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Another buyout to pay Auburn football is officially headed in a different direction. Although in one sense, the direction isn’t exactly a different one for Auburn. AL.com staffers reported Sunday that Auburn fired coach Hugh Freeze after a 10-3 loss to Kentucky that dropped the Tigers to 4-5 overall and 1-5 in the SEC this season. Freeze’s Auburn teams are 15-19 in his two-plus seasons on the Plains. It’s a familiar ending for Auburn football coaches. To varying degrees, every Tigers coach of the past half century -- even those who experienced successful seasons -- left the program after being fired or being under pressure to step down. You have to go all the way back to Shug Jordan’s 1975 departure to find a coach who left fully on his own terms. Of course, firing a college football coach is expensive business. Auburn still has to pay Freeze more than $15 million. On Sunday, the Auburn athletics department named defensive coordinator DJ Durkin interim head coach. Durkin has two years of head-coaching experience at Maryland, where he was fired after investigations into the death of a player and the program’s culture. He’s been defensive coordinator at Ole Miss and Texas A&M, and he joined Auburn last year and led the defense to its best season, statistically, in several years. Birmingham blaze A fire that broke out Friday on Birmingham’s Southside affected at least four buildings and displaced at least 19 people, reports AL.com’s Hannah Denham. No injuries were reported. The block that burned housed businesses and residents, mostly college-age singles. Several GoFundMe pages were organized to help those displaced and raised tens of thousands of dollars over the weekend. Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service Battalion Chief Clay Hendon said the main building affected by the fire is a total loss, and the other three could be as well. Fairhope film history The Fairhope farmhouse that was used to film the alien-abduction scene from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” has an uncertain future, reports AL.com’s John Sharp. Back in 1977, the farmhouse had a rural setting and was used by director Steven Spielberg to represent an Indiana home. These days, the farmhouse is amid a growing subdivision, business projects and a widened Route 181 with a Publix and a Wawa nearby. The Fairhope City Council gave a developer permission to move the house last Nov. 21. Plans were to use the house for office space with access to Route 104. Now, it’s almost a year later and no word yet on the fate of the house. The developer has until Nov. 21 to provide an update. By that date, according to City Planning Director Hunter Simmons, the developer needs to have secured a building permit for the project or to request an extension. Mayor Sherry Sullivan and other city officials have said they hope the developers create a historical marker for the house. Quoting “I went from being able to process information at a pretty good pace, I thought, to getting confused over, did I order oysters or did I want to order oysters?” Alabama country music singer-songwriter Jamey Johnson, on Rolling Stone’s “Nashville Now” podcast, on his 2010 concussion that was followed by a period of decreased creative output and substance abuse. More Alabama News Alabama Supreme Court rules on dispute over control of historic Auburn church Alabama law enforcement rejects liability threat from partnering with ICE Auburn University requires faculty to review courses to comply with anti-DEI law Born on This Date In 1963, former NFL Pro Bowl offensive lineman Howard Ballard of Ashland. Alabama News Quiz answers/results Answers and results from Friday’s quiz: At least some of the automakers in Alabama have expressed concerns over ... a chip shortage (CORRECT) 92% a rubber shortage 4% a wheel bearing shortage 3% a “new car smell” shortage 1% Controversy visited an Alabama sheriff when people reported that outside his home were Halloween decorations depicting “skeletons” ... wearing ICE jackets and sombreros (CORRECT) 92% wearing “Make America Great Again” hats 7% burning an American flag 1% playing electronic bingo games 0% This philanthropist recently gave Alabama State University a gift of $38 million. MacKenzie Scott (CORRECT) 78% Charles Barkley 17% Warren Buffett 3% Ric Flair 2% Some local residents are trying to stop these animals from being trapped and euthanized on Dauphin Island. Foxes (CORRECT) 89% Coyotes 5% Feral hogs 5% No-see-ums 1% Alabama has around this many residents who use the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to cover their food costs. 750,000 (CORRECT) 65% 75,000 29% 3 million 5% 3,000 1% The podcast
