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Hugh Freeze is a coach who could be on the hot seat heading into the 2025 season.
Freeze was one of the coaches featured in ESPN’s way-too-early hot seat breakdown that was published on Monday. Freeze was listed under the “We want this to work” section along with other SEC coaches like Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer and Oklahoma’s Brent Venables.
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg penned the piece and provided his reasoning for including each coach. Here’s a snippet of analysis that Rittenberg provided about Freeze:
Freeze’s return to the SEC in late 2022 sparked widespread reaction, but few could deny he fit Auburn’s vision for improvement. Auburn’s personnel had dropped off, and Freeze had the roots and results in the deep South to turn things around. But Tigers fans are still waiting, as Freeze sits at 11-14 overall and 5-11 in SEC play. His tenure includes home losses to New Mexico State, Cal, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Oklahoma.
While an 11-14 record through 2 seasons is disappointing, Rittenberg also provided Tigers’ fans with some reason for optimism.
The roster is improving, though, as Auburn landed consecutive top-10 recruiting classes and has added key transfers such as quarterback Jackson Arnold (Oklahoma) and wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. (Georgia Tech). A manageable 2025 schedule could lead to a breakthrough, which Freeze needs despite a contract that runs through the 2028 season.
The hope is that with Arnold in tow, the Tigers will finally be able to solidify the QB position and be able to win these close games. Of the Tigers’ 7 losses in 2024, 5 were by 10 or fewer points.
If Hugh Freeze can’t get the team to improve, however, it wouldn’t be surprising to see someone else captaining the ship come 2026. Auburn’s head coach before Freeze, Bryan Harsin, was fired after compiling a 9-12 record in 2 seasons. Freeze’s winning percentage is only slightly better, so the leash is likely short.
Bryce Lazenby covers college football for Saturday Down South. A Nashville native, his previous stops include FanSided, Dimers, and The Leaf-Chronicle.
