Auburn announces Hugh Freeze as head coach

One of the most notable programs in college football officially has its new head coach. The Auburn Tigers have now announced that former Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze will be the new leader of their program, taking over for the previously fired Bryan Harsin.

Freeze has a wealth of experience in the SEC, spending five seasons as the leader of the Ole Miss Rebels before leaving the program amid numerous recruiting and academic violations. Still, the on-field product was impressive, and Freeze even found a way to defeat Nick Saban, something that will be expected of him on The Plains.

However, the reason he’s being hired by the Tigers is the way he responded to his departure from the Rebels, taking his talents to Liberty and leading the Flames to immense success. Freeze took a couple seasons to regroup following the Ole Miss controversy and took over Liberty ahead of the 2019 season, where he’s since amassed an impressive record and captured multiple bowl victories in the process. In his four seasons at Liberty, Freeze went a combined 34-15 and never won less than eight games.

Auburn seeking spark under Freeze

“First, I want to acknowledge Cadillac Williams for the incredible job he did as interim head coach,” said Freeze as part of the official announcement. “The impact he made is immeasurable and cannot be overstated. Secondly, Auburn is one of the preeminent programs in college football and I’m very appreciative of President Roberts and John Cohen for this opportunity at Auburn. I’ve been fortunate to witness first-hand how special Auburn is during my time as a head coach in the SEC and while visiting my daughter Jordan who attended Auburn and currently lives in the community. I can’t wait to work with our student-athletes and the Auburn family to bring championships back to the Plains.”

In addition to Freeze’s introductory comments, Auburn AD John Cohen and President Christopher B. Roberts spoke about the hiring decision.

“After a thoughtful, thorough, and well-vetted search, we ended where we started, with Hugh Freeze. Of all the candidates we considered, Hugh was the best fit. Fit has several meanings, but the most important factors were student-athlete development, football strategy, recruiting and SEC experience,” explained Cohen.

“I’m pleased that our Athletics Director John Cohen conducted a detailed and thorough national search process, and I look forward to welcoming Hugh and Jill Freeze to the Plains. I am impressed with Coach Freeze’s focus on player development and his on-the-field success at multiple universities and at multiple levels,” said Roberts.

Harsin was hired in 2020, inheriting the program from Gus Malzahn. After his strong success at Boise State, Harsin was believed to be the man that would turn the Tigers around. But a 6-6 regular season and loss in the Birmingham Bowl in Year 1 had many uneasy about Harsin. Then, an offseason investigation into the program had many uneasy entering his second season.

Harsin made it just eight games in 2022 before he was fired. Auburn was only able to secure wins over Mercer, San Jose State and Missouri while Harsin was there. A four-game losing streak during the season resulted in Harsin’s mid-season firing.

Steve Samra contributed to this report