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Head Coach of Storied SEC Program Named to Hot Seat Ahead of 2025 Season

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Grant Bricker | Last updated Jul 9, 2025 7:08 PM ET

The Auburn Tigers have not had the best of luck since the Gus Malzahn era.

Bryan Harsin coached Auburn for two seasons before being fired midway through 2022. The Tigers are now in the third year of the Hugh Freeze era without a winning season.

CBS Sports' Shehan Jeyarajah mentioned Freeze's name as a part of the hot seat rankings for 2025. Freeze found himself in the "starting improving now" tier of the rankings.

The Auburn head coach is 11-14 entering 2025 and comes off a 5-7 finish to the 2024 campaign.

He went 6-7 in 2023 after losing to the Maryland Terrapins 31-13 in the Music City Bowl.

"Hiring Freeze was uncomfortable enough after the way things ended at Ole Miss, and one of the worst starts to a tenure in program history only makes matters worse," Jeyarajah said. "Freeze went 11-14 in his first two seasons as Auburn faces its worst stretch since the 1950s. He's built from the ground up in recruiting, but results have to come in 2025."

Auburn had top-10 classes for 2024 and 2025 via On3 Sports, but things have fallen off in the 2026 cycle.

At one time, Auburn's 2026 class was ranked No. 8 on On3 Sports, but much has changed since then. The Tigers had four-star linebacker Shadarius Toodle flip to the Georgia Bulldogs, and lost four-star receiver Denairius Gray to the Kentucky Wildcats.

The Tigers also had four-star receiver Devin Carter flip to the Florida State Seminoles. Florida State also landed four-star Auburn tight end target Xavier Tiller.

Freeze and Auburn face the Baylor Bears to open year three. The kickoff is scheduled for August 29 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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