Auburn fires head coach Hugh Freeze during third season

Auburn has fired head coach Hugh Freeze, according to On3’s Pete Nakos, Chris Low and Brett McMurphy. He was in his third season at the helm of the historic program. D.J. Durkin will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the year.

Auburn began the 2025 campaign with three consecutive wins, including a victory in its season-opener against Baylor. However, the Tigers’ season took a turn in Week 4, when they suffered a 24-17 loss to Oklahoma.

Auburn then lost its next three games, including a double-overtime loss to No. 16 Missouri. The Tigers fell to 3-4 on the season. Auburn bounced back with its first SEC win of the year in Week 9, taking down Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Alas, the good vibes were short-lived. A 10-3 loss to Kentucky on Saturday night ultimately led to Auburn bringing the Hugh Freeze era to an end. It was the program’s fifth loss in the last six games.

In three seasons at Auburn, Freeze posted a 15-19 overall record and a 6-16 mark in conference play. Freeze recorded six wins in his first season at Auburn, five in Year 2 and finishes with just four victories in his third and final season, which has been cut short.

Auburn will owe Freeze a $15.4 million buyout, per On3’s Pete Nakos. When he accepted to be Auburn’s head coach, Freeze signed a six-year contract that ran through 2028.

Before being hired at Auburn, Freeze was Liberty‘s head coach from 2019-22. Additionally, he was the head coach at Ole Miss from 2012-16. Freeze has also coached at Arkansas State and Lambuth.

Freeze was Bryan Harsin‘s replacement, who was fired after he led Auburn to a combined 11-14 record through two seasons. Auburn football hasn’t had a winning season since 2020 when the program finished 6-5. Moreover, Auburn hasn’t posted a 10-win season since 2017.

In February, Hugh Freeze was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Freeze had the option to remove the cancer in June, but ultimately chose to delay the surgery until January to avoid it interfering with Auburn’s football season.

“In consultation with the doctors that we’re dealing with, they think that if mentally I can handle waking up at night knowing you have something in you that you don’t want in you, they don’t feel like I have to be in a hurry to do something,” Freeze said in the spring. “I can handle the mental side of it.

“Doc called me the other day and he’s been awesome, Doctor Bugg out of Birmingham. He doesn’t think it’s a big difference in June or January, other than can I handle it, the mental side of it? And, I said, ‘Really, Doc, the only time I think about it is when you call me.”

Auburn’s search for a next head coach will begin immediately. The Tigers’ next leader will be their 30th head coach in program history.