Just as this past season was a defining one for Ohio State’s Ryan Day, next year will be a critical campaign for Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze. With Auburn making significant strides in recruiting and the transfer portal, the expectations are higher than ever. The time has come for Freeze to deliver results on the field.
Auburn has not posted a winning season since the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, and while much of the blame has been placed on Bryan Harsin’s tumultuous tenure, Freeze has yet to provide the turnaround Auburn fans anticipated. After 25 games, both coaches share the same record: 11-14.
While Freeze’s position isn’t immediately at risk, patience could run out if Auburn fails to capitalize on its bolstered roster, particularly on offense. The Tigers have secured several top-tier recruits and transfers, leaving Freeze no room for excuses.
Among the program’s recent acquisitions is former five-star quarterback Jackson Arnold, a transfer from Oklahoma who brings renewed hope to Auburn’s struggling offense. Arnold, who faced an inconsistent role at Oklahoma, is poised to take the reins. In addition to Arnold, Auburn added Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels and fended off a strong push from Ole Miss to land high four-star quarterback Deuce Knight, a promising talent for the future.
Despite the upgraded roster, Freeze must show he can turn potential into performance. Auburn’s offensive issues were glaring last season, with the team scoring more than 21 points in only two SEC games – a 24-10 win over Kentucky and a 43-41 victory over Texas A&M in quadruple overtime. The rest of the season highlighted the Tigers’ offensive struggles, including 14 points against Arkansas, 13 against Georgia, and just seven against Vanderbilt.
The last time Auburn endured this many consecutive losing seasons was from 1946 to 1950. If the Tigers fail to achieve a winning record next season, Freeze’s tenure could come to an abrupt end.
SEC Unfiltered analyst Chris Phillips ranked Freeze 15th out of 16 SEC head coaches and said he's almost lost faith that Hugh Freeze can be the answer.