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Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is feeling the heat in Week 9 after losing four games in a row against ranked SEC programs. The Tigers are 3-4 before they travel to play 2-5 Arkansas on Saturday. More News: Auburn Making Movement on Hugh Freeze Decision Earlier this week, Freeze admitted that he'd like a vote of confidence from Auburn athletic director John Cohen, similar to what Luke Fickell received from Wisconsin and Mike Norvell received from Florida State on Monday. "It would be huge, That would make everyone feel a lot better, for sure," Freeze said, via ESPN. "I haven't talked to John. I'm going to say John has been so supportive ever since, obviously, my hire. ... They have a job to do, and certainly, he has people he has to answer to. I know how close we are. I know I can get this fixed." More News: LSU’s Brian Kelly Issues Serious Warning to Team Amid Calls for His Firing During his episode of the "Josh Pate's College Football Show" on Tuesday, Pate argued that Auburn is trending toward firing Freeze if the Tigers lose to Arkansas on Saturday. However, Pate believes there is an internal controversy brewing on what to do with Freeze and how to handle a possible coaching search. "This is where I think the Auburn situation is at right now--not everyone who needs to be on board with making a move is on board," Pate said. "And then if they're on board with the general principle of making a move, well, then they need to be on board with paying the buyout. "And to be on board with paying the buyout, they need to have a follow-up plan. You don't just go and fire somebody and then say, well, now what?" Because Auburn has some disagreement about how to proceed with the coaching search, the situation with the program is "fluid." If Freeze wins Saturday and turns things around for the rest of the season, he could return in 2026. Pate believes that part of the holdup in firing Freeze is that there is a considerable disagreement among "decision-makers" on who to go after in the national coaching search. "I think part of the dilemma that they may have there actually is, there are more than a few names involved in the decision-making process that have more than just one or two names themselves that they want at the forefront of the coaching search," Pate said. "And then you got to figure out how the search is going to happen. "So yeah, that's where I think the Hugh Freeze situation is right now. Win, and it silences all of this.” Auburn has a tricky situation upcoming in November. The Tigers host 2-4 Kentucky on Nov. 1 before traveling to play No. 10 Vanderbilt on Nov. 8. Auburn will then host 5-1 Mercer on Nov. 22 and No. 4 Alabama on Nov. 29. Regardless of Saturday's results against Arkansas, Freeze will be judged by how the Tigers play against Vandy and the Crimson Tide. In the meantime, those making the calls for Auburn will have an extra few weeks to create alignment on how to proceed at head coach. Freeze, 56, is 14-18 overall and 5-14 in his third season at Auburn.
