ESPN Puts Auburn’s Hugh Freeze on the Hot Seat in 2025
It should come as no surprise to Auburn Tigers supporters that head coach Hugh Freeze needs to make major progress by 2025.
In his two seasons on the Plains, Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze has an 11-14 record. Freeze’s inclusion on ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg’s coaching hot seat list for 2025 is therefore not surprising.
Among those joining Freeze are Florida State’s Mike Norvell, Oklahoma’s Brent Venables, and Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer.
Rittenberg notes that, in spite of the dismal condition of the program he took over, Freeze has already had two honeymoon campaigns that have fallen short of expectations.
Few could argue that Freeze didn’t fit Auburn’s improvement vision, despite the fact that his return to the SEC in late 2022 caused a lot of controversy, Rittenberg said on ESPN+. “Freeze had the roots and results in the deep South to turn things around, and Auburn’s staff had fallen off.” However, with Freeze sitting at 11-14 overall and 5-11 in SEC play, Tigers supporters are still holding out hope. During his tenure, he has lost at home against Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, New Mexico State, and Cal.
Time is not a luxury Freeze can presently afford, especially with stunning setbacks dotting his résumé, but if they connect, ambitious recruitment and strong local ties can begin to turn the program around.
Solving the never-ending puzzle under center is crucial to Freeze’s competitive survival in 2025, when the rubber meets the road.
Although Freeze is widely regarded as the recruiting genius, quarterback Jackson Arnold’s arrival through the transfer portal has all the makings of a swing for the fences. In 2023, Freeze’s destiny is probably linked to Arnold’s.
However, Rittenberg observed, “The roster is getting better as Auburn has added important transfers like wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. (Georgia Tech) and quarterback Jackson Arnold (Oklahoma) and has landed consecutive top-10 recruiting classes.” “Even though Freeze has a contract that expires in 2028, a breakthrough could result from a manageable 2025 schedule.”
Freeze may get a huge boost from moving on from the distinctively mediocre Payton Thorne, but he will need to be more understanding and patient with Arnold than he was with his previous quarterback.
Freeze’s problem is that he won’t have the patience to wait till 2025. Freeze’s path to quarterback-in-waiting Deuce Knight will also become more difficult if he doesn’t demonstrate a noticeable improvement with Arnold.
Reversing the team’s repeated mistakes against SEC opponents is also necessary since the supporters are tired of seeing Freeze’s Tigers come up with ever-more-interesting ways to lose games.
The Auburn Tigers of 2025 are in a far better place than they were when Freeze took over. He will have to prove that he is more than just a great salesman this season.
