Auburn has fired head coach Hugh Freeze, the school announced Sunday. The news comes after Auburn was upset 10-3 by Kentucky on Saturday, which was the Tigers’ 12th loss in their past 15 SEC games.
Defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin will reportedly be the interim head coach for the team’s remaining four games.
“I have informed Coach Freeze of my decision to make a change in leadership with the Auburn Football program,” John Cohen, the school’s athletic director, said in a statement. “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 was in the middle of his third season at Auburn, which is now 4-5 on the season and just 1-5 in SEC play despite starting the season 3-0. Auburn’s lackluster conference play this season continues the trend from Freeze’s first two seasons at the helm. The Tigers went 5-11 in SEC play from 2023-24, becoming bowl eligible just once.
Freeze failed to fix Auburn’s offensive issues, scoring 24 or fewer points in 17 of his 22 league games. He also ended up on the wrong end of too many close matchups, including twice this season thanks partly to questionable calls.
Freeze finished his Auburn career with a 15-19 overall record, a 6-16 SEC record and a 1-12 record vs. ranked teams.
The 56-year-old is owed $15.8 million from a six-year, $39 million deal he signed to replace Bryan Harsin in 2022. That figure isn’t subject to offsetting based on future employment, per the New York Post, and brings the total buyout for the 11 FBS coaches fired this season to $182 million. He’s also the eighth Power 4 coach fired this season.
Now, Auburn is looking for its fourth football coach in seven seasons. The Tigers fired Gus Malzahn in 2020, Harsin in 2022 and now Freeze in 2025. Together, the school will end up paying $52.5 million in buyout fees.
Those other head coaches fired this season include Brian Kelly (LSU), James Franklin (Penn State), Billy Napier (Florida), Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State), Sam Pittman (Arkansas), Jay Norvell (Colorado State), Trent Bray (Oregon State), DeShaun Foster (UCLA), Brent Pry (Virginia Tech) and former Super Bowl winner Trent Dilfer (UAB).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
