A fourth SEC job has come open this season, as Pete Thamel of ESPN reports that Auburn has parted ways with Hugh Freeze.

The news comes after Auburn’s latest SEC loss, as the Tigers lost 10-3 to Kentucky at home. Auburn drops to 1-5 in SEC play and is 4-5 on the season.

Freeze went 15-19 in his time running the program, which started with the 2023 season. Auburn was just 6-16 in SEC games under Freeze.

Despite making significant investment in the roster, Auburn did not get the results it wanted under Freeze. Quarterback was a consistent problem for Freeze during his time at Auburn, as transfer Payton Thorne, Jackson Arnold and Ashton Daniels failed to ignite the Auburn offense.

Freeze had previously been regarded as a strong offensive coach, but that no longer seems to be the case.

Auburn held a 10-0 lead in its game against Georgia earlier this season before crumbling in the second half. Georgia outscored Auburn 17-0 over the final two quarters to win 20-10.

Freeze went 0-3 in his time against Georgia, including home losses to Georgia in 2023 and this season.

With Freeze out, he joins Sam Pittman, Billy Napier and Brian Kelly as the SEC coaches fired this season. Those four went a combined 0-9 against Smart in their respective tenures at Auburn, Arkansas, Florida and LSU.

Smart was complimentary of Napier and his team on Saturday as the Bulldogs pulled out a 24-20 win over Florida and interim coach Billy Gonzales.

“First of all, I want to give a lot of credit to Billy Napier who assembled this roster, and he’s got a bunch of good, tough, physical players,” Smart said. “That’s one of the biggest defensive lines, offense lines we’ve played against, and they match us very well from a physical standpoint, and they’re hard to defend.”

Freeze’s buyout is $15.8 million, smaller than that of Kelly and Napier.

As for possible replacements, Tulane’s Jon Sumrall, Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz and Memphis’ Ryan Silverfield are all possible candidates. Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann could be worth watching as well given his ties to the state of Alabama and his track record at Georgia. Unlike the three names listed above, Schumann does not have head coaching experience.

Auburn will finish out the season with games against Vanderbilt, Mercer and Alabama. But the search for a new head coach has already begun in an effort to restore the once proud program.

Georgia will continue to play Auburn in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, as the two teams will be permanent opponents in the 2026 through 2029 schedule.