Soccer coach Hugh Freeze, whose 15-19 document in his two-plus seasons at Auburn was capped by a listless house loss to Kentucky on Saturday, has been fired, athletic director John Cohen introduced Sunday.
Freeze, 56, can be owed $15.8 million in buyout cash, with no mitigation, after he signed a six-year, $49 million deal to exchange Bryan Harsin in 2022. He’s the eighth Energy 4 coach to be fired this season.
“I’ve knowledgeable Coach Freeze of my determination to make a change in management with the Auburn soccer program,” Cohen mentioned in an announcement. “Coach Freeze is a person of integrity, and we’re appreciative of his funding in Auburn and his relentless work during the last three years in bolstering our roster. Our expectations for Auburn soccer are to yearly compete for championships and the seek for the subsequent chief of Auburn soccer begins instantly.”
Defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin has been named interim head coach of the Tigers.
A lot of the SEC offseason highlight targeted on Freeze, solely heightening the necessity for a powerful begin for the Tigers. In his time at Auburn, he had a 6-16 mark within the SEC, and his tenure was marked by excruciating house losses to New Mexico State, Cal, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Oklahoma.
This system’s offensive points continued below Freeze, with the Tigers scoring 24 or fewer factors in 17 of his 22 SEC video games. He additionally ended up on the fallacious finish of too many shut matchups, together with twice this season thanks partly to questionable calls.
Freeze, who was recognized with prostate most cancers earlier this 12 months, improved the roster heading into this season, touchdown consecutive top-10 recruiting lessons. He additionally added key transfers corresponding to quarterback Jackson Arnold (Oklahoma) and large receiver Eric Singleton Jr. (Georgia Tech). Mixed with a manageable 2025 schedule and a contract that ran by the 2028 season, it appeared the items had been in place for Freeze to writer a breakthrough.
“I believe it is as settled as we have been as a program, the continuity of our workers, the items of our workers that we have added and what we have been capable of do in constructing our roster in highschool recruiting and within the portal,” Freeze instructed ESPN in April. “Now, we have to go compete and win some extra video games, however I do not really feel any sense of panic. We’re on our solution to getting the place we need to be and the place we ought to be.”
The Tigers by no means obtained there. A 3-0 begin within the nonconference portion of the schedule, together with a formidable 38-24 win over Baylor on opening night time, rapidly fizzled in league play. The Tigers had been aggressive of their first 4 SEC video games however had been on the shedding aspect of all 4, together with a deflating 23-17 loss at house to Missouri on Oct. 18, a recreation Auburn led 17-10 within the fourth quarter in entrance of a prime-time viewers.
A comeback win on the highway at Arkansas quickly adopted, however the Tigers had been unable to take care of momentum. Saturday night time’s 10-3 loss at house to Kentucky, which got here full with “Hearth Hugh!” chants within the second half, finally proved to be the tip because the Tigers fell to 4-5 (1-5 SEC).
“On the finish of the day, I am annoyed too,” Freeze mentioned after the loss. “Everyone knows that after we join this. We settle for it. I really like what we’re doing right here, however we have not gotten the outcomes.”
Freeze ends his run with out recording a successful season at Auburn in three tries. In truth, the Tigers final had a successful season in 2020, after they had been 6-5. And so they have received greater than eight video games solely twice (2017, 2019) since enjoying for the nationwide championship in 2013.
Freeze additionally went 1-12 towards ranked groups.
“I want I may ask for endurance, however that is not one thing that folks need to give on this day and time, and I perceive that,” Freeze mentioned Saturday night time. “I simply suppose we’re so dang shut.”
Auburn can be in search of its fourth soccer coach in seven seasons. The Tigers fired Gus Malzahn in 2020, Harsin in 2022 and now Freeze. Mixed, the college will find yourself paying $52.5 million in buyout charges.
The Related Press contributed to this report.