Freeze fired after three mostly miserable seasons

Auburn is moving on from head coach Hugh Freeze.

The embattled coach, hired less that three years ago to clean up the stain of Bryan Harsin’s wasteful tenure, lost one game too many against Kentucky on Saturday. That dropped the Tigers’ record to 4-5 and again left the Tigers as one of the Southeastern Conference’s weakest teams.

Freeze and Auburn parted ways Sunday afternoon.

Freeze’s promises of championships ultimately were empty. His tenure ended with a record of 15-19 — and without a signature win.

The marriage between Auburn and Freeze started on good terms. He was able to salvage what could have been a disastrous Class of 2023 by snagging a trio of foundational players in Keldric Faulk, Jalen McLeod and Connor Lew. His 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes finished in the Top 10 of On3’s Football Industry Rankings.

Freeze and his staff made good on their promises of improving the roster.

Still, those steps forward never translated into success on the field. Freeze finished with an overall record of 15-19 and a conference record of 6-15. Those figures make him the least successful Auburn coach to have lasted at least three years since 1950.

The biggest issue was Freeze’s difficulties at quarterback. His unbridled enthusiasm for former Michigan State starter Payton Thorne was misguided as the Illinois native serially struggled to have a consistently positive influence on the attack. Thorne also made critical errors at critical moments — most notably the pick-six in a loss to Oklahoma in 2024.

Auburn reset at the position ahead of the 2025 season with former Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold. Freeze once again found his offense slowed by ineffectiveness behind center — this time due to Arnold’s unwillingness to throw the ball downfield. It severely limited Auburn’s offensive ceiling despite having millions in NIL funds wrapped up in wideouts Cam Coleman, Eric Singleton Jr., Malcolm Simmons and Perry Thompson.

The coup de grace came Saturday night in a 10-3 home loss to hapless Kentucky. The Tigers couldn’t pass effectively, couldn’t run effectively and conceded a whopping 12 tackles for loss.

The transfer portal doesn’t open for current Auburn players until five days after the program announces a new head coach. That window then will last 15 days.