MrSEC » Ole Miss

Freeze Hoping For “Buy In” From Rebels

John — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:05:20 +0000

Hugh Freeze is hoping to avoid the cold-shoulder from the Ole Miss football team. The new Rebel coach tells The Jackson Clarion-Ledger that he knows he won’t win over everybody, but he hopes to reach the vast majority of players:

“At the end of the day, you hope 80% of your team has chosen to buy in. that’s the buy-in principle. And your 20%, you hope they’re not negative influences. If you can ever get a team that’s about 90% or so to buy in, I think you got a special group. But that’s always a challenge.”

Freeze was a head coach for one season at Arkansas State. He’ll be asking his team to buy-in on faith, not on a long, distinguished resume. His players, therefore, will likely want to see some early positive results before they buy-in completely.

Freeze Takes The High-Road With Mullen

John — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:59:04 +0000

On signing day, Dan Mullen told a Mississippi State video crew that he doesn’t just preach values, he lives it every day in his program. Ole Miss fans — familiar with Mullen’s many shots at the Rebels over the years — took his comments to be a thinly-veiled reference to new UM coach Hugh Freeze, a man who speaks often of his faith.

Asked about Mullen’s remarks by The Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Freeze took the high road… as Houston Nutt often tried to do before him:

“I’m sure that all of us express our faith in different ways. I have said from Day One that I’m far from perfect and do not claim to be and certainly don’t judge others. I have said from Day One also that I have great respect for what he’s done there. I give credit where credit’s due. I look forward to trying to increase our momentum against them, but whether or not he meant that toward me — I don’t know why he would, because I will never. I’m not going to talk about something I don’t know, Number One, and have no reason to think anything about me.

We’re not going to enter into negative recruiting. It’s just not what we’re going to do. … Will we be 100% in that? Probably not as a whole staff, but I don’t think that’s going to be the practice we adhere to…

I look forward to talking with him. I do. I know how we feel about that rivalry and I certainly understand it and I get it. I’ve lived here. But at the end of the day, I don’t know that it has to be a rift between the coaching staff because of it. I’m going to want to beat them as bad as we can and he’d going to want to do the same, but I still think you can have a professional relationship. I hope.

I don’t think he in any way in recruiting tried to do anything that was hurtful towards me personally or say anything about me. And I know I didn’t him.”

Mullen is a needler. He’s got a touch of Spurrier and a dash of Kiffin about him. (Cue the “he’s a sweetheart” emails from MSU fans.)

We’ll see how long it take for MSU’s coach to get under the skin of UM’s new head man.

(Sidenote — Because MSU fans are already yelping we’ve changed the word “faith” above to “values.” Mullen was referring to preaching about values, not preaching about faith. This changes nothing, of course, as Rebel fans still took it as a shot at Freeze who is vocal about his faith, values, beliefs, etc. And UM fans taking Mullen’s comment as an insult was what led the reporter from The JCL to ask Freeze his thoughts on the remark… and that’s what led us to post it here.

Here’s a link to the web clip.)

UM’s Kennedy Keeps His Lips Zipped Regarding SEC Schedule

John — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:27:15 +0000

The Ole Miss basketball team hosts Florida tonight in the first of three Thursday-Saturday turnarounds in the next month. But if you want Andy Kennedy to get onboard the Complain Train, you’re out of luck:

“I don’t put a lot of thoguht in that because I don’t really have anything to do with. We all realize that we’re in a big business. SEC men’s basketball is a high-dollar business. And the reason that it is on a lot of fronts, is because of television revenue.

So television affords you the opportunity to get in those windows and those windows are Thursday and Saturday. If they choose you to fit those windows, then we’ll do the best we can to do just that.”

Kudos to Kennedy. Unlike other coaches who’ve chosen to gripe about the league’s schedule right in the middle of the season — when nothing can be done about it — the Rebels’ coach is biting his tongue.

You can be sure that Kennedy isn’t pleased that his team got the worst of the Thursday-Saturday turnarounds. And if he’s still around for this year’s SEC Meetings in Destin, we hope he voices any complaints he might have before the next batch of schedules is put together.

