Freeze's Job Security at Auburn Trending Downward

Following the Texas A&M game, calls to fire Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze have increased tenfold.

Most logic behind these cries follows one of two reasons: Freeze’s lack of production in Auburn or that he’s seemingly unable to fix week-to-week problems, particularly with his offense.

ESPN weighed in on this discourse, stating that Freeze’s job security isn’t much better than Arkansas’ Sam Pittman, who was relieved from duty following the Razorbacks’ blowout loss to Notre Dame.

“[Freeze] was brought to The Plains with the expressed intent of ending Nick Saban's dynasty and building an offensive juggernaut as he had done at Ole Miss and Liberty before,” ESPN’s David Hale wrote. “Freeze managed the first job by default, with Saban retiring... The second task, however, has proved more difficult, and on Saturday, Auburn's offense mustered just 155 total yards against Texas A&M, racking up more penalties (10) and as many punts (nine) as first downs.”

The coach who came in promising an offensive juggernaut didn’t seem to be present in College Station, as the Tigers’ defense was truly the story of the game. The DJ Durkin-coached squad held a Texas A&M team that averaged over 40 points per game to just 16 points and had a 73-yard interception return that put the Tigers on the 2-yard line, leading to the offense’s only touchdown of the day.

Now through 30 games at Auburn, Freeze is 14-16 with an abysmal 5-13 record in SEC play. His quarterbacks have struggled immensely, whether it showed up in Payton Thorne’s interceptions or Jackson Arnold’s struggles to read defenses, leading to sacks.

Even recruiting, which Freeze was heralded for in his first two seasons, appears to have taken a downturn this year. In Freeze’s first two seasons with the Tigers, he boasted two top-10 recruiting classes. This year, his class is ranked just 31st in the nation.

It also doesn't help that Freeze has been given a relatively longer leash than previous Auburn coaches after being given a third year after back-to-back losing seasons to begin a tenure.

Simply put, things aren’t going Freeze’s way as of late, and if things don’t turn around soon, he could find himself joining the ranks of Pittman, former Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, former UCLA head coach Deshaun Foster and former Virginia Tech head coach Brent Prye.

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