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SEC coaches are dropping like flies.
Auburn’s Hugh Freeze was fired Sunday after a 10-3 home loss Saturday to Kentucky, which was previously winless in the SEC. Freeze became the third straight SEC coach to be dismissed on a Sunday after Florida’s Billy Napier on Oct. 19 and LSU’s Brian Kelly on Oct. 26.
Second-year defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin was promoted to interim head coach for Auburn.
“Coach Freeze is a man of integrity, and we are appreciative of his investment in Auburn and his relentless work over the last three years in bolstering our roster,” Auburn Athletic Director John Cohen said in a statement. “Our expectations for Auburn Football are to annually compete for championships and the search for the next leader of Auburn Football begins immediately.”
Freeze is the fourth SEC coach to be fired this season, a wave that started with Arkansas’ Sam Pittman on Sept. 28 after a 56-13 loss to now-No. 10 Notre Dame. But unlike his counterparts, Auburn did not wait for an open date. The Tigers (4-5, 1-5 SEC) travel to No. 15 Vanderbilt on Saturday before a second bye week.
Freeze went 10-3 with Arkansas State in 2011, spent 2012-16 with Ole Miss, 2019-22 with Liberty and lasted two-plus seasons at Auburn. He totaled a 15-19 record and a 6-16 SEC mark with the Tigers
Freeze turned to Stanford backup quarterback Ashton Daniels to lead a 33-24 comeback win Oct. 25 at Arkansas. The Tigers were held to a season-low in points against Kentucky with Daniels as a starter ahead of Jackson Arnold.
Durkin’s defense has given up an average of 17.7 points, the 18th-fewest in the nation. Freeze was a primary playcaller on the offense. Durkin said second-year offensive coordinator Derrick Nix will solely call plays moving forward. Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin quote-posted a video of Durkin’s comments on X with “Interesting concept (pondering emoji).”
The Tigers must win two of their final three games to become bowl-eligible.
Wilson’s done
Matt Zenitz reported Sunday that Florida freshman receiver Dallas Wilson was expected to miss the rest of the season after a foot injury during a 24-20 loss to Georgia.
Wilson set program records for a true freshman in their first start with 6 receptions for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 29-21 win Oct. 4 against then-No. 9 Texas. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Week and has totaled 12 catches, 174 yards and 3 touchdowns. Interim Coach Billy Gonzales, the wide receivers coach before Billy Napier’s firing, had recruited the freshman.
“I played the game and I lost time because of injuries,” Gonzales said. “It hurts. … We jumped on the bus on the way home and as we were driving away, I went and walked down the bus and sat down with him for a little bit. Sat next to him and just talked to him. Put my arm around him, told him I loved him. It’s a setback, but we’ll recover from it. He’ll be fine.”
The 3-5 Gators are led by Vernell Brown III’s 451 receiving yards. Wilson’s 174 are fifth and his 3 touchdowns are tied for a team-high with receiver Eugene Wilson III.
SEC in CFP
This season’s initial College Football Playoff rankings were announced Tuesday. Texas A&M and Alabama were projected as the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in the 12-team bracket, respectively, which would come with a first-round bye. The Big Ten boasts No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana.
Georgia was slotted as the No. 5 seed and Ole Miss as the No. 6. The format for the second-time 12-team CFP comes with a change. The committee is doing a straight seeding model, where the top four teams, regardless of conference champion, will receive that bye. Last year’s format had the Mountain West’s Boise State as the No. 3 seed and the Big 12’s Arizona State as the No. 4.
The SEC led with nine teams ranked in the initial top-25 CFP rankings: Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, No. 11 Texas, No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 16 Vanderbilt, No. 22 Missouri and No. 25 Tennessee. The Big Ten was next with seven, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference’s five.
Shula’s out
South Carolina Coach Shane Beamer fired offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Shula on Sunday following a 30-14 loss at No. 7 Ole Miss.
The Gamecocks fell to 3-6 on the season and 1-6 in the SEC. Shula was in the midst of his first season as offensive coordinator and was promoted on Dec. 17, 2024. He joined the staff in March of last year as an offensive analyst.
“Believed it was the right decision for a lot of reasons,” Beamer said of promoting Shula. “Frankly, it just hasn’t worked like I wanted it to work. We all have a hand in it, players and coaches, we all have to be better. But just did not like the way we were performing offensively.”
South Carolina’s 19.7 points per game ranks 120th in the country and last in the SEC. Its 294.1 average yards is 131st of 136 FBS teams. Beamer already fired third-year offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley on Oct. 12. The team’s 34 sacks allowed is second-most in the SEC to Auburn’s 37.
Shula, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Don Shula, coached Alabama from 2003-06, but much of his experience comes from the NFL. He served as the New York Giants’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks in 2018-19, the Denver Broncos’ quarterbacks coach in 2020-21 and most recently was the senior offensive assistant for the Buffalo Bills in 2022-23.
New for LSU
LSU President Wade Rousse promoted Verge Ausberry to permanent athletic director Tuesday, according to ESPN sources. Ausberry held the position with an interim tag after his predecessor, Scott Woodward, mutually parted ways with the university Oct. 30.
Woodward, hired in April 2019, fired football Coach Brian Kelly on Oct. 26 following a 49-25 loss at home to No. 3 Texas A&M. The roughly $53 million buyout sparked public criticism from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who said Woodward would not be in charge of hiring a replacement.
Ausberry was the executive deputy athletic director under Woodward. LSU’s board of supervisors, led by chairman Scott Ballard, named Rousse as the new president Tuesday. Ausberry will also have full authority to hire LSU’s next football coach and said Oct. 31 he has formed a search committee with Ballard, among others.
“We’re going to hire the best football coach there is,” Ausberry said. “We’re not going to let this program fail. LSU has to be in the playoffs every year.”
