Hugh Freeze thanks Nick Saban, Miss Terry for friendship following Alabama coach's retirement

The news that rocked college football on Wednesday evening continued to reverberate well into the day on Thursday, as coaches, players and administrators alike continued to react to the retirement of legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban.

Friend or foe, Saban almost certainly made an impact one way or another.

That’s certainly true for Auburn coach Hugh Freeze, who ran up against Saban more than a few times, first at Ole Miss and then this year at Auburn. Freeze couldn’t say enough about what Saban has meant to the game and to him personally.

“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,” Freeze wrote on Twitter. “Enjoy Retirement!!”

While at Ole Miss, Freeze managed to knock off Saban twice, doing so in 2014 and 2015. The 2014 win would later be vacated due to NCAA rules violations in the Rebels program.

Still, a 2-3 record against Saban was nothing to scoff at and was likely one of the critical factors in Freeze landing the Auburn job. And the former Ole Miss head coach very nearly made it pay off early at Auburn in 2023.

The Tigers took the Crimson Tide to the brink in this year’s contest, losing only after Alabama converted an improbable fourth-and-31 to win the game. Freeze moved to 2-4 against Saban after that contest.

Lane Kiffin also grateful to Nick Saban

Freeze wasn’t the only SEC coach to express his gratitude to have coached against and worked around Nick Saban, as Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin also chimed in on Wednesday evening following the retirement of Saban and the stepping down of Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.

“The two [GOATs]. So honored and blessed to have learned from them and won national championships with both,” Lane Kiffin posted. “Thanks for taking a chance on me and being amazing mentor’s to me. Appreciate you both more than you will ever know. @AlabamaFTBL @Seahawks Greatness we may never see again. Appreciate it fans.”

Lane Kiffin was the young son of a coach when he joined Pete Carroll’s staff at USC in 2001. Initially, he was a tight ends coach but he worked his way up to being the offensive coordinator for the 2005 and 2006 seasons. During that time, he coached legendary players like Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush while winning two national championships.

Kiffin would parlay his USC success into other gigs down the road, including a stint at Alabama.

In the end, Kiffin would spend three seasons as Saban’s offensive coordinator. There, he was the offensive coordinator for another national championship. He also was able to help modernize the Alabama offense while earning another shot to be a head coach, first with FAU and now with Ole Miss.

On3’s Dan Morrison also contributed to this report.