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Nick Saban retirement: Hugh Freeze sends message to former rival
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Nick Saban’s retirement has rocked the college football world. One of the few coaches who knows what it’s like to beat the GOAT twice has reacted to seeing the legendary coach hang them up.
Freeze said that Nick and Terry Saban are close friends to him and his wife, Jill. Freeze wished Saban, who turned 72 in October, well in retirement.
Hard to express how much Nick and Ms Terri have meant to Jill and I as friends and you have forever set the mark for many to chase in this profession. Enjoy Retirement!!
— Hugh Freeze (@CoachHughFreeze) January 10, 2024
Freeze’s Ole Miss teams had quite the impact on Saban. The Rebels upset Alabama in the 2014 and ’15 seasons. Saban was inspired by Freeze and others to modernize the Crimson Tide’s offense. Freeze said that while at Liberty, he was approached by Saban about potentially taking the offensive coordinator position at Alabama.
After six seasons away from the SEC, Freeze returned to the conference as the head coach at Auburn. Freeze’s Auburn squad gave Alabama all it could handle in Saban’s last Iron Bowl. Alabama’s College Football Playoff hopes were nearly dashed until the “gravedigger” play on 4th-and-goal from the 31-yard line.
Freeze and the rest of the college football world will be watching closely to see who will be coaching on the opposite sideline for the next Iron Bowl.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
