Hugh Freeze Reportedly Fired by Auburn amid $15M Contract Buyout After Kentucky Loss

Auburn has fired football coach Hugh Freeze after a 4-5 start to the 2025 season, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Sunday.

DJ Durkin will take over as interim head coach in Freeze's absence, per Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.

Freeze was under contract through 2029 thanks to the six-year deal he signed with Auburn in November 2022.

He was making $6.7 million this season on a contract with a buyout price of $15.4 million, according to USA Today.

The news comes after Auburn was held to three points in an upset Saturday night loss to Kentucky that dropped the program's record to 15-19 under Freeze.

Durkin is in his second year as the Tigers' defensive coordinator. Auburn ranked 31st in the FBS with just over 330 opponent yards per game allowed during Durkin's first season with the team.

That buyout is equal to 75 percent of the money remaining on Freeze's deal, according to On3's Pete Nakos.

Those terms are currently set to leave Auburn on the hook for $406,105 per month through January 2029, per Nakos.

USA Today notes that buyouts are contingent on dismissals made without cause, and that some are offset by income received by the fired coach at their next job.

The Tigers aren't the only college football program to take on a significant bill in order to move on from their head coach this season. LSU and Penn State fired Brian Kelly and James Franklin earlier this season despite each coach holding respective buyouts of around $50 million.

Freeze started out his SEC coaching career with Ole Miss, where he coached from 2012 to 2016. He then coached Liberty before arriving in Auburn in time for the 2023 season, during which the Tigers went 6-7 and qualified for a bowl game.

The Tigers took a step back with a 5-7 campaign in 2024, although things looked set to improve after Freeze's program started out the 2025 season with three straight non-conference wins.

Auburn has since gone 1-5 in SEC play, capped off by a Saturday loss in which the Tigers were sacked seven times while losing to the Wildcats for the first time since 2009.

The Tigers were coming off a win over Arkansas, but a loss to a team that had yet to claim any victories in SEC play was apparently the final straw for Freeze's tenure.

This slide has come amid a dip in the program's recruiting rankings. According to 247Sports rankings, Auburn's 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes ranked among the top eight in the FBS.

But Auburn's struggles last season led to several key players de-committing from the Class of 2026, which is currently ranked No. 32 by 247Sports.

Auburn will now look to try and keep remaining recruits with the program by securing Freeze's replacement.

There will be plenty of demand for top candidates, however, given that SEC rivals including LSU, Florida and Arkansas have also parted ways with their head coaches this season.