Another week, another college football coach fired. Your long-awaited moment has arrived, Auburn fans. Hugh Freeze has been fired. After one of the worst offensive displays in program history against Kentucky on Saturday night, the Auburn program decided to move on from Hugh Freeze. The Tigers currently sit at 4-5 overall and 1-5 in the SEC. Auburn is currently 0-4 against ranked opponents, and 1.6 million dollar QB Jackson Arnold has already been benched. Before discussing candidates for the Auburn job, let’s take a look back at Hugh Freeze’s resume with Auburn.
Overall Record: 15-19
SEC Conference Record: 6-16
Record vs. Ranked Opponents: 1-12
Record vs. Top-10 Opponents: 0-5
The Auburn roster currently ranks 13th in overall composite recruiting talent. This makes Auburn the 7th most talented roster in the SEC. So, Hugh Freeze brought talent into Auburn, but he couldn’t use it. Whoever becomes Auburn’s next head coach will inherit a college football playoff-contending caliber roster and one of college football’s premier defenses.
So, who are the top candidates to become the next head coach of the Auburn Tigers?
Top Candidates (Odds as of 11/4/2025)
Jon Sumrall (+150)
Sumrall is the current head coach at Tulane. His record at Tulane now sits at 15-7. Before arriving at Tulane, Sumrall was the head coach for Troy. There, he led the Trojans to records of 12-2 and 11-2 in back-to-back seasons.
Sumrall has been a popular candidate in the coaching carousel for multiple years now. Many college football fans expected Sumrall to make the jump to the P5 ranks after his 2023 season. Then, after one season at Tulane, many once again expected the jump to happen. Third time is the charm, right?
The Auburn job allows Sumrall to return to the state of Alabama, where he previously coached at Troy. Sumrall’s accolades include being a 2x Sun Belt Conference Champion and the 2022 Sun Belt Coach of the Year.
Sumrall brings southeastern connections that would benefit the Tigers on the recruiting trail. He’s from Texas, played at Kentucky, and has coached in Kentucky, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi.
DJ Durkin (+200)
Durkin is a one-time head coach. He coached the Maryland Terrapins for two full seasons, compiling a 10-15 record. Sadly, controversy looms over his time at Maryland. One of college football’s most tragic events occurred during his tenure, when a player suffered from heat stroke and exhaustion during conditioning. The player, Jordan McNair, suffered a seizure as well. He passed away on June 13, 2018. Players walked out of a team meeting held by Durkin, and Durkin’s career has never been the same.
As a coordinator, Durkin’s resume is lengthy. He’s served as the defensive coordinator for Florida, Michigan, Texas A&M, and Auburn. Currently at Auburn, Durkin has created one of college football’s most elite defenses. Players such as Keldric Faulk and Xavier Atkins are sure to be first-round picks in the future, and Durkin’s defense prolonged Hugh Freeze’s career longer than expected.
Durkin has been credited with recruiting multiple 5-star players throughout his career, including current Auburn commit Bralan Womack. He’s also credited with recruiting standout Texas A&M linebacker Taurean York, former standout college QB Will Grier, NFL OT DJ Humphries, and NFL LB Alex Anzalone.
James Franklin (+400)
Franklin’s college football resume reaches back to the early 2010s, when he led Vanderbilt to back-to-back 9-4 seasons. Vanderbilt reached levels of success under Franklin that are scarcely replicated throughout the program’s entire history. Franklin then moved to Penn State, where he compiled a record of 104-45. Penn State experienced six double-digit win seasons under Franklin and reached the college football playoff semifinal last season.
The downside to hiring Franklin is his lack of success against high-caliber opponents. At Penn State, his record versus top-10 opponents was just 4-21. Why would Auburn fire a coach who couldn’t beat top-10 opponents to hire another coach who has the same problem?
Now, James Franklin has no problems identifying talent, and his recruiting at Auburn would surely suffice. Penn State currently ranks seventh in the total number of current NFL players, ahead of programs such as Texas, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Florida. However, this statistic forces us to revisit the previous concern about competing with the top competition. With all of this NFL talent, why could James Franklin not defeat top-10 opponents, and could he fix this trend at Auburn?
