College Football

Auburn hiring Hugh Freeze as football coach

Updated Nov. 28, 2022 7:06 p.m. ET

Auburn is bringing Hugh Freeze back to the Southeastern Conference, hiring him as the program's next football coach, FOX Sports' Bruce Feldman confirmed Monday.

Freeze, 53, had been the head coach at Liberty from 2019-2022. He is 34-15, taking the Flames to three consecutive bowl games.

Freeze will replace Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, who took over as interim coach after the school fired Bryan Harsin on Oct. 31. The Tigers were 3-5 under Harsin and 2-2 under Williams, capped by a 49-27 loss in the Iron Bowl to Alabama on Saturday. Their 5-7 mark clinches the program's first losing regular season since 2012.

The 53-year-old Freeze was head coach at Ole Miss from 2012-2016, winning 37 games with four bowl appearances. Twenty-seven of those victories were vacated because of an NCAA investigation that found ineligible players participated in games.

Freeze ultimately resigned as the Rebels' coach after university officials discovered he had used a school-issued cell phone to call escort services during his time as coach.