Hugh Freeze buyout: What it would cost Auburn to move on after coach falls to 0-3 in SEC after Georgia loss

Hugh Freeze is facing job pressure at Auburn following Saturday night's 20-10 loss to Georgia, his third straight setback this season and 11th overall in 12 games against nationally-ranked competition with the Tigers. Freeze, who dropped to 14-17 overall at Auburn, was firmly on the hot seat before the season and again this week, deflecting the focus off him and toward his team and expected improvements.

Freeze's buyout at Auburn is $15.4 million, almost identical to the total the Tigers paid out to Bryan Harsin eight games into his second season in 2022 amid inner program failures and on-field struggles. Freeze signed a six-year deal that same year, worth $39 million.

"I think it's very clear we find ways to not win football games. And that's what has to change," Freeze said, after watching his team squander a 10-point lead against the Bulldogs.

Freeze's latest narrow loss to an elite foe comes days after he was asked this week on the SEC teleconference if he's heard any noise about the importance of the Georgia game relating to job security.

"I don't pay attention to any of that," Freeze said. "Of course, I'm a person of faith, and I know that my story is being written way above my pay grade, and I know we're doing things the right way here. We're getting closer each game. You're playing three top-10 teams in a row, and we've got an opportunity to knock them off. That's our sole focus, is that. This is not about me. It's about our kids and getting them ready to go play in a great rivalry like Georgia."

Following a 3-0 start this season, Auburn led 11th-ranked Oklahoma on the road in the fourth quarter of its SEC opener before John Mateer's 9-yard touchdown run with 4:54 to play sparked the Sooners win.

The following week at ninth-ranked Texas A&M, the Tigers managed just nine first downs, 177 yards of total offense and went 0-for-13 on third down during another single-possession setback.

It was more of the same against the 10th-ranked Bulldogs, who controlled the game after recovering a fumble at the goal line late in the first half when a touchdown would've given Auburn a 17-point lead.

Auburn Undercover's Nathan King noted Freeze was "the most dejected he's ever looked" in a postgame setting after the Tigers' loss to Georgia. Freeze was short in his assessment of how he would handle accountability after Saturday's tough-to-stomach setback.

"Easy. Show up to work Monday and get ready to win a football game. That's how it looks," he said.