But for now, Mississippi’s coach is refusing to create negative press for the league office and he’s not teaching his players that it’s not okay to make excuses. Good for him.

Ole Miss Hires 4; Vandy Now A Real, Live Football Program

John — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:15:15 +0000

Yesterday, Ole Miss officially announced the hirings of three assistants for its football program:

* Former Rebel player Grant Heard will follow Hugh Freeze from Arkansas State where he was the Red Wolves’ passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In Oxford, he’ll be the receivers coach.

* Paul Jackson has been hired as UM’s new strength and conditioning coach. Jackson is moving just up the road from Hattiesburg where he handled the same duties at Southern Miss last season. From 2007 to 2010 he served on LSU’s strength staff.

* Finally, Mississippi has officially hired Wesley McGriff to be the team’s co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach. McGriff comes to Ole Miss from Vanderbilt.

* It’s also been reported that a fourth coach — Dan Werner — will be taking over as UM’s quaterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator. Werner worked with Freeze on Ed Orgeron’s Ole Miss staff. Werner comes to Ole Miss from a private high school where he has been serving as head coach.

Which brings us to the Vandy part of this story. James Franklin got a lot of people believing on Nashville’s West End this year and nothing that’s happened since the end of the season should change that. In fact, Vanderbilt’s starting to look like a real, live, honest-to-God SEC football program.

What do I mean by that? McGriff is the second assistant coach Vandy has lost this year. Chris Beatty left the Dores’ program to become a co-offensive coordinator at Illinois last week.

Also, Franklin himself has become a bit controversial. He’s had postgame dust-ups with Georgia and Tennessee assistants (blame whoever you like). He’s had at least one exiting player accuse him via Twitter of running players off his team. And today there’s a bit more buzz.

Running back prospect I’Tavius Mathers has re-upped his commitment to Ole Miss because he “just felt like (Vandy’s coaches) weren’t being completely honest with me” regarding playing time. The player’s father added: “He wanted to go to Vanderbilt. But they were playing around with him on his playing time. They were not being honest with me in what they wanted to do.”

So while Ole Miss is adding assistants and a top running back recruit, Vanderbilt is adding street cred. Franklin has Vandy making the kind of headlines normally associated with the other 11 programs in the SEC. And that’s a step in the right direction if you’re a Commodore fan.

UM’s Kennedy Dismisses Nelson, Jones From Hoops Squad

John — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:14:37 +0000

With back to the wall career-wise, Andy Kennedy has dismissed two members of the Ole Miss basketball team… including the squad’s leading scorer. Dundrecous Nelson was arrested at his home and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia just hours after the Rebels beat SMU on Wednesday night. The arresting officer said he found eight cigarillos of marijuana in the apartment when he entered. He also said he’d been in the same apartment on another occasion and let Nelson off with a warning. Freshman Jamal Jones and two women were in the apartment with Nelson on Wednesday. And that was all Kennedy needed to hear.

Kennedy dismissed Nelson and Jones for a violation of team rules:

“When you see guys that have to be dismissed for things that are just poor decision that they make at very influential times of their life, it’s hurtful. It’s hurtful to me as their coach. It’s hurtful for me as a guy who brought them into our extended family. I’m terribly disappointed.”

This is a body blow for Kennedy.

In his sixth season in Oxford, most believe the coach will need to reach the the NCAA Tournament to save his job. Two weeks ago, leading rebounder Murphy Holloway suffered the dreaded, slow-to-heal high ankle sprain. Now Nelson — who was averaging 11.6 points per game — is gone. All from a team that ranks fifth in the SEC in rebounding and just 10th in scoring.

Ole Miss opens SEC play tomorrow afternoon at LSU.

UM’s Nelson Arrested After Win Over SMU

John — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:34:23 +0000

The end could be near for Ole Miss’ Andy Kennedy. The fates seem to be aligned against him.

With his team showing promise midway through its non-conference slate, leading rebounder Murphy Holloway went down with a high ankle sprain. A three-game losing streak followed.

