As the college football coaching carousel continues, Auburn is the latest school to a head coaching change, firing veteran coach Hugh Freeze. The school made the move official on Sunday, naming defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin as interim head coach.
Official announcement from Auburn pic.twitter.com/zVbRIHhGKI
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) November 2, 2025
The Tigers lost to Kentucky on Saturday, handing the Wildcats their first SEC win of the year while Auburn fell to 4-5 on the season. That includes a 1-5 record in the SEC coming off a three-game winning streak to open the year.
Auburn hired Freeze almost three years ago from Liberty, but the head coach hasn't been able find success in the SEC like he once did at Ole Miss. Now, with schools like Penn State, LSU and Arkansas entering the offseason with a head coach opening, Auburn joins them.
The Tigers haven't been relevant in the SEC in almost a decade, while many of its rivals have competed for the national championship. Here's a breakdown of why Auburn and Freeze parted ways.
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Why did Auburn fire Hugh Freeze?
Hugh Freeze was in the middle of his third season with Auburn and has failed to get the Tigers back to the top of the SEC. The Tigers hired Freeze before the 2023 season, but the head coach had two-straight seven-loss seasons to begin his tenure, and has gone just 4-5 this year.
Most recently, Freeze's Tigers lost 10-3 to a Kentucky team that hadn't won a game in SEC play previously this year. Auburn began the year 3-0, which included a season-opening win over Baylor, but the team has gone 1-5 in its SEC schedule, with the lone win coming against Arkansas on October 25.
While rival Alabama looks to make another national championship run, Auburn is facing a fifth-straight losing season and sixth-straight season with no more than six wins. Since making the BCS championship in 2013, Auburn has just one double-digit win season, a 10-4 campaign in 2017.
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Hugh Freeze contract buyout
Freeze initially signed a six-year deal worth around $39 million with Auburn ahead of the 2023 season. As part of the deal, Freeze has a buyout worth just over $15 million this year, according to USA Today, which doesn't even crack the top 25 in highest buyouts among college coaches, per On3.
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Hugh Freeze Auburn record
| Year | Record (conference) |
| 2023 | 6-7 (3-5) |
| 2024 | 5-7 (2-6) |
| 2025 | 4-5 (1-5) |
Freeze hasn't produced a winning record at Auburn and only won six games in 22 SEC contests over the past three seasons. Freeze, who previously totaled winning records with both Ole Miss and Liberty, has a 15-19 career record in three years at Auburn.