Auburn fires Hugh Freeze in the midst of third season, per report

Auburn fired head coach Hugh Freeze on Sunday, according to Outkick's Trey Wallace. One day after the Tigers’ 10-3 loss to Kentucky dropped them below .500 for the season. 

The move marks a record 11th in-season head-coaching change of the 2025 college football season. This is also a fourth opening in the SEC. 

Freeze’s dismissal comes after weeks of speculation surrounding his future. Auburn’s 4-5 record and 1-5 mark in SEC play ultimately sealed his fate. The Tigers have lost five of their last six games and were booed throughout Saturday night’s defeat, which included chants of “Fire Hugh” from the crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium. 

“I wish I could ask for patience, but that’s not really something that people want to give in this day and time,” Freeze said after the game. “I just know we’re so dang close, and if we had a few things go our way earlier in the year, I think we’re looking at a whole different deal.

Freeze, 56, went 15-19 overall and 6-16 in SEC play in nearly three seasons on the Plains. He was just 2-9 in home SEC games during his tenure. Auburn had been ranked as high as No. 22 earlier this season but collapsed offensively, scoring only 17 total points in its last two games.

Per On3’s Pete Nakos, Auburn administrators and top boosters held discussions overnight about Freeze’s future. His buyout is $15.8 million and considered one of the more manageable figures in the Power Four.

Freeze signed a six-year contract in 2023 worth an initial $6.5 million annually, with increases of $250,000 per year and a 75 percent payout of his remaining salary if fired without cause.

Auburn will now begin its search for a new head coach with speculation already swirling around potential replacements.

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