What Hugh Freeze's firing means for Georgia football

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The Auburn Tigers fired head coach Hugh Freeze shortly after their embarrassing 10-3 home loss to the Kentucky Wildcats. Freeze went just 15-19 in two-plus seasons at Auburn. He went 0-3 against the Georgia Bulldogs including a 20-10 defeat this year that featured some controversial officiating decisions.

Georgia has now seen two of their biggest rivals fire their head coaches. The Florida Gators fired coach Billy Napier a couple of weeks ago. Georgia’s rivals have floundered in a time when Georgia has had stability and success under coach Kirby Smart. Additionally, LSU fired head coach Brian Kelly and Arkansas fired head coach Sam Pittman, which further expands the lack of coaching continuity in the SEC.

Georgia’s stability and consistency in recruiting gives the Bulldogs an advantage of several of their top rivals. Auburn, Florida and LSU are all going to try to hold on to their commitments in the class of 2026, but it will be tough to get players to sign during the Early Signing Period in December if they don’t know who their head coach will be. Of course, Auburn, Florida and LSU will all try to find their next coach before then, but we expect to see all three programs lose a few commitments over the upcoming weeks.

Freeze’s firing leaves Auburn having to pay a $15.4 million buyout, which isn’t even bad compared to what Florida owes Napier ($21 million) and what LSU owes Kelly (over $50 million). All three schools could look to target Georgia assistants with the most enticing one being Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann.

In theory, Georgia not having to pay a massive buyout should help the Bulldogs compete with the nation’s financially elite programs. UGA has a robust name, image and likeness fund, but Georgia is not as dominant as it used to be in recruiting.

One recruiting target to watch

Four-star linebacker Shadarius Toodle flipped his commitment from Georgia to Auburn after Georgia’s road win at Auburn. Toodle could be reconsidering his decision since Auburn fired Freeze. Georgia has just one commitment at linebacker in the class of 2026, so Toodle is at a position of need for the Bulldogs.

The future of Georgia-Auburn

Georgia and Auburn will play each other every season from 2026-2029. The Bulldogs will hope to take advantage of as Auburn hires its fourth head coach since 2020.

Georgia fans won’t miss playing Hugh Freeze, who was not exactly a favorite among rival fans. In 2024, Freeze turned Georgia into the SEC office for the way the Dawgs shift defensively. He won’t be able to do that anymore.

This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: How Auburn coach Hugh Freeze’s firing impacts UGA football

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