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It finally happened on Sunday, Nov. 2. The day Auburn fans had been waiting for finally came. Auburn Athletic Director John Cohen fired head coach Hugh Freeze as Auburn’s three-season journey with Freeze came to an end. In what was supposed to be the comeback season Auburn football turned into disaster thanks to quarterback play and a stagnant offense. Auburn’s 10-3 loss to Kentucky seemed to be the breaking point for Auburn’s athletic brass, finally joining the hordes of Auburn fans who have been clamoring for a Freeze firing for months. As Auburn moves forward with DJ Durkin as interim head coach, the Tigers join a head coaching search that includes some of the biggest brands in college football. While Auburn football closes one era, the Auburn hoops program opens a new one under head coach Steven Pearl, after taking over for his father Bruce just as practice began this season. Here’s a look at some of the best Auburn stories from AL.com this past week. Freeze fallout The exit for Hugh freeze was not a surprise, being met with joy by fans and those ready to move on. Fans took to social media letting their feelings be known as only frustrated Auburn fans can do it. While the Freeze firing wasn’t a shock to anybody, it’s also important to look back at how Auburn got into this situation. AL.com’s Peter Rauterkus takes a look at the five moments that led to the Freez firing. Here’s one of them. In the summer of 2025, following Freeze’s second season at Auburn, recruiting started to trend in the wrong direction. The Tigers had a string of players decommit from the program, at one point landing them at No. 89 in 247Sports’ team recruiting rankings. In the midst of that recruiting dry spell, AL.com reported that Freeze had logged more rounds of golf than any other SEC coach, according to the USGA’s GHIN database. Athletic director John Cohen defended Freeze at the time, and both of them attributed the decommitments to the financial adjustments brought on by the House Settlement on July 1. Cohen often pointed to Aug. 1 as a marker of when things could change, with that being the first day recruits could receive verbal offers. Auburn’s recruiting did pick up, but at the time of Freeze’s firing, the class ranks 32nd in the country, much better than 89th, but a long way from the top 10 spot the Tigers had become used to. Auburn enters the coaching derby The Tigers aren’t alone in their search for a new head coach, Auburn joins Florida, LSU, Penn State among many others who are trying to find a leader for their college football programs. AL.com’s Jerry Humphrey took a look at the pros and cons to the Auburn job. Despite some of the difficulties a coach may face, there are some positives to the job. Loving community When looking at the Auburn job you first have to acknowledge the community and the passionate fans who show up to games faithfully. Saturday’s game against Kentucky marked the 20th consecutive sellout at Jordan-Hare Stadium dating back to the beginning of the 2023 season. Most programs wish they had a home-field advantage like Auburn has, making it one of the most hostile environments to play in as an opposing team. Despite how bad things have been in this season, Auburn fans continued to support. So, imagine how Auburn fans backing a winning program. Financial Support The money here at Auburn in the NIL space allows the Tigers to compete amongst some of the elite programs in the country. In April, Auburn athletics extended its multimedia rights partnership with Playfly Sports, increasing Auburn’s anticipated annual revenue from corporate partnerships to over $34M. Auburn also launched the WarEagle+ Subscription Service, providing expanded membership benefits and student-athlete support. This came after the House v. NCAA settlement, as Auburn is investing more than $25 million into expanded scholarships and revenue sharing. Basketball stumbles, but doesn’t fall in debut The Bethune Cookman Wildcats nearly handed Auburn athletics more agony on the opening night of the college basketball season. Auburn, fresh off the school’s second Final Four opened the season by going an extra five minutes vs. the Wildcats but eventually winning 95-90 in overtime. However, the win meant something extra special for Steven Pearl who is following in his father’s footsteps. Being with him as a player at Tennessee, to an assistant at Auburn, and now the head coach. From walking on at Tennessee to working in medical sales immediately after his playing career to working his way from assistant strength and conditioning coach all the way to head coach at Auburn, he described his path as a “wild journey.” Then the emotions flooded in. Pearl struggled to hold back tears when describing how about 12 of his best friends came by to watch shootaround before Monday night’s game.
