Hugh Freeze addresses hot seat rumors, outside noise: ‘We signed up for it’

There was no doubt that Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers needed a win over the weekend against Arkansas. They got that, but it still wasn’t enough to completely slow down the growing hot seat rumors and outside noise.

For Freeze, that can’t be the focus during the season, though. It’s obviously difficult to avoid that outside noise, particularly for players. In that way, it can become a challenge, but as Freeze addressed after their game on Saturday, that’s pressure that comes with the job.

“I’ll tell you, man,” Hugh Freeze said. “My faith in what God has for me with wins, losses, you obviously carry the weight of the building. I read zero, so I don’t know. I just know what players – I went in the locker room Tuesday after practice, and I had fun with our players, and just went locker to locker and made them show me their screen time average of what their screen time is a week, and it’s sad, really, what they average. Then you look at what apps. I mean, we had a great time, but I’m like, ‘Y’all are wasting a lot of time.’ But that tells you what I know that they have to be, what has to be infiltrating their mind.”

Hugh Freeze got to Auburn in 2023 and since then has produced inconsistent results on the field. That included missing a bowl a season ago. Now, sitting at 4-4, he’s fighting to get back to bowl eligibility. The Tigers also entered the Arkansas game on a four-game losing streak, which was a major reason for all of the added outside pressure.

“But you know, this is not about me, really,” Freeze said. “I know that we’re leading this program the right way. I know how close we are, and I know how tight this staff is and how hard they’re working. So yes, man, this is a breath of fresh air.”

Hugh Freeze is the third head coach Auburn has had since 2020. That was the last season for Gus Malzahn with the program. After that was the Bryan Harsin saga and now the Hugh Freeze era. It was clear this was a job that came with massive expectations even when Freeze landed the job. That’s part of why he’s considered to be on the hot seat now.

“But you know, when you sign up for these, you’re fighting for your life from Game 1. And that’s what we do. And we signed up for it. It’s hard on the families that have to hear all of it, I’m sure, and wonder about what’s next and all of that. But I just can’t give that power. Just go to work today and the next day and the next day and be consistent in front of these kids and this staff and man, just make sure they see a consistency in me,” Freeze said. “And that comes from me being grounded with good friends and faith.”

This all comes in the week following Hugh Freeze stepping to the mic and saying, “It would be huge” to get a public vote of confidence from AD John Cohen. In a way, it emphasized that he was very aware of the hot seat talk going on within the program.

Next up for Auburn is a return home. There, the Tigers are set to host the Kentucky Wildcats as one of their three remaining SEC opponents.