Speaking recently to students at All Christ Church in Auburn, Hugh Freeze described how he is experiencing God’s hope and peace even amid the brokenness and heartache of being terminated as Auburn University’s head coach during the team’s 2025 football season.
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Freeze recounted when he first accepted the head coaching job at Auburn in November 2022. Referring to his family, Freeze said, “I know God led us here. We believe that.”
‘Hard to understand’
Although Freeze had experienced the “highest of highs” in his four previous head coaching assignments where his teams had winning records, his record during just over two seasons at Auburn was 15–19.
“I had never coached at a place that I didn’t win until here. That’s hard to say; it’s hard to understand; it’s hard to believe,” he said.
Still, even when he was winning big games and celebrating success, Freeze recalled that those times of high emotion were often followed by days of asking himself, “Is this all there is?”
With God’s call to Auburn still fresh in his heart, Freeze was “called in,” in November 2025, to “hear the words” that he was being terminated “because of not having success on the field.” He then had to face his wife and children to share the bad news. He also carried the burden of knowing that many of his staff also would lose their jobs and livelihoods.
At that time, with a broken spirit, Freeze said he personally understood the truth of the Beatitudes, particularly Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Describing himself as “a competitive dude who wants to believe I can get it done,” Freeze said, “There was a period of time when I really understood that Beatitude, when truly in broken humility I know that without God, I have nothing.”
In the early days after his termination, the coach said he was counseled by other believers, including his pastor Miles Fidell, to answer the question, “Did you lead your players and staff in a godly manner?” and he said, “I knew the answer was yes.”
He realized his identity had to be rooted in Christ, rather than the trappings of success as a football coach. His identity, he said, “has to be rooted in, ‘Was it about His Kingdom, or was it about my successes and glory?”
Submitting to God
Freeze admitted, “The brokenness of losing a job — when you think you’re really good at it, and you think you have the right plan with the right staff, and you’ve recruited well, and it’s not working out — that brokenness stinks.”
Still, he has learned, “I don’t have a seat at the negotiating table. It’s God’s story to write, and it’s not mine. I have to submit to His story for me.
“I don’t know why this happened the way it did, and I can’t wait for the next chapter.”
As he waits for the next chapter, Freeze said he and his wife, children and grandchildren, have chosen to stay in Auburn.
“We’re not runners. We’re not ones to pick up (and leave) unless God tells us to, and to this point He has not done that.”
Although waiting can be tough, Freeze is confident God will see him through the days of uncertainty.
Freeze, who describes himself as “a country boy who grew up on a dairy farm,” recalls numerous past experiences where God’s provision sustained him through seemingly impossible situations, only to result in unexpected blessings and opportunities.
Praying urgently
During his first head coaching job at Lambuth University (now a campus of the University of Memphis) in Jackson, Tennessee, Freeze had hired an entire coaching staff and enjoyed a winning season in his first season there. Soon, he discovered the university was experiencing serious financial instability, resulting in Freeze and his staff not being paid.
Although he was offered another coaching assignment that would have met his family’s financial needs, he prayed urgently and sensed God directing him to stay with the struggling school and ride out the storm alongside his staff.
Staying focused
Two months after that anguished decision to stay with Lambuth University, two wealthy men stepped up to provide financial support for the football program and its staff for two years. A few years later, after Freeze had accepted another coaching job, Lambuth University ceased operations because of its financial woes.
Speaking to the college students, eager to embark on their careers with big dreams, Freeze said, “Remind yourself of the gospel every single day. There is no hope; there is no peace; There’s only guilt, pain, depression and anxiety” apart from the gospel.
Reflecting on 1 Timothy 3:16–17, Freeze said, “I need teaching every day; I need rebuking. Why? So that this servant of God can be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
“There is zero chance of us experiencing that peace and rest and being equipped for the career, for the calling, for the gifting — zero chance of that without us being in His Word, which is God-breathed.
“If I could beg you to have a consistency in opening up the Bible and seeing what God has to say to you about who you are and whose you are, then you will know your ‘why’ no matter what your ‘what’ ends up being.
“Rest and peace are found in Jesus.”
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