Auburn Daily

Auburn Hugh Freeze Named a Top Head Coach with Most to Prove

The only remedy for the Auburn Tigers head coach is winning and he likely has one more year to prove he can do it

Harrison Smajovits

Freeze has a short leash compared to most head coaches
Freeze has a short leash compared to most head coaches / John Reed-Imagn Images
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It’s crunch time for Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze. Heading into 2025, Freeze has been named one of the head coaches with the most to prove. On3’s Ari Wasserman ranked him No. 2 behind Gators head coach Billy Napier. 

Freeze’s need to prove goes deeper than on-field performance at Auburn. 

“Like it or not, Freeze came into his job at Auburn with a shorter leash than a coach typically would. Why? Because Auburn had to forgive his past- and the general

sentiment about him from the public - in order to build a winner.” Wasserman wrote. 

During his time as the head coach at Ole Miss, Freeze faced an NCAA scandal including recruiting violations. He ultimately resigned after the 2016 season. The Rebels had to vacate 33 FBS wins. 

With that baggage, he’s being given a second chance at being an SEC coach. Winning is the only remedy at this point. 

Auburn is coming off back-to-back losing seasons to start the Freeze era. In his second season, the Tigers missed out on bowl action. A major credit is that recruiting has been fantastic. However, that eventually has to translate to wins. 

Freeze has made changes at the quarterback position that give him a chance to change course. They’ve completely overhauled the quarterback room with the addition of Jackson Arnold and Ashton Daniels via the portal and Deuce Knight out of high school. The improvement is there on paper. But the changes don’t come, he’ll be in trouble. 

The fact that he’s getting a third chance is already a big deal. He’s the first head coach to get a third season after back-to-back losing seasons since Doug Barfield in 1977. Two winning seasons bought him time, but he was fired after a third losing season in 1980. 

Freeze broke a precedent that has lasted nearly 50 years. However, it’s unlikely he’ll break another if he can’t get over the hump. 

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Harrison Smajovits
HARRISON SMAJOVITS

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