It has not been an easy time for the Auburn head coach.
Hugh Freeze on Hot Seat Heading into 2025 College Football Season originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze has won everywhere he has been except for on The Plains.
He has a record of 11-14 after two seasons with the program and enters a crucial year in 2025. Freeze had winning records with Arkansas State (13-10), the Ole Miss Rebels (39-25), and Liberty (34-15).
On Wednesday, Freeze made the hot seat list of On3's Ari Wasserman, coming in at No. 3 behind Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables and Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier.
Freeze took the Tigers to a bowl game in 2023, but they lost to the Maryland Terrapins 31-13. Auburn missed a bowl game last season after a 5-7 finish.
"Auburn was the best bad football team last year, but the Tigers were torpedoed by terrible quarterback play," Wasserman said. "Though Freeze threw his quarterbacks under the bus during the season last year, you also have to remember that he is to blame for that after making public comments about how paying a quarterback seven figures in the transfer portal isn’t a good use of money. Are you sure about that, Hugh? Auburn course-corrected and brought in Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold, Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels, and true freshman Deuce Knight, so the Tigers should be much better at that position this year. Freeze has a chance to put a really good team on the field in 2025. If he doesn’t, he may have plenty of time to hit the golf course."
The Tigers went all in on the transfer portal this offseason, adding Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets receiver Eric Singleton Jr., and Virginia Tech Hokies offensive tackle Xavier Chaplin.
Freeze has made headlines this offseason for his comments defending his golfing during the offseason. He also defended Auburn's approach to recruiting after losing multiple key prospects in the 2026 class, stating the Tigers were playing the long game.
Year three of the Freeze era begins on August 29, as Auburn faces the Baylor Bears.
Related: Cam Newton Names Hardest Thing to do in Sports
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
