Auburn University has fired head football coach Hugh Freeze after a 10-3 loss to Kentucky at home Saturday.

Below is the formal announcement from the university:

AUBURN, Ala.— Auburn Athletics Director John Cohen announced on Sunday a change in leadership for the Auburn Football program. D.J. Durkin will serve as interim head coach. (NOTE: Durkin served as co-defensive coordinator at Ole Miss under head coach Lane Kiffin for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.)

Statement from Auburn Athletic Director John Cohen

“I have informed Coach Freeze of my decision to make a change in leadership with the Auburn Football program. 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. Our expectations for Auburn Football are to annually compete for championships and the search for the next leader of Auburn Football begins immediately.”

Freeze later released a statement on X:

Freeze returned to the SEC five years after his 2017 resignation from Ole Miss, which was triggered by the revelation of a phone call made on his university phone to a number connected to an escort service.

He left Oxford with a 39-25 record that included a top 10 finish to the 2015 season with a Sugar Bowl victory. NCAA violations led to 27 of those wins being vacated.

Following four successful seasons at Liberty, Freeze arrived at Auburn with expectations he would return the Tigers to their winning ways.

However, his teams never finished above .500 in his three seasons on the Plains. His overall record coaching the Tigers is 15-19.

With Freeze’s firing, the Southeastern Conference now has four open football coaching jobs: Arkansas, Auburn, Florida and LSU.