Joel Klatt reveals why Auburn is 'not a good job' after firing Hugh Freeze

Ryan Young | Nov 4, 2025

Joel Klatt has some strong thoughts on why the Auburn opening is not a good job in college football. Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Auburn fans aren't going to like this one bit as the school commences its search to replace fired head coach Hugh Freeze, but Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt had some pointed comments about why the Auburn job isn't a desirable one for head coaches.

Klatt joined "The Next Round" radio show on Monday when he was asked about the Auburn opening after Freeze was fired a day earlier. He hesitated while intimating that he knew his answer would stir up the Auburn fans ... and he was surely correct.

"It's not a good job. Cue all the Auburn fans getting all upset," Klatt said. "Their expectations are over their skis. They aren't even the best job in their own state. To be a good job, you've got to be a top 2-3-4 job in your conference -- they're not even the best job in their own state.

"And it's not even like close. Obviously, it's Alabama, goodness gracious. And yet the problem is that Auburn's expectations are in line with Alabama's expectations, and it's just like, 'Hey, that ain't it.'

"You know, it's like the sister of the beauty queen that isn't quite, you know what I mean? She comes along a few years later, she's like, 'My sister was the Homecoming queen,' and it's like, 'Yeah, well you ain't your sister.'"

"Their expectations are over their skis. They aren't even the best job in their own state... It's like the sister of the beauty queen... you ain't your sister." - @joelklatt on the Auburn job pic.twitter.com/ALGccXwOvL

— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) November 3, 2025

Freeze was fired Sunday after a 4-5 start to his third season, following finishes of 6-7 and 5-7 the previous two years. So he never had a winning season with the Tigers, which makes his dismissal not all that surprising.

Especially in the context of Auburn's recent history. It fired Freeze's predecessor, Bryan Harsin, during his second season, which had an overall record of 9-12. That was after firing Gus Malzahn, who had led the team to eight winning seasons in eight years, an SEC championship, and a national championship game appearance after the 2013 season, earning several national Coach of the Year honors.

That speaks to Klatt's ultimate point ...

"So they bring in all of these guys, don't give them enough time to build and then fire them as if they're supposed to be Alabama next year," Klatt said. "So that's where it's like, listen, if there was some measure of patience at Auburn, I think it would be a better job because they've got resources, they want to win -- those are good things. They've got a history.

"Now, granted, their national championship was with a player that, maybe more so than any singular player in the history of our sport, dragged their team to a national championship, with Cam Newton. And I know that they went back, was it Nick Marshall, and played the Florida State team (in the national title game after the 2013 season), so they've had success.

"I'm not saying you can't have success at Auburn. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying the way that they operate is not in line with what they are as a program, and that ruffles a lot of feathers when you say that, about any team, by the way. And there's other jobs like that. I've said that about Michigan State at times."

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