Auburn University AD John Cohen didn't have to tether his tenure with the Tigers to head football coach Hugh Freeze. He did, though, and now he may be at risk of being replaced like the Oxford, Mississippi, native.
Bama Hammer's Ronald Evans warned Cohen of doing that very thing on Monday morning.
"Hugh Freeze has not been fired or agreed to a buyout settlement yet. It is only a matter of time until it happens. If Auburn AD John Cohen hunkers down steadfastly and ties his future to Freeze, Cohen's job will be in jeopardy," Evans wrote.
"No matter what John Cohen wants, Auburn's power brokers are not going to accept a 3-5 SEC record in Freeze's third season. The Tigers will have an interim head coach in any bowl game."
What Cohen wants, apparently, is to stick by Freeze.
“I don’t know if I’m going to walk outside and my car is going to start or not, I think it is,” Cohen said. “I have an expectation it will. But if my car doesn’t start enough, then I will evaluate that and make decisions about my car. But that’s not my expectation at this point about our football program.”
Cohen oversaw the transition from Bruce Pearl to his son Steven, while Freeze was his first major hire. The 2025-26 athletic calendar will be make-or-break for Cohen's tenure. A hire with the potential to be called out for nepotism and Freeze's continued struggles could amount to a whirlwind of negative momentum for AU athletics.
Cohen is supposed to keep that under control. If he can't, Auburn could embrace a new regime. Freeze not working out is one thing, but being fully supportive regardless of the on-field product is unacceptable.
ADs can make mistakes. But if they can't recognize the mistake and fix it, someone else usually does eventually.