Ole Miss and Hugh Freeze brought an end to Nick Saban’s Alabama football dynasty on September 19, 2015. When the Rebels defeated the Crimson Tide for the second straight season, this time at Bryant-Denny Stadium, at least that was what the pundits had to say.
The Crimson Tide’s defense appeared archaic against Freeze’s fast-paced offense, the UA offense appeared confused after a quarterback switch, and the tides of college football appeared to be turning. Alabama just appeared unprofessional, and the head coach of Ole Miss at the time appeared to have the Rebels ready for a championship run.
After eight years, the situation has evolved. This Saturday, Saban and Freeze will square off once more at Auburn’s Iron Bowl.
Since Ole Miss earned those two victories, the careers of the two coaches have intersected numerous times. This is an overview of their journey.
“Make a route”
Saban is a sucker for second chances. When an Alabama player commits an off-field error, the coach tries to find ways to keep them on the team and guide them in the right direction.
He believes that dismissing someone from the team takes away his chance to make a difference in their life. When you question him about why, he will sometimes tell you a tale about how he was under pressure from outside sources to remove wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad from the Michigan State team.
Rather, he chose to keep Muhammad around, and the receiver succeeded in graduating, joining the NFL, and starting a new life.
At SEC Media Days in July, Saban stated, “I think most of us in this room, including myself, have probably done something in our lives that probably wasn’t a great choice and a great decision.” And we constantly aim to make it possible for players who have erred to receive another chance while also assisting them in learning from the bad choice or judgment they actually made.
That also applies to employees. With alumni like Lane Kiffin, Butch Jones, Mike Locksley, Steve Sarkisian, and others who went on to land another head coaching position, Saban’s infamous reform school for fired coaches has gained legendary status.
And it was said in 2018 that he desired Freeze.
In January of that year, Saban declared, “I think Hugh Freeze is a really good coach.” Thus, we’ll continue to assess and work to build the strongest staff possible.
Freeze’s career has collapsed since that 2015 game as a result of scandals he started. Not even the NCAA probe problems that plagued the program for years, stoked by Freeze’s infamous 2013 social media post urging readers to get in touch with Ole Miss compliance regarding any suspected infractions.
