Things are a lot tougher for the Auburn Tigers’ head coach. Hugh Freeze took over the program two years ago, which had reached one of its lowest points. History says, Freeze is the first Auburn Tigers coach in half a century to get a third year on the job after two losing seasons. While his seat gets hotter, he now has to fight a personal battle, too. He has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Freeze understands there are dozens of factors that can play into a team failing to live up to expectations. Right now, concerns loom about the Tigers’ playoff hopes. That’s when Freeze chose to break the silence. Meanwhile, the head coach accepted the damage that came with costly blunders.
“I wonder if Auburn wasn’t sold a bill of goods on (Freeze). If you take away those wins against Nick Saban, what exactly has Hugh Freeze accomplished as a football coach?” As usual, Freeze fell prey to Paul Finebaum’s watchful eyes. Going by the buzz, the Auburn head coach’s buyout numbers, worth $20.3 billion, had already started to do the rounds. And guess what fanned to Freeze’s hot seat? The transfer portal chaos. Auburn lost 21 players. Amidst all this, Freeze too knows that their chances of making it to the playoffs run thin. But yet then, he faces the media and the brutal reality, calling out for a need of “re-education.” He shared, “The days of teams running the gauntlet, two and three years in a row of 12-0, those days are in the past. We need to adopt more of the NFL mindset.”
Two-plus minutes of Hugh Freeze when asked if he’d like to see the #SEC go to nine conference games.
“Right now, if you’re Auburn, if you’re not going to the playoffs, people are saying it’s not the best season. So, we’ve got to do something to put a realistic hope on it, like… pic.twitter.com/CDNwCLNKMj
— Davis Baker (@DavisBakerTV) May 17, 2025
But what’s so different in the pro league? Well, if an NFL program loses six games, that’s not the end of their run. Rather, their doors remain open and nobody robs them of their eligibility to make it to the playoffs and eventually bring home a Super Bowl. The examples are plenty. Pittsburgh Steelers [10-6], Los Angeles Chargers [9-6], Los Angeles Rams [9-6], along with a couple of others. So what does Freeze want? “Take our top 8. Forget the championship games..play us against the top 8…see who gets into the 16-team playoff.” However, his demand is far removed from reality.
“Right now, if you’re Auburn, if you’re not going to the playoffs, people are saying it’s not the best season. So, we’ve got to do something to put a realistic hope on it, like the NFL.” Last season, Freeze was called out for wrapping up the season with a 5-7 overall record. So, he now requests that college football be more lenient. If the pro league can do it, why can’t they? “You go 8-4 in this league playing nine games especially, you probably deserve at least a shot to get in the thing.” While we are yet to figure out whether college football considers his opinion or not, Freeze has to clear the mess.
Hugh Freeze owns the offensive mess
The analysts have already painted a bleak future for Freeze and the Tigers. Connor O’Gara explored the question— “Who’s got more pressure? Brian Kelly or Hugh Freeze?” To which he came with a confident reply, “Hugh Freeze, for his job. Hugh Freeze is the hottest seat of anybody in college football, and maybe I’ll get push back from that… more than Napier.” One of the biggest reasons Freeze gets this pushback is because of his choice to ride with Payton Thorne.
The quarterback struggled to protect the pigskin and turned the ball over nine times with eight interceptions and one lost fumble. But why put the blame on his starting quarterback when the whole of Freeze’s offensive strategy was faulty, with no future. And the head coach can no longer push it under the rug and instead owns up to the mistakes made. “I kind of lost a little on Payton, and I blamed myself for some of Payton’s deals publicly. Our roster didn’t look exactly like the elite yet last year, the year before. But the reality is we still could have won four games, four more games.”
They say mistakes are one’s biggest teachers. The Tigers’ last winning season came in 2020, when they went 6-5 in the final season under Gus Malzahn. Hugh Freeze is yet to prove himself. So, from here, the head coach’s journey of redemption begins. “I’m not a fool. I think we have to go to a bowl game…We could have won more games last year. And we’ve got to make sure we’re excellent in those areas that cost us.” Now, what’s the key to CFP success? To stop turning the ball over. Freeze’s boys recorded 13 interceptions this past season. The Auburn defense forced 4 turnovers in the Iron Bowl. Freeze needs to freeze his legacy this season—there’s no room for another meltdown.
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