The Auburn Tigers are now 0-2 in conference play after losing 16-10 to the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday. For the second consecutive game, AU had a chance to win on the final drive, but didn't. While there are larger Jackson Arnold questions to answer, the biggest problem was his offensive line, which drew seven penalties.
WTVM's Ben Stanfield believes Freeze can solve that problem by firing Auburn's offensive line coach, Jake Thornton, and hiring Arkansas Razorbacks football coach Sam Pittman after he's fired in Fayetteville.
"I hate seeing dudes get fired , but it’s part of the business. Auburn needs to pull the trigger on OL and hire Sam Pittman tomorrow after he gets tossed by Arkansas," Stanfield wrote.
Needless to say, Tiger fans in the replies weren't having it. Some believed that it was not the time to mention Pittman's name, or anyone's, so soon after yet another loss in SEC play. Others believed the plug needs to be pulled on Freeze's tenure altogether.
Hugh Freeze running out of chances at Auburn
A contingent of the Auburn family will point to how competitive the Tigers have been the past two games and plead for patience. They're right, too. It's just that it's the defense that has carried the load, which is a bit of a problem when the head coach is a supposed offensive guru who put his money where his mouth is with Arnold as his QB1.
Thus far, Freeze's offense has 464 total yards of offense against the two SEC defenses they faced. The Oklahoma Sooners' nation-best defensive front is one thing, but Texas A&M hadn't given up less than 22 points all season to this point.
Freeze was supposed to have the offense figured out this year. He got his guy under center in the portal at a gaudy price tag, got the SEC's best receiving corps from a talent perspective, and is in the second year of having his guys from his Ole Miss Rebels and Liberty Flames tenures.
Everything should be working but it's not. Pittman doesn't solve that problem, but it's unclear what does.