The Hugh Freeze era at Auburn is over.
According to multiple reports, Freeze has been fired in the midst of his third season as head coach of the Tigers. Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin will assume interim head coaching duties for the remainder of the season, per ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Freeze signed a six-year contract worth $39 million in 2022. His buyout will be $15.4 million.
"I have informed Coach Freeze of my decision to make a change in leadership with the Auburn Football program," Auburn athletic director John Cohen said in a release. "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. Our expectations for Auburn Football are to annually compete for championships and the search for the next leader of Auburn Football begins immediately.”
After the Auburn faithful, or what remained, watched their beloved Tigers fall to what was a 2-5 Kentucky team on Saturday in a 10-3 loss, the “Fire Hugh” chants broke out.
It marked the inevitable end for Freeze and his endeavors in orange and blue.
Freeze accumulated a 15-19 overall record during his tenure on the Plains and was just 6-16 in SEC games (.272). He was 9-11 overall at home, winning just two of the five conference matchups in Jordan-Hare Stadium. He posted a 2-10 record against Power 4 opponents at home, making him the third coach in program history to record a losing record inside his home stadium. He beat one ranked opponent in 12 matchups and was the only coach in program history to start off 0-5 against the Tigers’ archrivals: Georgia and Alabama.
Additionally, Auburn was 2-10 in one-possession games since his arrival in 2023. All of the Tigers' losses this season have been by one possession.
Auburn’s recruiting rankings under Freeze ranked 19th in 2023 – although it wasn’t his first full recruiting class – eighth in 2024 and sixth in 2025, per 247Sports’ recruiting rankings. Freeze had the Tigers ranked 32nd overall in the 2026 class before his departure.
Auburn sits at 4-5 on the season and will have a chance to keep its aspirations of a bowl appearance alive on Saturday against Vanderbilt.
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