While current Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin was considered the frontrunner to become the new head coach at Auburn, he ultimately decided to stay, clearing the way for the Tigers to hire former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze instead.
Freeze comes with a pretty muddy reputation that includes, amongst other things, a boatload of NCAA violations and ethical concerns from his time at Ole Miss. While Freeze eventually rehabbed his coaching career at Liberty (when he wasn’t trying to intimidate sexual assault victims who spoke up) and is now back in the SEC.
During his introductory presser, Freeze seemed to take a shot across the bow of the Rebels, an interesting choice for a guy who loves to tell you about how you have the wrong idea about him.
Hugh Freeze on Auburn: "I feel like this is, no offense to another school or anything, but I feel like I've leapfrogged where I was at that time (Ole Miss) by being in this family and this culture here. … I see this as one of the top 10 football programs in the nation."
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) November 29, 2022
“I feel like this is, no offense to another school or anything, but I feel like I’ve leapfrogged where I was at that time (Ole Miss) by being in this family and this culture here,” said Freeze. “I see this as one of the top 10 football programs in the nation.”
That almost certainly caught the attention of Kiffin, who has had plenty of nice things to say about his predecessor up until now. Kiffin also caught wind of a reported clause in Freeze’s Auburn contract that states he is required to turn over control of his social media accounts, something that Freeze has denied.
That didn’t stop Kiffin from taking a fun shot at his new rival on Wednesday.
@OleMissFB I would tweet at you but I guess you aren’t allowed to respond by @AuburnFootball 👼 now https://t.co/NF3h0Bwyud pic.twitter.com/3isGCkxUMd
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) November 30, 2022
“I would tweet at you but I guess you aren’t allowed to respond by [Auburn Football] now,” wrote Kiffin.
Whether you agree with Freeze deserves the Auburn job or not, it certainly always makes things interesting when the conference has so many characters like him and Kiffin.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.