Auburn will be the reason the 2025 Iron Bowl against Alabama has nothing in common with any of the previous six matchups

The Auburn Tigers will have a different head coach for the Iron Bowl vs. Alabama after firing Hugh Freeze.

Justin Churchill College Football & NFL Trending News Writer
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Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze
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After the Auburn Tigers lost to the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday, pretty much everyone knew what was next – head coach Hugh Freeze was about to get the boot, despite him asking for more time.

“I’d love for their patience,” Freeze told reporters. “But I understand that you’re probably not getting patience from them, because they want to see a better product on the field, and so do I. So, I understand it.”

The Tigers decided they were out of time and patience. On Sunday morning, the announcement was made that Freeze had been fired. Now, they search for the next leader of their football program. And, the Iron Bowl against the Alabama Crimson Tide has nothing in common with the last six, for the seventh-straight time.

The 2025 Iron Bowl will feature its seventh straight different HC combo

The biggest rivalry in pretty much all of sports has to be the Auburn-Alabama rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl. These two teams, two schools, and two regions of the state hate one another, and no matter which team is having a good or bad season in football, either team can win this game.

We have seen some of the craziest finishes to football games ever in this matchup. We could see that this year, too, even with Auburn being a bad football team. The Tigers almost always put up a fight against the Crimson Tide; this time, it would be with an interim head coach and the seventh-straight different combination of head coaches, according to Blake Byler of On3.

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Here is what the coaching matchup has looked like, and what it will look like:

Iron Bowl coaching matchup last seven years

  • 2019: Saban vs Malzahn
  • 2020: Sarkisian vs Malzahn
  • 2021: Saban vs Harsin
  • 2022: Saban vs Cadillac
  • 2023: Saban vs Freeze
  • 2024: DeBoer vs Freeze
  • 2025: DeBoer vs Durkin

This is one more reason the Iron Bowl is one of the most electric in sports.