Auburn HC Hugh Freeze on Job Pressure: 'I'm Not a Fool'

The Auburn Tigers haven't had a winning season since 2020.

Nov 30, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze walks toward the sideline during the second quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Will McLelland-Imagn Images | Will McLelland-Imagn Images

After back-to-back losing seasons to begin his tenure, Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze kept it blunt when asked if there was a win minimum he has to reach.

"I'm not a fool. We've got to go to a bowl game," he said during an appearance on The Next Round.

"I'm not a fool. I think we've got to go to a bowl game." - Hugh Freeze on the pressure to win going into his third season at Auburn pic.twitter.com/xrOcGuqzRM

— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) May 16, 2025

Freeze's comment comes in the midst of one of the worst stretches in program history with four-straight losing seasons, five-straight seasons with no more than six wins and only two 10-win seasons since its BCS national championship in 2010.

While the pressure is on to go back to winning ways, Freeze emphasized the support he has from Auburn's administration and the investment into recruiting in his time leading the program.

"I think our administration understands that, look, I inherited a program that didn't have a top 25 recruiting class for four years," he said. "You're not going to win in this league. We've had now two recruiting class, both top 10, I think one more and then your roster looks complete, but I'm still not naive."

He's not wrong, too.

Freeze brought in the nation's No. 6 and No. 8 recruiting classes in 2025 and 2024 after three seasons in which the Tigers floated between No. 18 and No. 20 nationally, according to 247 Sports.

Despite the strong recruiting, Auburn has yet to translate that success on the field. Freeze is 11-14 to start his tenure with a 5-11 record in SEC play, and history is not on his side. In fact, no Auburn coach in 50 years has had back-to-back losing seasons and survived the third season.

Not to mention, a fifth-straight losing season for the program would be the longest since the Tigers had five-straight losing seasons from 1946-50.

"We could've won some games last year, and we've got to find a way to make sure we're excellent in those areas that cost us that put us in a position to at least be bowl eligible if not more," he said. "I see no reason why we shouldn't do that, and I think that's the expectation that our people should expect."

Freeze is confident, though, that Auburn can finally turn things around, especially after the roster turnaround from this offseason. The Tigers, while bringing in a top 10 recruiting class, welcomed 19 transfers including former Oklahoma starting quarterback Jackson Arnold and former Georgia Tech receiver Eric Singleton Jr.

"So, whatever the outcome of all of that is, that'll be ok," he said. "Obviously, I'm a competitor, and I want to deliver to the Auburn people, and it's time for us to start doing that."

Auburn opens the season on the road at Baylor on Friday, Aug. 29.