Auburn Football: Who Replaces Hugh Freeze as Tigers Next Head Coach?

Hugh Freeze has officially been fired by Auburn University after their 10-3 loss to Kentucky in Week 10 of the football season. The loss brought the Tigers’ record to 4-5 on the season and 1-5 in SEC play. Freeze’s overall record at Auburn was 15-19 and 6-16 in the SEC. While he was given a pass in his couple years during a rebuild, the offensive production never recovered – even after multiple high-profile recruits and big-money portal acquisitions were added to the team.

Hugh Freeze was an offensive-minded head coach hired because he had beaten Alabama in the past. However, neither of those things came to fruition in his tenure at Auburn. The past two years have been extremely bad, where Auburn was 122nd in redzone offense last year and is 126th this year. In the last eight quarters, Auburn’s offense scored one offensive touchdown and seven field goals. It was time for Hugh to go, and now DJ Durkin gets a 3-4 game trial period as head coach, including the Iron Bowl.

Auburn Football: Who Replaces Hugh Freeze?

Prior to answering this, let’s build some context. The problems for Auburn started at the end of the Gus Malzahn era. Malzahn never had a losing season as Auburn’s head coach, but only had two seasons with double-digit wins in his tenure. Towards the end of his time with Auburn, Malzahn’s offense became predictable. He failed to recruit offensive linemen, failed to develop players (specifically quarterbacks), and could not improve the level of the offense. He was retained longer than he probably should have been due to a couple wins against Alabama and Georgia. And, Malzahn had some success recruiting, ranking No. 7 in 2020, but had zero five-star recruits in that class. The 2019 class ranked 12th, but had two five-star recruits.

After Malzahn, Auburn moved on to Bryan Harsin, which quickly fizzled out. Harsin had a 69-19 record as the head coach of Boise State and won a Sun Belt Conference Championship in his only season as the head coach of Arkansas State. Harsin had a winning record and mentality, but he failed in two areas. He had no experience within the SEC (which can be overstated), but most of his career was spent at Boise State. Prior to his stint at Auburn, Harsin had only spent four years of his career (Eastern Oregon, Pre-SEC Texas, and Arkansas State) outside of Boise since his playing career in 1995. He lacked the knowledge and connections required to succeed in the SEC. That led to his second failure, the recruiting world.

Harsin recruited three-star players continually to try and develop them and instill a winning mentality. When facing Alabama and Georgia, he struggled because the lack of athleticism was apparent in the contests. In 2021, Auburn was 19th in recruiting (Alabama and Georgia were No. 1 and 3 respectively that year). In 2022 Auburn was 16th in recruiting (Alabama and Georgia were No. 2 and 3). They had zero five-star recruits in those two years.

Since 2019, prior to Hugh Freeze, Auburn had two five-star recruits and only one top-10 recruiting class. Freeze did not have the caliber of team needed, but he built one with the 2024 and 2025 classes. Both of those classes were ranked No. 8 nationally, and had at least one five-star recruit.

Now that the context is out of the way, the question remains: Who does Auburn need to target to replace Hugh Freeze as head coach of the football team?

The answer is honestly simple. Auburn needs a winner and a recruiter. However, they also need someone who knows how to delegate responsibilities and develop players. The Tigers have fan support like no other despite the poor product on the field. They have the facilities and the NIL to compete within the SEC. Whoever comes in needs to understand the SEC, how to coach kids in today’s world, and develop them into winners.

The candidates Auburn needs to consider are Jon Sumrall, Rhett Lashlee, Alex Golesh, Kenny Dillingham, Lane Kiffin, Brent Key, and DJ Durkin.

The Incumbent

DJ Durkin

DJ Durkin is the incumbent and potentially, the easy choice for the Tigers. If Auburn goes and wins out against Vanderbilt, Mercer, and Alabama, then Durkin is an easy choice. While his tenure at Maryland was less than stellar, he has the Auburn defense playing lights out – and has for the last two years. He has shown he can recruit, too. If he can win at Auburn as interim then hope can be restored. He would have to hire an excellent offensive coordinator to take the pressure off of him there, but that can be done.

The Former Tigers

Rhett Lashlee and Kenny Dillingham both coached at Auburn while Gus Malzahn was head coach. Both are now head coaches outside the SEC and have had success in their roles as head coach.

Rhett Lashlee

Prior to this year, Lashlee was 29-12 as the head coach of SMU. He led the mustangs to a College Football Playoff berth last year and an ACC championship appearance. Lashlee has been a good coach with limited resources at SMU. His average NIL deal for his 2024 recruiting class was around $15 Thousand per recruit and in 2025 that increased to $42 Thousand. Auburn’s 2025 average NIL deal was $120 Thousand and $142 Thousand in 2024. The resources pumped into Auburn could skyrocket Lashlee’s talent as a coach.