That streak was snapped on Tuesday night with a 50-48 homecourt win over SMU. But it’s now been learned that after the game, sophomore Rebel guard Dundrecous Nelson was arrested at his home and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. Nelson is UM’s leading scorer at 11.6 points-per-game.

Kennedy said he learned of the arrest yesterday afternoon and he is currently doing his “due diligence” on the issue.

Minus his leading rebounder and scorer, it’s doubtful Kennedy can rally his team to the point of earning an NCAA Tournament bid. Heading into the season, the feeling in Oxford was that only an invitation to the Big Dance would save his job.

Plenty Of Cold Cash For UM’s Freeze If He Earns His Bonuses

John — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:22:43 +0000

Houston Nutt made $2.76 million last year in his final season at Ole Miss. The man who replaced him can actually make more than that. If he earns a heckuva lot of incentive bonuses.

Responding to a Freedom of Information Act request by The Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Ole Miss officials have further outlined the salary structure for the new Revel football coach. At Freeze’s introductory presser UM chancellor Dan Jones said the coach’s base salary would be $1.5 million with bonus opportunities that could bring that total in “excess” of $2.5 million.

Now UM spokesperson Kyle Campbell has revealed to The Clarion-Ledger’s Hugh Kellenberger that Freeze has “an opportunity to earn more than $1,400,000 in incentive payments.” He also said the incentives “are based upon performance on the field and in the classroom.”

Do a bit of math — $1.5 million base salary plus > than $1.4 million in incentive bonuses — and you find that Freeze could make between $2.9 and $3 million next season for the Rebels. Nice numbers. But we suspect the majority of those bonuses will be awfully darn hard to hit.

UM Fanbase Split On Freeze, But He Wows Those In His Corner During His Opening Presser

John — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:28:00 +0000

Talk to a hundred Ole Miss fans today and fifty will tell you new head coach Hugh Freeze is the perfect man for the job in Oxford.

The other fifty will say the Rebels should have aimed higher.

At a time when the Ole Miss fanbase desperately needed some healing, the school’s new hire has only added to the feeling of consternation. That’s not Freeze’s fault, of course. If you could move up the ranks from high school coaching to SEC assistant coaching to NAIA head coaching to low-level FBS head coaching to SEC head coaching in an eight-year span, you’d do it, too.

And Freeze has done well at every step. You don’t rise like that without winning over a lot of people — a lot of skeptics — along the way.

But are there enough accomplishments on the coach’s short resume to make you believe Freeze is the man to lead Mississippi to its first SEC title since 1963? That he’s got a better shot of reaching Atlanta than Houston Nutt, Ed Orgeron, David Cutcliffe or Tommy Tuberville had?

The answer, of course, is no. And for that reason, we understand why the half of the UM fanbase that wanted Mike Leach or another more proven commodity as head coach are disappointed. “A guy who could’ve at least guaranteed some fun on fall Saturdays wasn’t given a look… but a guy who was coaching girls basketball in 2004 was?” Yeah, we hear ya.

Yesterday, Freeze was greeted warmly on the Ole Miss campus. At his opening press conference he thrilled the 1,500 souls who showed up to hear him by announcing, “It’s good to get back to the University of Mississippi.” Take that, Dan Mullen.

Freeze won the press conference, as they say. But Nutt won his press conference with his folksy charm four years ago. Introductory press conferences only go so far.

In the end, Freeze will be judged only by the number of wins he records. And if that number is less than the number of wins put up by Leach at Washington State — fair or not — the UM fans who are scratching their heads today will be wagging their tongues in the years to come.

Other notes from Freeze’s grand unveiling:

* Mike Glenn, the FedEx executive who led the Ole Miss search committee alongside Archie Manning says Freeze was the #1 choice all along. “I know leadership when I see it.”

* The search committee told UM chancellor Dan Jones that Freeze “is the best fit for Ole Miss.”

