National writer reveals why Auburn football can't fire Hugh Freeze even if they wanted to

FanSided's John Buhler sees Auburn football as between a rock and a hard place regarding Hugh Freeze. While his performance would get him fired in most other eras -- Doug Barfield is the last head coach to start his Tigers tenure this slowly, back in the 1970s -- Buhler believes AU has to preserve its reputation.

If it doesn't, the Tigers run the risk of becoming the most toxic job in the SEC, claims the national college football writer.

"For as bad as it looks for Freeze and Auburn right now, the Tigers need to either lose out or finish the year at 3-9 for them to potentially be looking for a new head coach," Buhler wrote. "Cohen would have egg on his face for making such a terrible hire. Moving on from Freeze after two years would make this the most toxic job in the SEC by far."

Auburn football begrudgingly holding onto Hugh Freeze, hoping for things to get better

As On SI's Keith Cummings relays, Auburn is likely holding the line with Freeze in charge -- even if they know the right decision for the program could be to stop the bleeding. There's merit to giving Freeze more rope given his recruiting success.

Freeze needs his 2025 and 2026 classes to remain mostly in tact by the time the 2025 and 2026 seasons roll around. He also needs his 2023 and 2024 recruits to stay the course despite the consistently disappointing results.

Easier said than done.

One would think Freeze's recruiting pitch involved reviving the AU brand. If so, these losses won't have an affect on the incoming classes.

You just hope these recruits aren't wondering if the "missing pieces" they represent won't bring winning to a program that has leadership incapable of getting the job done. That's why getting a few wins don't the stretch this year is vital.

Because these 2024 recruits got that same recruiting pitch.