After close to three seasons of mediocrity, losing to Kentucky sealed the deal on Hugh Freeze’s fate. After the game, the head coach called for patience, but on Sunday, he perhaps knew what was coming. The Tigers became the latest SEC team to fire its head coach after Florida and LSU. AD John Cohen chose defensive coordinator DJ Durkin for the interim HC role. But is he in the reckoning for a permanent position?

According to a recent report, Durkin is gunning for the HC spot. When asked whether the DC is in his list of coaches he’s looking at, Cohen gave a clear answer. “Absolutely,” he said.  “He’ll be part of a pool that we’ll consider,” On3 Sports’ Justin Hokanson shared on X.

One of the reasons for Freeze’s firing was the offensive challenges. Over the course of the season, QB Arnold Jackson, pegging $1.6 million, struggled to revive the offense. Over the course of the season, he registered just 13 touchdowns and 29 sacks. His interceptions proved costly. Against Arkansas, the Tigers were 10-14 in the second quarter. On 2nd & 8, he threw a red-zone pick-six, which was returned for a 89-yard TD, widening Arkansas’ lead, 21-10. He was eventually benched in favor of Ashton Daniels.

However, against Missouri, the offense showed some promise. Both touchdowns occurred on a one-yard run. And the defense limited Missouri to just  252 yards and 91 yards on the ground. It was tie by the end of the fourth quarter, 17-17. The game went into two overtime plays. They still had a chance, but a missed field goal proved costly, and Missouri won with another touchdown.

The Tigers rank second-to-last in the SEC in total offense, averaging 329.6 yards per game and 22.3 points per game.

Meanwhile, the team fared rather well on the other side of the ball. Ranking No. 4 in the SEC in total defense. DJ Durkin’s defense has shown considerable promise. This season, only three teams in the FBS haven’t allowed more than 24 points in a game this year, and one of them is Auburn.

John Cohen calls it “Average offense”

Against Kentucky, while Auburn managed just 3 points, the defense held the Wildcats to just 10. Even in other games, the defense was never an issue. At one point against Georgia, the Tigers had a chance to go up 17-0. The Bulldogs mounted a comeback, but in almost every game, the offense didn’t hold up its end of the bargain. Even when the defense stalled drives, the possession was lost in a matter of plays, with the team reaching just 50 yards in the second half.

The defense caught five interceptions combined against Arkansas and Missouri, but the offense failed to capitalize on that.  AD Cohen acknowledged as much. “If we had an average offense, there’s no telling what our record would be, and maybe he wouldn’t be standing up here right now.” After Kentucky’s loss, Freeze kept on defending himself, saying, “We’re so dang close.” But a 1-5 SEC record spoke for itself. Cohen even fired back on Freeze’s statement, “I’m not going to say that we’re close,” Cohen said. “Close doesn’t matter. Getting it done matters.”

Even Paul Finebaum didn’t mince his words: “The only positive thing I could say is that it was better than Bryan Harsin (former Auburn coach, who went a poor 9-12 before being fired), but it was still a complete and total failure,” he said. “There’s no getting around that.”

Freeze failed to fulfill the promise the Tigers’ faithful hoped for. His Ole Miss success: Back-to-back nine wins and four consecutive bowl games, and his high-flying tempo offense. But he couldn’t replicate that success with Auburn.