Kenny Dillingham

Meanwhile, Dillingham’s overall record is 20-15 as the head coach of his alma mater, Arizona State. After a 3-9 initial year, Dillingham also made the CFP in his second year as the head coach with an 11-3 record and a Big 12 championship. Dillingham has the 46th-ranked recruiting class, but is only spending an average of $25 Thousand in NIL per recruit for the 2025 class. His 2024 class was ranked 54th and also spent around $15 Thousand on average (similar to SMU). The resources at Auburn and the chance to compete in the SEC are the only things that could potentially lure Dillingham from ASU.

The Outsiders

Lane Kiffin

Lane Kiffin feels like a pipe-dream candidate, but with the success he has had at Ole Miss, with lesser recruiting classes than Hugh Freeze, he would easily be able to win at Auburn.

Kiffin has shown the ability to win and call plays in the SEC. If he retained DJ Durkin, there’s not reason Auburn can’t be historically relevant again. Ole Miss’ 2024 recruiting class was ranked 20th and spent an average of $33 Thousand on recruits. Their 2025 class was 19th with an increase in spending to $71 Thousand, and both years pale in comparison to what Auburn spent. Kiffin has not won fewer than eight games at Ole Miss with three double-digit winning seasons. With fewer resources and lesser recruiting classes, Kiffin has won more at Ole Miss than Freeze and Harsin combined.

Alex Golesh

Alex Golesh has led the USF Bulls in one of the greatest turnarounds in college football. The year prior to him becoming head coach, the Bulls went 1-11. Yet in his first two years as the head coach, the Bulls went 7-6, including a 45-0 Boca Raton Bowl win in Year 1.

The Bulls are currently 6-2 and are threatening for a G5 playoff berth in the CFP. Golesh has coaching experience in the SEC, when he was the offensive coordinator at Tennessee and coached Biletnikoff Award Winner Jalin Hyatt. The Vols offense under Golesh improved tremendously, and the team went from 3-7 to 10 wins in his first season as offensive coordinator there.

Golesh runs a fast-paced effective offense and is currently limited by the resources South Florida can offer. The 2025 recruiting class for USF was ranked 67th and cost on average $15 Thousand. The 2024 class was 59th, but only spent around $12 Thousand per recruit in NIL. These numbers are nothing compared to what Auburn offers, and Golesh has shown the ability to do more with less. If Golesh comes in and retains Durkin, with the Auburn resources, he would be set up for success.

Brent Key

Since 1990, Georgia Tech has just four double-digit win seasons and 11 losing seasons prior to Brent Key’s hiring. Yet, the man leading the Yellow Jackets has done a masterful turnaround.

Key went 7-6 in both of his first two full seasons as head coach at Georgia Tech and currently has them at 8-1. His 14 wins in his first two seasons are third in the school’s history in that time frame. He is also 6-1 against nationally-ranked ACC teams. His 2024 recruiting class was 33rd with an average NIL value of $17 Thousand. Both of those numbers increased in 2025, so his recruiting class was ranked 24th and they increased spending to $46 Thousand. Key has shown the ability to win against ranked opponents in big games and improve a program that traditionally does not have high expectations for football.

Key has SEC experience as the offensive line at Alabama from 2016-2018, and they won the 2017 national championship while he was there. He is from Clay, Alabama, and obviously has ties to the rival of the Auburn Tigers.

Jon Sumrall

Jon Sumrall has a 38-11 overall record as a head coach. He started at Troy, where he had two double-digit winning seasons and two Sun Belt Conference Championships. Prior to Sumrall’s stint at Troy, the Trojans had three straight losing seasons.

After Troy, Sumrall accepted and now holds the head coaching position at Tulane. In his first year, he led the Green Wave to a 9-5 record and a bowl appearance. Currently, Tulane is 6-2 and is competing for a G5 CFP appearance.

Sumrall’s recruiting class for 2025 was ranked 73rd and averaged $14 Thousand for NIL deals. The 2024 class was similar, ranking 67th and spending $15 Thousand. The big difference between Sumrall and the rest of the aforementioned coaches is that he has played in the SEC.

Sumrall played linebacker at Kentucky from 2002-2004. He then returned as a coach in 2021 when Mark Stoops and the Wildcats went 10-3. He is also from Huntsville, Alabama, so coming to Auburn would be a homecoming of sorts.

Auburn Football: Who’s the Best Hugh Freeze Replacement?

Ultimately, Jon Sumrall is who Auburn should hire as the next head coach. Sumrall has SEC experience and a winning mentality. Many point to the Bryan Harsin hire as a reason not to hire guys like Sumrall and Golesh. However, the difference between those two and Harsin is that both of them have direct experience in the SEC and the South.

The biggest question regarding Sumrall is how would he approach recruiting. Yet with Kenyatta Watson on staff, Auburn recruiting will struggle to fail. Sumrall being defensive-minded may hinder the retention of DJ Durkin, but keeping him would still be an essential part of the staff because he does recruit so well. Sumrall’s history of winning and his ties to the SEC make him the No. 1 choice.

Whether the Tigers go that route remains to be seen. Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see how the Auburn football program looks to replace Hugh Freeze going forward.