* Freeze — who’ll make $1.5 million per year with bonuses that could bring the package to $2.5 — said yesterday: “If you want to walk into our offices and meeting rooms after about a week that we’ve been together and ask them what is our ‘it’ here, their answer will be real simple. Offensively our ‘it’ will be to be a fundamentally efficient scoring machine. That’s it. That’s simple. If you walk into our defensive room and ask our kids what is our ‘it,’ our defense will say, everyone of them will say, it is to relentlessly pursue the football and knock the ever-loving stink out of the ball-carrier. That’s how it is.”

* Freeze wouldn’t say the words “Mullen” or “Mississippi State,” but he did say of the Egg Bowl: “It’s not big, it’s paramount. I have great respect for the job he’s done there and certainly take nothing away from that job, but being raised here, I have a quite good understanding of what that means. The administration doesn’t have to tall me that. … Again, great respect for what they’ve done, but it’s about regaining the momentum.”

* Regarding his quick ascent in the coaching world, Freeze said: “It’s a God thing to go from high school to here. The time I spent here then left, that was devastating for me because of my love for this place. My whole aspiration was to find a way to get back.”

* Freeze cried openly as he met with his Arkansas State team before leaving. After a 10-minute talk, his ex-team gave him a standing ovation as he left the room. That’s pretty impressive in its own right.

* The Rebels’ new coach made it clear that Ole Miss is his dream job: “This is a destination place for me. It is not a stop along the path. It is where I want to live, it’s where I want to be, it’s where I want to retire. This is home to me.”

* Some UM fans summed up their backing of Freeze’s hire with three words: “I trust Archie.”

* Freeze calls coaching his “ministry” and this long-time Jackson writer says that if the new guy “coaches as well as he preaches” then the Rebs got a winner.

* Freeze’s next big job? Connecting with Ole Miss’ recruits.

Ole Miss To Announce Freeze As Coach Today

John — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:40:31 +0000

Ready for a pun? I started to headline this post: “Ole Miss To Announce Hiring Freeze.”

Hugh Freeze of Arkansas State will be introduced today at 3pm ET as the Rebels’ next head football coach. As the school put it in a press release:

“A Mississippi native, inspirational leader and one of the nation’s top rising coaches, Hugh Freeze was the first choice to return championships to Ole Miss Football and will be introduced as the Rebels’ 37th head coach today…”

The whole “first choice” part might not be exactly true as a few reports have claimed Southern Miss’ Larry Fedora — who’s being listed in connection with several higher-profile jobs, including Texas A&M — turned down overtures from Archie Manning’s search committee.

Freeze may well turn out to be the right choice for the job, but he certainly isn’t the splashy choice.

Fedora has turned Southern Miss into arguably the best program in the state of Mississippi. He’s also lived in the state for four years and knows every dusty Delta backroad when it comes to recruiting inside the Magnolia State.

Mike Leach and Rich Rodriguez were available for pursuit as well. Manning and crew decided to look elsewhere. Now Freeze will be held up to the successes (or failures) that Leach and Rodriguez have at Washington State and Arizona respectively.

Also, we do not believe Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart — despite several reports to the contrary — was ever given a serious look by the UM search committee.

If Fedora, Leach, Rodriguez and/or Smart flourish elsewhere while Freeze becomes the umpteenth UM coach to flame out by The Grove, it might just put a tiny dent in ol’ #18′s halo.

We have no problem with Manning and crew deciding not to pursue an assistant like Smart. The Rebel program needs a proven head coach at this point. Unfortunately, Freeze is hardly proven.

As you’re sure to hear time and again in the coming weeks, months and years, Freeze was coaching high school football and girls’ basketball in 2004 at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis. His star player there was Michael Oher of “The Blind Side” fame.

Ed Orgeron plucked Freeze from the high school ranks — and landed Oher, too — when he made the coach an assistant AD for football external affairs in 2005. In 2006 he became Orgeron’s recruitng coordinator and tight ends coach. He then became the team’s receivers coach as well.

When Orgeron was ousted in 2007, Freeze headed to NAIA Lambuth University as head coach. He went 20-5 at Lambuth in 2008 and 2009.

