GOODMAN: Although Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze has gone 11-17 in his first two seasons and abandoned his original strategy, the Tigers’ coach is not doomed to fail.

The early tenure of Hugh Freeze at Auburn has not gone according to plan. With a 11-17 record across his first two seasons, including disappointing losses in winnable games and an offense that has struggled to find consistency, the mood around The Plains has understandably grown anxious. A coach once celebrated for his offensive mind and recruiting prowess now finds himself under fire. Critics have begun to sharpen their knives, murmurs of discontent swirl, and comparisons to failed regimes of the past are growing louder.

And yet, to dismiss Freeze’s chances of turning things around would be premature. He is not doomed to fail.

That may sound counterintuitive given the scoreboard and stat sheets, but the challenges Freeze inherited—and the changes he has begun to implement—suggest that Auburn’s trajectory under his leadership is not yet fixed in a downward spiral. In fact, there’s a compelling case to be made that Freeze’s willingness to adjust course, even at the cost of his original strategy, could be the very thing that saves him.

When Hugh Freeze arrived at Auburn ahead of the 2023 season, he came with a clear vision: lean into the transfer portal, inject the offense with high-octane passing concepts, and restore Auburn’s brand as a team that could go toe-to-toe with Alabama and Georgia. A program with five-star potential and the facilities to match, Auburn seemed the perfect backdrop for Freeze to reestablish himself as a national contender.

Freeze’s first major move was aggressive portal recruitment, especially at quarterback. He brought in Payton Thorne from Michigan State to stabilize the offense and quickly implemented a system rooted in tempo, quick reads, and spread principles. The belief was that Freeze’s playcalling and offensive wizardry, which once led Ole Miss to back-to-back wins over Alabama, could outpace Auburn’s rebuilding timeline.

But almost immediately, the cracks began to show.

Thorne struggled mightily in 2023, never quite finding rhythm in Freeze’s system. The Tigers ranked near the bottom of the SEC in passing offense. Offensive line play was erratic. Receivers failed to create separation. The tempo system never fully materialized, and the Tigers instead leaned on their rushing game and defense to keep games competitive. Despite a few flashes—most notably the near-upset of Alabama in the 2023 Iron Bowl—the overall product was underwhelming.

Year two offered a chance to course-correct. Freeze emphasized development and continuity. But even with another offseason of work, the offense regressed further in 2024, ranking among the bottom five in total yards per game across Power Five programs. Fans began questioning whether Freeze’s system could work in today’s SEC—especially without elite quarterback play.

That brings us to today: 11-17, a coach seemingly abandoned his own offensive identity, and whispers that Auburn might already be eyeing potential replacements.

But here’s why that narrative doesn’t hold up.

Freeze’s record looks ugly on paper, but it lacks critical context. The modern SEC is not a forgiving place for rebuilding. Auburn plays in the same division (for now) as Georgia and Alabama—two programs that have turned elite recruiting and elite development into a formula few can match. LSU remains a threat, and even programs like Ole Miss and Texas A&M have resources and stability that Freeze didn’t inherit.

When Freeze took over, Auburn was not a program simply missing a quarterback. It was a program suffering from roster imbalances, inconsistent development, and the lingering effects of both the Bryan Harsin era and late-stage Gus Malzahn. The offensive line was thin. The wide receiver room was young and unproven. And critically, Auburn lacked a true identity.

Freeze’s initial failure wasn’t that he tried to install a system that didn’t work—it’s that he underestimated how long it would take to rebuild Auburn from the inside out.

This is not uncommon. Even Nick Saban went 7-6 in his first year at Alabama. Kirby Smart was 8-5 at Georgia in Year 1. Now, Freeze is no Saban or Smart—at least not yet—but the lesson holds: restoring a program’s competitive edge in the SEC takes time, especially when competing against dynasties.

One of the defining traits of successful coaches is adaptability. While Freeze may be known as an offensive mind, his willingness to adjust Auburn’s identity speaks to a deeper understanding: when your original strategy isn’t working, you don’t double down—you pivot.

