Hugh Freeze has gotten offers to join several programs around the country since the Auburn Tigers fired the head football coach on November 2 following a pathetic 10-3 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats at Jordan-Hare Stadium, but he hasn't acted on them. He may sit the 2026 season out, though he admitted to On3's Justin Hokanson that he's got the competitive itch to return to coaching.
Regardless of whether Freeze returns to the sport next year, he made it clear he'll be tuned into the Tigers because he's paying attention to the moves his replacement, Alex Golesh, is making in his absence. One of those moves is retaining defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, another being retaining DL coach Vontrell King-Williams.
Regardless of the moves Golesh makes, Freeze warned the former USF Bulls head coach that winning in the SEC is brutal -- and he made sure to reiterate it's only going to get tougher in 2026 with the calendar expanding to nine conference games.
"I don’t give a lot of advice unless the direct person asks me something,” Freeze said. “I think he’s already done one of the first couple of things I already told him to do, which is keep D.J. Durkin and Vontrell King-Williams. I wish he could keep all the staff, although I know that’s unrealistic. That’s just because I care about my guys, but I think you’ve got to play great defense in order to win games in this conference. I don’t know if people really know how hard it is to win in this conference now. It’s gotten, with everybody having money to go buy quarterbacks and some defensive linemen, it is a brutal, brutal way to win on Saturday’s. It’s hard, and it’s gonna get harder with nine games.“
Hugh Freeze couldn't figure out key aspect of winning in the SEC
Freeze does not know what it takes to win in the SEC at Auburn, owning a 6-16 conference record the past three seasons and losing at home to Kentucky, the Vanderbilt Commodores, and the Arkansas Razorbacks, three teams Tiger fans expect wins against with the money AU is spending on its roster.
Auburn couldn't win those games because Freeze didn't deploy an SEC-level quarterback the past three seasons. And most frighteningly, he was closer to the mark with Payton Thorne than he was with Jackson Arnold. Unsurprisingly, Freeze partially blamed Arnold's underperformance for his firing during the interview with Hokanson.
If Golesh gets the QB position right, then there's a conversation to be had about what the team's ceiling can be. Under Freeze, a bowl game was a fair expectation when he proclaimed it in the preseason. He likely knew deep down that he didn't have what it took to win with Arnold and Ashton Daniels, and he didn't even try to see if Deuce Knight was up to snuff.
Luckily, Golesh will have the time to assess if Knight, potential USF transfer Byrum Williams, or whoever else he lands under center this offseason, because he won't have an incessant golfing habit or anything else preventing him from even attempting to be competitive in the SEC.