Hugh Freeze gives passionate quote in response to Auburn fans who want him fired

Another week, another close lose to a really good team for Hugh Freeze's Auburn Tigers. After starting the year out 3-0 with an impressive road win in the non-conference over Baylor, Auburn has not been as fortunate in league play. They have lost four conference games in a row to put them into a brutally bad 3-4 hole overall. The losses may have all come to ranked teams, but no more excuses.

That appears to be what Freeze is at the helm of this football program. While his return to the SEC was highly controversial, Auburn hired him to win these games. Frankly, his team continues to come up short in these big matchups for two reasons. One, Jackson Arnold is not a quality quarterback. And two, Freeze's energy is way off. His new woe-is-me nature is rubbing this team the wrong way.

Freeze took to the podium after Saturday's close home loss to Missouri, and offered this message.

"We all know what we signed up for. I certainly know that we fit what Auburn is all about, but Auburn is also about winning football. We're gonna come to work Monday and get our kids ready to play Arkansas. These kids are playing their guts out. I know that we've changed the talent level here, but at the end of the day, at some point, you have to win football games."

Freeze would then say that it is not his job to call in question his job security, which sounds a bit rich.

"I don't make those decisions, those calls. I just know that God has called me here to lead these young men through a very challenging and difficult time. I'm not enjoying it, a whole lot of that part of it. But man, when you're called to have backbone, stand and walk through a job that you've been asked to do, you're gonna do it faithfully and you're gonna do it really well, or as well as you can until that time does not exist."

He then kept pleading to the local media just how close Auburn is to breaking through under him.

"I know we're close and I know we'll get it over the hump. No one hurts for these incredible fans more than me and our staff. We're close, but I know that people are tired of hearing that because I'm tired of saying it, and I'm tired of feeling it. But I do know that anyone that looks that this stretch of games was against four really, really good teams that we had a chance to win all of them. At some point, they're going to start going our way."

By the look on his face, Freeze is bargaining for more time to be allowed to keep coaching Auburn.

Auburn could easily be 7-0, but for reasons only Freeze seems to know, his team is saddled at 3-4...

Hugh Freeze has yet to level up as a head coach returning to the SEC

As mean as it might sound, this is why Freeze got harpooned like a 19th century New England whale for being such a golf guy during the offseason. This was a critical season for him at the helm of Auburn. Rather than give everything he had when no one was watching, he was too busy trying to sneak a quick 18 into his daily life. If Freeze is fired by Auburn, he will have plenty of time for golf.

Overall, Freeze has had enough time to plant some good seeds in recruting and see the benefits of it on the field at Auburn. This is not some woebegone program. You can win national championships here. In a way, Curt Cignetti's meteoric rise at historic basketball school Indiana is going to get a ton of quality head coaches like Freeze fired. His bad choices at the quarterback position will do him in.

In the end, this is what Freeze signed up for by taking over at Auburn. This is the hardest job in the country. The resources are great, but the competition the Tigers have to navigate annually is unlike any other. Their two biggest rivals are Alabama and Georgia atop the sport of college football. This is a job where you can become a legend for winning big, but can be run out of town in a matter of years.

Freeze might want more time to get this right with Auburn, but 8-4 was the goal for this year's team.