Auburn’s Hugh Freeze gets the dreaded “vote of confidence” from AD John Cohen

It’s safe to say that Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze would welcome some shelter from the storm, especially now that the Oklahoma Sooners are coming to town.

In another attempt to solidify his seemingly shaky overview of the program, Freeze has reportedly inserted dethroned quarterback Payton Thorne back into the lineup to face the Oklahoma Sooners.

Call it cold comfort, even call it a dreaded vote of confidence, but Auburn athletics director John Cohen has urged frustrated Tigers fans to be patient in the face of this season’s setbacks.

Cohen was speaking with notoriously outspoken college football analyst Paul Finebaum when he decided to drink from a half-full cup, but should we really be that surprised?

“One of the things that frustrates me, Paul, is that I hear people talking about all these issues and giving all these reasons,” Cohen told Finebaum. “We are not yet where we want to be. But we are big boys and girls and we are aware that we have this big responsibility. It never comes as quickly as we want it to.”

But I believe in the way we recruit. I believe in what’s going on in our locker room right now. And I think, honestly, we’re in a better position now than I would have thought two years ago.

Essentially, what Cohen says is very much based on common sense, and his focus is quite rightly focused on the future.

However, let’s face some brutal facts; In the nearly two years that Cohen was the AD on the Plains, absolutely nothing could provide a quick fix.

Furthermore, especially for a program that has lacked core stability in recent years, everything is crying out for a reboot.

Right now, it’s understandable that fans are getting restless simply because they feel the team should, at least for now, host the likes of Cal and Arkansas at home.

For Tigers fans, the feeling of impending doom was always going to deepen if their team stumbled in the first five-game playoff that began the 2024 season.

Unfortunately, that scenario has played out, and given the massive uncertainty surrounding the quarterbacks, we could be down to 2-3 after the Sooners leave town on Saturday.

All of this added even more pressure on Freeze, but the veteran coach certainly didn’t help himself with some awkward comments and less-than-razor-sharp decision-making. He was an easy target for critics, including Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin and his former player Bo Wallace.

Clearly, despite all this, Cohen is firmly behind Freeze and believes he is the right man to hold the line in the long run.

Freeze has recruited well and that has undoubtedly bought him some time as he tries to iron out the inevitable issues on the field.

As a former basketball coach, Cohen knows very well how the clock is always ticking in a career, especially when you can’t solve the puzzle at a key position – like Freeze is currently experiencing as a quarterback.

Auburn fans aren’t happy, and Hugh Freeze is an easy target who hasn’t publicly helped himself this month, but at least for now, the athletic director has his back.