Nick Saban discussed his relationship with Auburn’s head coach Hugh Freeze ahead of the Iron Bowl on Monday.
Freeze was named Auburn’s head coach in November of 2022 and is in his first year as the Tigers’ head coach. He was once a candidate to be Alabama’s offensive coordinator and has talked about his relationship with Saban since accepting the job at Auburn.
Saban discussed how relationships with coaches impact games against them when asked about his relationship with Freeze.
“I’ve always been a guy that has a lot of respect for coaches and what we do to try to promote our game and how we try to impact young people as players,” Saban said. “I think you can have a relationship with somebody and still compete like crazy when you play against each other, but it’s really not personal. The outcome of the game is really not personal. :no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/18303190/111216_MFB_Cheerleaders_MSU_RS626.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
You’re doing the best you can to get your team to play the best, and I respect that as a coach. We’re going to do the best we can to get our team to play their best as a coach and hopefully people respect that. But at the end of the day, does it have to affect your relationship? I don’t think so. I don’t think you have to dislike somebody or have an adversary relationship with somebody to actually compete against them.
