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Is Auburn HC Hugh Freeze out of time?

The biggest storyline of Week 9 that no one is talking about is what the future holds for Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze. The Auburn Tigers are winless in the SEC despite boasting a solid roster, and are set to face Arkansas this Saturday.

Their next two games are their easiest of their SEC schedule, with Kentucky following their Arkansas matchup. One thing is for sure: Arkansas should not be overlooked, and if Auburn were to drop this game, they would have no choice but to hire Freeze.

Since firing Sam Pittman, the Arkansas offense has been on fire. Bobby Petrino has ignited the offense to back-to-back games of over 30 points against Tennessee and Texas A&M. In both games, they topped over 490 total yards of offense. The chances of Freeze blowing this game are very, very high.

Freeze has absolutely earned this firing. He’s 14-18 in his time leading the Tigers with three 0-4 starts in SEC play. Not to mention his mishandling of the quarterback situation time and time again, while throwing his players under the bus. Oh, and who could forget the controversy of the idiotic revelation that he was playing excessive amounts of golf during summer recruiting season because he kept logging his scores on an app the public could see.

Auburn coming open would further fuel what could shape up to be the most insane coaching carousel we’ve ever seen in college football. Auburn will need to get creative for this hire. Our Travis May shared the best targets to fill the position once Freeze is fired. Here are my three favorite options from the list.

Dan Mullen, UNLV

“If Auburn athletic director John Cohen (and the boosters that matter most) want to fix the offense, going with Dan Mullen would make sense. Many fans might have the fake “anti-recruiting” narrative that left with him as he was forced out at Florida years ago, but that’s not really who he is. Mullen always got the most of out his programs from a recruiting standpoint with the exception of a small blip at Florida. He now has UNLV at 6-1 this season, averaging nearly 40 points a game. Would he be perfect? Probably not, but if he can get the right defensive minds to come along with him, Mullen could overachieve at Auburn.” —Travis May

Mullen not working at Florida was extremely surprising. He had them winning over 10 games in both of his first two seasons, only for a slow decline that culminated in his firing. Many attributed his failures to his inability to recruit effectively, but it’s clear he’s an impactful coach. After taking some time away from coaching to be a broadcaster, he’s already turned UNLV into a College Football Playoff contender.

The once-dominant stretch he had as the head coach at Mississippi State is the context everyone should turn to most for what he can accomplish in the SEC. Oftentimes, past failures help coaches reflect on what they need to do better in the future. The only drawback to Mullen is the similarities he shares with Freeze: both were former SEC coaches who were fired, then rebuilt themselves as G6 coaches.

Alex Golesh, USF

“Alex Golesh is becoming one of the most highly coveted rising offensive minds in the country. He quickly turned around a South Florida program, winning 20 games in just two and a half seasons with the program so far. He has USF sitting with a 6-1 record, potentially on pace to make the College Football Playoff. He has experience as a recruiting coordinator in three stops. Offensive coordinator experience. Impressive head coach experience, albeit just three seasons. He could be the do-it-all guy who can call plays or hand that off with a big splash offensive coordinator hire, perhaps.”

Golesh should absolutely be brought up in every single coaching search, especially in the SEC. His success at USF has been rapid, and the Bulls have established themselves as the best G6 program. The most enormous green flag for hiring Golesh is the growing national recognition of his leadership, recruiting, and roster development. While other top jobs could be chasing big fish and throwing large bags of cash at them, it might benefit Auburn to pursue Golesh.

Jon Sumrall, Tulane

“Jon Sumrall should be the number one priority among options that Auburn almost certainly has available to them. He has a 38-10 record as a head coach. He has never finished below nine wins in a season and certainly won’t this year either with Tulane currently sitting at 6-1. Sumrall won the Sun Belt twice with Troy, an unbelievably difficult feat. He even had Troy ranked back in 2022. He has the SEC experience already with coaching stops at Ole Miss and Kentucky. He played linebacker in the SEC for Kentucky. He’s been the immediate program building “do-more-with-less” guy who’s already spent significant time coaching in Alabama, living near Auburn, and almost assuredly isn’t looking to leave the south.”

Similar to Golesh, Sumrall has been highly regarded as a tremendous coach and one who garners significant respect. His ability to turn Troy into a top G6 program and, now, Tulane, gives him one of the strongest resumes of a coach on the market. His ability to find and develop talent into premier players that were pursued heavily in the transfer portal is fantastic evidence as well. The only thing that may keep him from being interested in Auburn is the Kentucky job. As May pointed out, he’s a former Kentucky linebacker. It doesn’t look like Bob Stoops could be fired in the next few years if they continue to struggle, and it could ultimately be a more desirable opening for Sumrall.

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