Hugh Freeze addresses relationship with Lane Kiffin, stance on social media jabs

Hugh Freeze addressed his relationship with Lane Kiffin during SEC Media Days following days of trolling and perceived backhanded comments and digs. Kiffin also addressed a viral tweet of him fishing amid Freeze’s recruiting criticisms and his golf game.

But it’s all in good fun according to Freeze. The Auburn head coach is a big fan of the Ole Miss leader and the coach’s family. 

Kiffin seems to be the master of social media among the SEC coaches, and perhaps college coaches at large. Freeze isn’t on it much, but appreciates what his SEC counterpart does.

“I’m not on social media, but I love Lane,” Freeze said at SEC Media Days. “He makes me laugh, and I think he’s a good football coach, for sure. Loved his family for a long time. You know Chris, his brother, was with me at the beginning of my journey, and I owe a lot to him and his wife, Angela. And Monte would always come and help, also, when he could. And I think Lane’s done a great job. I couldn’t get away with doing all the social media. So I admire him. Go have fun with it.”

Kiffin explained his tweet at Freeze Monday during his turn at SEC Media Days. Whether it’s fair or not to analyze something like that on social media, that’s the age of college athletics, and society, we live in.

“I like Coach Freeze,” Kiffin said. “I think they think thought that was something to do with, like, I was fishing and it was golfing. That really wasn’t that. I have a thing with him, going back a few years ago, and he like posted a picture in response to me, of some two-pound bass or something like that.

“So I’ve kind of always posted bigger fish pictures back toward him. So it had nothing to do with his golf game, which it sounds like he’s doing amazing at that. So, that’s great for him… And I was fishing yesterday as a dead period, by the way, just making sure that we’re clear on that. People wanna say that fishing is like golfing. It’s a dead period.”

While Freeze is far from the only SEC coach who enjoys hitting the golf course, he seemingly spends more time there than any of the others. For reference, South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer had the second-most recorded golf scores in June with just three.

Then again, Beamer isn’t regularly shooting 66’s. Freeze will have a chance to silence his critics on Aug. 29, when the Tigers kick off their 2025 campaign in a showdown against Baylor at 8 p.m. ET. The game will air live on FOX.