Hugh Freeze is likely to keep his job at Auburn even if his football team finishes the 2024 season with a 4-8 record. It seems the Tigers are prepared to give him enough leeway to continue coaching through the 2025 and 2026 seasons, regardless of performance.
247Sports’ Phillip Marshall shared this view on Twitter while responding to an Auburn professor questioning how long Freeze would be given to prove himself beyond just talk.
“He will get a third year and a fourth year,” Marshall stated on October 19. He added, “His bosses are fully supportive. They understand the mess he inherited and are impressed with his recruiting efforts.”
Hugh Freeze is lucky Bryan Harsin preceded him as Auburn football’s head coach
So now we’re back to blaming Bryan Harsin for Freeze’s continued losses, even though most of the current roster is made up of players Freeze recruited since taking over in November 2022?
It’s quite the cushy setup for Freeze: zero accountability since everything can always be pinned on the previous coach.
It makes sense to give Freeze some slack because the program isn’t where it should be yet. Auburn’s Week 8 loss to Missouri is a prime example of what happens when you’re not rushing to fire your coach. Eli Drinkwitz has worked wonders at Mizzou.
But seriously, in the NIL era, coaches are managing quick turnarounds in just one cycle. Sonny Dykes at TCU and Curt Cignetti at Indiana are proving that.
If you want to argue the SEC is a different animal, fair enough. Billy Napier is floundering at Florida, Brent Venables is struggling at Oklahoma, and even Kalen DeBoer is having a tough time with the program Nick Saban left him at Alabama.
But then there’s Lane Kiffin. Ole Miss became a 10-win team by his second season.
At some point, Freeze has to stop selling fans on future potential and start delivering results now.
Harsin won’t be a scapegoat forever. Unless, of course, you ask Auburn’s beat reporters, who might disagree.
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