Hugh Freeze on fan backlash to Auburn hiring: 'Give me a chance to earn your trust'

There has been some fan backlash after Auburn hired Hugh Freeze this week. The new Tigers headman addressed that head-on during his Tuesday press conference, asking fans to give him a chance.

Fans took to social media to share their thoughts on the hire, and some weren’t happy with John Cohen’s decision to hire the embattled former Ole Miss coach. However, Freeze’s message to the fans was the same as it was to the Auburn administration.

He wants a chance to prove he’s worthy of their trust.

“The same thing that I’ve kind of said is please give me a chance to earn your trust,” Freeze said. “Give me some time, get to know us, get to know our family, get to know the truth of our story. I think that the ones who have done that have said, ‘Man, you know what? I kind of like this guy and I kind of like his family.’ That’s all you can ask is give us a chance to earn your trust and I think you’ll like the end result.”

Hugh Freeze: ‘I’ve come to grips with everybody doesn’t know me’

Freeze was then asked if he was surprised by the social media backlash to his hiring, which is when he revealed he hasn’t personally used his Twitter account in some time, so he doesn’t know the extent of the reaction.

“Truthfully, I really don’t know the magnitude of backlash because believe or not, I just haven’t been on any social media in the last three or four weeks,” Freeze said. “I have an account, but somebody else has been running it. So, I really don’t know.”

However, he reiterated his message. He asked for fans to take the time to get to know him.

“Look, I’ve come to grips with everybody doesn’t know me, everybody doesn’t care to get to know me and everybody has an opinion, and they’re entitled to that,” Freeze said. “All I would ask is that the ones I care about is the Auburn family and the players and the administration and my family. That’s the ones that matter, and that’s the ones I’m saying take the time to get to know us. As with anyone, all of us have made a mistake before. I think how we’ve handled it as a family and how I’ve handled it as owning it and moving forward and playing the next play and working to get better and learn from it, that’s all I can do, and I’ll continue to do that every single day.

“What I did was what I did, but it’s not who I am. I know that, they know that and hopefully, everyone else will get to know that. But I really can’t spend my time worrying about whatever it is that’s catching the attention of the backlash. I just want to move forward and continue to do what I’ve done the last six years and put my hand to the plow and go to work and don’t look back.”