Apr 30, 2013; Greensboro, GA, USA; Mississippi Rebels head football coach Hugh Freez tees off during the Chick-fil-A Challenge at the Reynolds Plantation Resort. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey/CFA-pr via USA TODAY Sports **HAND OUT PHOTO **
Apr 28, 2014; Greensboro, GA, USA; Mississippi Rebels head football coach Hugh Freeze (left) celebrates finishing play for the day with Arizona head football coach Rich Rodriguez at the Chick-fil-A Challenge at Reynolds Plantation Resort. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey/CFA-pr via USA TODAY Sports **HAND OUT PHOTO **

After an ugly 10-3 loss to Kentucky on Saturday, Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze was fired by the university just hours after fans booed the third-year Tigers coach and chanted "Fire Hugh" as he walked off the field.

Freeze ended his tenure with the Tigers with a 15-19 record in his two-plus seasons. The team lost five of its last six games after opening the season with an impressive road win against Baylor and followed it up with defeats of Ball State and South Alabama, both Group of Five opponents.

But some fans figured out the former Ole Miss coach was preparing for departure through an absence on the tee sheet at the Auburn University Club, where Freeze was known to have a standing tee time of 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

With the slot originally under the name of his wife, Jill, the coach's tee time was suddenly scrubbed after the team's fifth loss of the season.

Over the summer, on a podcast with ESPN analyst David Pollack, Freeze fielded questions pertaining to golf, with many fans saying he spent too much time on the course.

"Everybody seems to like to talk about my golf game," Freeze said. "I enjoy playing it to get away."

"But what people don't realize is, probably, you know, I assure you I've never missed a camp day, or a recruiting day. But if camp got over at 3 o'clock one day, and Jill (Freeze) and I go out at 4:30, we absolutely might do that. And I'm not apologizing for that part of it, but my focus is 100% on getting Auburn in that win column this fall."

Freeze posted 10 rounds to the USGA's Golf Handicap Information Network (GHIN) in the month of June, which was more than any other college football coach who made their scores public.

Auburn's decision to part ways with Freeze is another significant opening to the coaching carousel that has gotten off to a fast start in the 2025 season. Some of the bigger jobs to open up just this season include Penn State, Florida and LSU, who have fired James Franklin, Billy Napier and Brian Kelly, respectively.

“I have informed Coach Freeze of my decision to make a change in leadership with the Auburn Football program," Auburn athletics director John Cohen said in a news release. "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.”

Defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin will serve as interim coach for the rest of the season, per Auburn's news release.

Freeze, meanwhile, will have more time to focus on his golf game: The university reportedly gave him over $15 million on his way out the door.

Ehsan Kassim of the USA Today Network contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Fans realized SEC football coach was being fired because his weekly tee time was canceled

Reporting by Tim Schmitt, Golfweek / Golfweek

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect