Auburn head football coach Gus Malzahn was fired, the school announced Sunday. The decision comes less than 24 hours after the Tigers finished the regular season with a 6-4 record after beating Mississippi State, 24-10, on Saturday. Malzahn finished with a record of 68-34 in his 8 seasons at Auburn. He is owed $21.7 million.
According to multiple media reports immediately following the job coming open, Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze is not only a candidate, but perhaps the leading candidate. According to Outkick, Freeze “is the leading candidate to replace Gus Malzahn at Auburn.” Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports reports that Freeze “is expected to be the top candidate” at Auburn.
Hugh Freeze is 17-6 in his two seasons at Liberty, including a program best 8-0 mark to begin the 2020 season before the Flames finished the regular season at 9-1. The Flames have also been ranked in both major college football polls for the first time in school history this season. Liberty is currently No. 21 in the Coaches Top 25 Poll and No. 22 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
“I want to do the best job I can where my feet are planted and that is loving and building this place that I’m at right now,” Freeze stated earlier this season when his name was mentioned as a candidate at South Carolina. “I’m very blessed to be here. All that I have peace about right now is sitting right in front of me here on this mountain. I’m thankful for it. They were more than gracious to me and my family. That goes a long way with me.”
Freeze has also said many times this season that it would take something very special to lure him away from Liberty. Auburn is one of only six college football programs to have won a National Championship in the last decade.
