Auburn’s third-year coach says decisions about his job are beyond his scope
Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze didn’t sugarcoat things after Saturday night’s 23-17 double-overtime loss to No. 16 Missouri — the Tigers’ fourth straight defeat in SEC play.
Auburn held a 17-10 lead in the fourth quarter before Missouri tied the game on Ahmad Hardy’s 3-yard touchdown run with just over five minutes to play. Two scoreless overtime drives sealed another frustrating loss, leaving Freeze visibly disappointed after yet another missed chance against a ranked opponent.
“Listen, we all know what we signed up for, and I certainly know we fit what Auburn is all about,” Freeze said when asked about his message to fans and his job security. “But Auburn is also about winning football. We’re going to come to work Monday and get our kids ready to play Arkansas. These kids are playing their guts out, and I know we’ve raised the talent level here, but at the end of the day, you have to win football games.
“I don’t make those decisions, those calls. I just know God’s called me here to lead these young men through a challenging and difficult time. I’m not enjoying this part of it, but when you’re called to have backbone and do the job you’ve been asked to do, you do it faithfully — and as well as you can — until that time no longer exists.”
Before the season, Freeze said Auburn was entering the year with an “expectant” mindset, confident in its ability to compete in the SEC. But that optimism hasn’t translated into wins, and Saturday marked the team’s third single-possession loss of the season.
Now in his third year at Auburn, Freeze was already on several national “hot seat” lists entering 2025. One of his SEC peers, Arkansas’ Sam Pittman, has already been dismissed, and Florida’s Billy Napier faces mounting pressure as well.
Freeze had suffered only one losing season prior to taking over at Auburn in 2023, but back-to-back seven-loss campaigns and this year’s slow start have created growing uncertainty about his future.
Athletic director John Cohen tried to ease speculation earlier this week, saying it’s “not my expectation at this point” to make a coaching change — but added, “never say never” amid the team’s ongoing struggles.
“I don’t know if I’ll walk outside and my car will start, but I expect it to,” Auburn athletic director John Cohen told AL.com’s Peter Rauterkus on Monday. “If it doesn’t start enough times, then I’ll have to evaluate that and make a decision about my car. But that’s not my expectation right now when it comes to our football program.”
Hugh Freeze’s struggles in conference play have become hard to ignore — he’s just 5-15 against SEC opponents since taking over at Auburn, and the Tigers have now dropped 11 of their last 13 league games.
“This just sucks,” Freeze admitted after the latest loss. “There’s nothing you can say to make anyone in that locker room feel better. Our fans are incredible, and we’d love nothing more than to be celebrating at Toomer’s Corner with them right now. But the reality is, we’re still not finding ways to win football games.”
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