Auburn fired head coach Hugh Freeze after two-plus seasons on Sunday.
The news comes one day after the Tigers (4-5, 1-5 Southeastern Conference) dropped a 10-3 home decision to Kentucky. Chants of “Fire Hugh!” were audible in the second half.
“At the end of the day, I’m frustrated, too,” Freeze said after the loss. “We all know that when we sign up for this. We accept it. I love what we’re doing here, but we haven’t gotten the results.”
Freeze, 56, fell to 15-19 overall and 6-16 in the SEC during his time with Auburn. He is owed $15.4 million in buyout money.
“I have informed Coach Freeze of my decision to make a change in leadership with the Auburn football program,” Tigers athletic director John Cohen said.
“Coach Freeze is a man of integrity, and we are appreciative of his investment in Auburn and his relentless work over the last three years in bolstering our roster. Our expectations for Auburn Football are to annually compete for championships and the search for the next leader of Auburn Football begins immediately.”
Cohen said defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin will serve in an interim head coaching role while the school looks for Freeze’s successor.
Freeze, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier in the year, was coach at Liberty for four seasons before taking the Auburn gig after the 2022 season. He also has held Division I coaching jobs at Arkansas State (2011) and Ole Miss (2012-16) and has a 98-62 record.
–Field Level Media
