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The daughter of ex-Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze has claimed that her father's health was 'deteriorating' in the lead-up to his eventual dismissal.
Freeze was let go by the Tigers on Sunday after three miserable seasons on the Plains. He leaves Auburn 4-5 for 2025 his overall record was 15-19.
The 56-year-old is reportedly owed a buyout of $15.8million after leaving midway through his six-year, $49m deal.
Following his departure, Freeze's daughter Madi faced backlash after posting a 'tone-deaf' TikTok over the matter. However, she's since returned to social media to speak out about her father's health which was 'deteriorating' in the lead-up to his dismissal.
In a since-deleted TikTok, according to the New York Post, she revealed: 'In some twisted way, there's a relief factor for me personally because I've watched my dad's health just deteriorate over this.
'Other people can see it, I know y'all can see it, he's not healthy.
Hugh Freeze's daughter said her father's health was 'deteriorating' prior to his Auburn exit
Auburn fired head football coach Freeze after he put up a 15-19 record on the Plains
'I'm thankful there's relief that my dad finally gets to have the surgeries that he needs, and they're scheduled, and he's going to get healthy.'
Hugh Freeze is set to undergo surgery on the prostate cancer he was diagnosed with in February.
As a student at Auburn, Madi would regularly attend Tigers matches and regularly shared pictures on social media of her sitting in the stands or at the game.
Madi continued: 'We loved Auburn, and the second we got here, everybody was very adamant that if you love Auburn, it will love you back.
'Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for us…. We don't wish bad upon them, but we do hope that they turn to the lord and find Jesus.'
Though she did insist in the recent video that she wishes the school well, she previously shocked fans after taking aim at the school in wake of Freeze's firing.
Freeze had said: 'Obviously we came here hoping to restore a program and we were promised four years and that didn't happen.
'There's frustration, there's hurt... I get that people didn't see the results they wanted in three years but we all knew this was going to be much longer than a three-year rebuild.'
Freeze poses with his family, including Madi (fourth from left), on the field at Auburn
Freeze arrived at the school in 2023, reaching one bowl game and winning 6 SEC games
She insisted the family 'loved Auburn' and that they were told: 'If you love Auburn, it will love you back.' But, Freeze claimed: 'Unfortunately that wasn't the case for us'.
The video drew huge criticism from Auburn supporters, including one who said: 'This is tone-deaf... Auburn deserves to have a great program not the subpar one that he’s delivered.'
Freeze had been on the hot seat all season long after going 5-7 and missing a bowl game in 2024.
However, with this defeat to Kentucky - which had not won an SEC game before Saturday - Freeze's time is officially up.
Auburn adds its name to the growing coaching carousel in college football, with multiple top jobs throughout the sport now up for grabs.
In addition to Auburn, job openings have popped up mid-season at LSU, Florida, Penn State and Arkansas among others.
At the FBS level, Freeze began his head coaching career at Arkansas State before becoming the head coach at Ole Miss.
