Three seasons at Auburn is enough for the Tigers, as Hugh Freeze is out. The Auburn athletic department leadership made the call, letting Freeze go from his head coaching duties on Sunday after the Tigers lost to Kentucky 10-3 at their home on the Plains.
In three seasons leading the Tigers, Freeze never had a winning record. When the Auburn faithful decided to let Freeze know that a 4-5 overall mark in the 2025 college football season wasn’t good enough, that might have tipped the scales.
Freeze came into the job with the SEC school after four consecutive winning seasons at Liberty. Still, that didn’t help Freeze one bit, and Auburn could not change its fortunes.
How Bad Has It Gotten For Auburn’s Hugh Freeze?
Auburn beat reporter Justin Hokanson reached Freeze for a comment and the now-former Tigers head coach said, “Tough day. Love this place.”
Auburn athletic director John Cohen issued a statement on Sunday afternoon about the change in head coaches. “I have informed Coach Freeze of my decision to make a change in leadership with the Auburn Football program,” Cohen said.
“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,” Cohen said. “Our expectations for Auburn Football are to annually compete for championships and the search for the next leader of Auburn Football begins immediately.”
ESPN College Football Senior Writer Pete Thamel broke the news in a post on X on Sunday afternoon, giving context to what happened with Freeze at the school.
Sources: Auburn has fired coach Hugh Freeze. He’s gone 6-16 in the SEC over his three seasons and 15-19 overall. After losing to Kentucky last night to fall to 4-5, Auburn is in danger of having a losing record for third-straight year. pic.twitter.com/aaVjkJpcF9
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 2, 2025
Another note from Thamel on Sunday afternoon: “Per ESPN sources, DC D.J. Durkin is expected to be the interim coach.” Thamel also reported about Freeze’s buyout deal with the school: “Freeze’s buyout today is $15.8 million, and the money is not subject to offset and mitigation. So he’ll be owed all of it no matter what he does next.”
The tea leaves were spread out on Sunday morning. On3 college football insider Pete Nakos broke some important news, as there is reportedly a team meeting scheduled to take place on Sunday.
Sources tell @On3sports that a team meeting will be called at Auburn later today. https://t.co/er4peHwn2u https://t.co/5ThqcMVJUv
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) November 2, 2025
Auburn fans have been looking for any sign that the school might move on from Freeze, who also served as head coach at Arkansas State and Ole Miss before his tenure with Liberty.
Apparently, Freeze’s scheduled Sunday morning tee time was cancelled. According to a post on X, which might have been the final straw in seeing Freeze get bounced from being the Tigers’ head coach, his tee time was nixed.
BREAKING: The standing Sunday 1:30pm tee time held by Head Coach Hugh Freeze at the Auburn University Club has been CANCELLED.
We’ve attached screenshots of the tee sheet change. A shakeup on the plains is imminent. pic.twitter.com/kUQt92CJc3
— jack (@great_tweeter) November 2, 2025
“BREAKING: The standing Sunday 1:30pm tee time held by Head Coach Hugh Freeze at the Auburn University Club has been CANCELLED,” according to this post. “We’ve attached screenshots of the tee sheet change. A shakeup on the plains is imminent.”
BREAKING: The standing Sunday 1:30pm tee time held by Head Coach Hugh Freeze at the Auburn University Club has been CANCELLED.
We’ve attached screenshots of the tee sheet change. A shakeup on the plains is imminent. pic.twitter.com/kUQt92CJc3
— jack (@great_tweeter) November 2, 2025
After they watched the Tigers fall apart against Kentucky, whose head coach, Mark Stoops, is also on the hot seat, Auburn fans stuck around.
They let Freeze and the Auburn leadership know that they wanted Freeze gone, chanting vociferously, “Fire Hugh!”
NEW: Auburn fans stayed after the loss to Kentucky to chant “Fire Hugh”😬
(via @mikegittens)https://t.co/IcDKL9mYOS pic.twitter.com/CdXUh92sV6
— On3 (@On3sports) November 2, 2025
According to the PFSN College Impact metrics, the Tigers’ offense has a 78.8 Offense Impact Score and grades out at a C+. On defense, the Defense Impact Score is 86.6 and grades out at a B. As for the Tigers’ offensive line, it has an 81.9 score and grades out at B-.
As Freeze leaves, the Auburn athletic leadership will now look for a new head coach.