Auburn Tigers Fire HC Hugh Freeze

The Auburn Tigers fired third-year head coach Hugh Freeze on Sunday, nine games into his third season with the program, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

His firing comes a day after Auburn's 10-3 loss to Kentucky, which moved the Tigers to 4-5 on the season. Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin will be the interim.

Though the university held on to Freeze as long as it could, a disappointing loss on Saturday to Kentucky in which Auburn was favored by over 10 points but scored just three seemed to be enough for Auburn athletic director John Cohen.

Cohen confirmed the decision in a statement shortly after Thamel's initial report.

“I have informed Coach Freeze of my decision to make a change in leadership with the Auburn Football program," he said. "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.”

Sources: Auburn has fired coach Hugh Freeze. He’s gone 6-16 in the SEC over his three seasons and 15-19 overall. After losing to Kentucky last night to fall to 4-5, Auburn is in danger of having a losing record for third-straight year. pic.twitter.com/aaVjkJpcF9
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 2, 2025

It seemed to be time, as well.

Boos and “fire Freeze” chants rained down on the third-year head coach as he headed to the locker room after the 10-3 loss to the Wildcats, which had widely been regarded as the weakest team in the SEC.

“Like I’ve said all year long, my job is to get this team ready to play and win games, and we’ve failed to do that this year and it’s frustrating,” Freeze said.

Freeze will be owed a $15.5 million buyout, a severe blow to a team still footing the bill for its last head coach, Bryan Harsin.

Freeze finished his tenure at Auburn with a 15-19 record, his worst over three years at any school he’s coached. He struggled to get the team’s offense going on many occasions, though perhaps most famously in the second half against Georgia in week seven and, of course, Kentucky on Saturday.

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze walks the field after Auburn Tigers lost to Kentucky. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

His reaction to the games have been heavily criticized as well. His constant "we're close" statements had fallen on deaf ears leading up to Saturday's loss. He emphasized that message once more on Saturday.

“I still believe we’re really close and I know that team plays hard for this university, and it’s sickening that we haven’t delivered,” Freeze said. “No one wants to do that more than I, and our family loves it, our staff loves it, but at the end of the day, I’m frustrated too.”

Additionally, inept quarterback play over the last three years did no favors for Freeze. After two years under Payton Thorne, the Tigers turned to transfer Jackson Arnold, a former five-star who has failed to meet expectations.

Freeze's indecision in Arnold may have been worse, benching him for fellow transfer Ashton Daniels before going back to Arnold in the middle of Saturday's loss.

Despite troubles winning games, Freeze was a fairly consistent recruiter for the Tigers, as both his 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes finished as top-10 classes in the nation for their respective years, but he’s struggled to set up his 2026 class, which is currently ranked 32nd in the country, but will surely decline in Freeze’s absence.

Freeze never turned in a winning season with the Tigers, and frustration with the coach came to a hilt after the Georgia game, when Freeze told the media he’d been speaking to other Auburn coaches in hopes of figuring out “how to win.”

“I get it, and we all know that when we sign up for this, and we accept what comes with it,” Freeze said on Saturday. “But, you know, I love what we’re doing here, but we haven’t gotten the results and that’s frustrating.”

Under Freeze, the Tigers peaked at 24th in the AP Poll, which came back in Week 4, ahead of an Oklahoma game in which the Tigers took nine sacks. The team has not been ranked before or since with Freeze at the helm.

At this time, the university has not announced any intent to replace other staff or any interest in potential candidates, but they’ll likely need to get on the market quickly. The Tigers will have to compete with schools like Florida, LSU, Arkansas and Penn State for top coaching talent.

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