In 2024, Freeze began pivoting away from the pure spread system and started emphasizing physicality, ball control, and defense. Auburn’s running back room—led by explosive talents like Jarquez Hunter—became the focal point. The defense, under coordinator Ron Roberts, began to find rhythm and develop depth. Auburn didn’t win as many games as hoped, but their playstyle became more SEC-ready: grind-it-out drives, solid tackling, and situational toughness.

This may not be the Hugh Freeze offense of old, but it’s an Auburn team that’s starting to resemble the 2000s blue-collar versions that found success without elite quarterback play.

In truth, Freeze’s greatest move might have been stepping back from his own ego. Coaches who cling to past success often fail to evolve. Freeze’s changes suggest he understands that building a sustainable winner at Auburn might require a different formula than the one that made him famous at Ole Miss.

Perhaps the most encouraging sign for Freeze’s future lies in Auburn’s recruiting efforts.

Despite back-to-back losing seasons, Freeze and his staff have quietly begun to assemble high-upside classes. The 2024 class ranked inside the top 10 nationally, and the 2025 cycle is shaping up favorably as well. Auburn is in on several elite trench players and has made strong inroads with in-state talent.

The addition of 2025 quarterback commit Walker White, who brings both arm talent and leadership skills, may finally give Freeze the signal-caller he needs to run a more dynamic offense in the coming years. Auburn’s offensive line class in 2024 is the strongest in years, and multiple young receivers are showing flashes of breakout potential.

If Freeze is given time to see these players through their development arcs, there’s reason to believe Auburn could look drastically different by 2026—just in time to benefit from the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff format.

Another underappreciated factor is the changing SEC schedule. With divisions eliminated in 2024, the annual gauntlet of Georgia-Alabama-LSU becomes slightly less consistent. Auburn’s 2025 and 2026 schedules, while still tough, offer more balance and winnable games compared to years past.

Freeze’s worst stretch came at a time when the Tigers were forced to face multiple top-10 teams in short succession. As the schedule evens out, so too should the record. That alone won’t be enough to save Freeze—but it will give him a better chance to show what he’s building.

In interviews and behind-the-scenes glimpses, it’s clear that Freeze has not lost the locker room. Players speak highly of his energy, his faith-based leadership style, and his focus on relationship-building. While public sentiment among fans has soured at times, the buy-in internally remains strong.

That matters. Because before you can win on Saturdays, you have to build trust Monday through Friday.

Freeze has invested in the small things: mental health support, player development programs, individualized coaching. That culture can be the foundation for long-term success—especially when paired with elite talent and consistent recruiting.

To ultimately succeed—and silence the critics—Freeze must continue to evolve. That means:

1. Finding a long-term quarterback: Whether it’s Walker White or another emerging talent, Auburn can’t rise in the SEC without solving this position.
2. Retaining key staff: Freeze must fend off poaching attempts for assistants like Ron Roberts, whose defensive unit has shown real promise.
3. Stacking recruiting classes: One elite class is not enough. Freeze needs to string together two or three top-10 hauls to compete with Georgia and Alabama.
4. Winning rivalry games: A win over Alabama or Georgia would instantly reset public perception. Freeze’s near-upset in 2023 showed he can coach in the big moments—he just needs to finish one.

There’s a tendency in college football to rush to judgment. In an era where fanbases expect instant turnarounds and athletic departments are quicker than ever to fire underperforming coaches, patience has become a rare commodity.

But if Auburn chooses patience over panic, Hugh Freeze still has a pathway to make good on his promise.

No, 11-17 isn’t acceptable at Auburn. But 11-17 isn’t a death sentence either. The real test will come not from the failures of his first two years, but from what he learns—and how he adapts—in year three and beyond.

If Freeze succeeds, it won’t be because he stuck to a failing plan. It will be because he chose evolution over ego. And that may be exactly what Auburn needs.