One day after a lifeless three-point home loss to Kentucky, Auburn fired head coach Hugh Freeze, ending a three-season slog of offensive sputters and SEC faceplants.

Athletic director John Cohen thanked Freeze for his “integrity” and effort, then made it plain.

Auburn expects to hunt trophies, and the coaching search starts now. Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin takes over as interim.

The numbers are brutal.

Freeze exits 15–19 overall and 6–16 in SEC play, the worst three-year league start on The Plains since the early 1950s.

This year’s team sits 4-5 (1-5 SEC) with Vanderbilt, Mercer, and you-know-who (Alabama) still looming.

A once-hyped offense never lifted off. Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold stalled, went three straight SEC games without a TD pass, and was benched for Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels.

Kentucky sacked Auburn seven times, and “Fire Freeze” chants echoed.

There’s a price tag, too. A reported $15.4 million buyout, nearly mirroring what Auburn paid to move on from Bryan Harsin is in place.

Meanwhile, a 2026 recruiting class has cratered into one of the program’s weakest of the modern rankings era.

Auburn becomes the SEC’s third midseason pink slip of 2025 after Arkansas dumped Sam Pittman and Florida cut ties with Billy Napier.

Early buzz points to rising star Jon Sumrall, an Alabama native who flipped Troy fast and pushed Tulane into the AAC title fight, as a prime target.

He checks the toughness box and has hired offensive minds.

As for Freeze, 56, health and a battered market complicate a quick rebound. For Auburn, the mandate is simple: find a closer, fix the line, and stop wasting elite receivers.

The Iron Bowl will tell us plenty about who still has fight left in that locker room. Expect movement quickly.