seasons. His buyout will be worth just over $15 million, Fischer reported. The Tigers will have a team meeting on Sunday afternoon.

Defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin is expected to take over as interim coach for the remainder of the season, per On3’s Grant Grubbs. The Tigers will face No. 9 Vanderbilt on Saturday. They’ll face Mercer and No. 4 Alabama to finish out the 2025 season.

Auburn confirmed the firing with a statement from athletic director John Cohen.

“I have informed Coach Freeze of my decision to make a change in leadership with the Auburn Football program. Coach Freeze is a man of integrity, and we are appreciative of his investment in Auburn and his relentless work over the last three years in bolstering our roster. Our expectations for Auburn Football are to annually compete for championships and the search for the next leader of Auburn Football begins immediately.”

Freeze has been coaching in college football since 2008 (with the exception of the ‘10 season), starting with Lambuth for two seasons, then Arkansas State for one, then Ole Miss for five and Liberty for four before landing with Auburn in 2023. His overall coaching record sits at 91-66.

As for Auburn’s open coaching position, quite a few names have already popped up as options for the Tigers, including Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin and recently fired Penn State coach James Franklin. We’ll see who the Tigers hire this offseason.

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