In 2010, he moved to Arkansas State as offensive coordinator. The team finished 4-8 and head coach Steve Roberts was replaced by Freeze last offseason. In his first year as head coach of the Red Wolves, Freeze led the team to a 10-2 record and a Sun Belt Conference title.

While his rise has been impressive, it’s hard to ignore the fact that this is a mighty big gamble or Ole Miss. Freeze may eventually prove that he was indeed the best choice the UM search committee could make. But there’s not much on the resume — at least not on the BCS level — to suggest that will be the case. It’s a long way from coaching girls basketball to competing with Nick Saban, Les Miles and Bobby Petrino in the toughest division in college football.

Archie Manning released a video on UM’s official website today announcing the hire.

The Jackson Clarion-Ledger has more here.

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal has more here and here.

Hudspeth Pulls Name From UM Search; Manning Wants Process Done Soon

John — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:22:32 +0000

You can scratch Mark Hudspeth’s name from the list of potential Ole Miss candidates. Louisiana-Lafayette’s coach — who reportedly interviewed with the Rebels’ search committee on Sunday — has pulled his name from consideration, according to David Johnson of RebSportsRadio.com.

Hudspeth — a former assistant under Dan Mullen before moving to UL — “alluded to Johnson” that the committee led him to believe “that Hudspeth’s ties to Mississippi State were an issue.”

If that’s true, then Texas defensive coordinator Manny Diaz might come off the list, too, due to the year he served in Starkville.

Archie Manning has told The Memphis Commercial Appeal that he “very much wants to” have a candidate to take to UM chancellor Dan Jones within two-and-a-half weeks.

“We’re moving fast as we can,” Manning said. “We’ve conducted some interviews on the phone and in person, and we’ll conduct some more this week. There are some coaches still playing some games this upcoming weekend that we want to interview. There are some coaches we’re interested in that didn’t coach this year.”

The coaches still coaching this weekend are likely Larry Fedora of Southern Miss and Hugh Freeze of Arkansas State.

As far as men who weren’t coaching this year, Mike Leach does not appear to be a candidate and Rich Rodriguez has already landed the job at Arizona.

So here’s one for the messageboarders to have some fun with — Who did Archie’s boy, Peyton, play for at Tennessee? A currently out-of-coaching Phillip Fulmer.

Egg Bowl Preview? Mullen, Fedora Trade Barbs

John — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:02:24 +0000

As noted earlier today, Larry Fedora is figuring prominently in Ole Miss’ search for a new head coach. He’ll likely win a few Rebel fans to his corner with a barb he tossed toward Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen… a coach who has tossed his own barbs at UM for three years.

After Saturday’s Egg Bowl win, Mullen said:

“Hopefully the kids in the state of Mississippi understand this is the place to come to win championships.”

Said the man who’d just finished up a 6-6 regular season. While Mullen dart was clearly aimed at Ole Miss, Fedora — who is at Southern Miss — took notice. And it just so happens his team is 10-2 on the season and is heading into a C-USA title game with Houston this weekend. His reply to Mullen’s boast:

“We’re proud of the fact that all the great players from the state of Mississippi on this team have an opportunity to actually play for a championship.”

Zing.

If you thought Mullen would allow Fedora to have the final word, however, you don’t know Mullen. Told of USM’s coach’s comments, MSU’s coach said:

“It’s neat for them that they get to play in that championship game, obviously it’s not the Southeastern Conference.”

There’s a slim chance that Mullen and Fedora could meet up in the Liberty Bowl this season if the Music City Bowl passes on State, if USM loses to Houston, and if the two in-state schools agree to meet in Memphis.

Perhaps our best hope of seeing this two go head-to-head is for Mullen to stay put in Starkville and for Fedora to land the job in Oxford. First man to an actual SEC championship wins.

Magnolia State Coaching Rumors (Plus Hearsay From Across The SEC)

John — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:33:56 +0000

There’s already one coaching vacancy in the state of Mississippi. According to the rumor mill, there might be another SEC school in the Magnolia State that will have to go looking for a new coach soon.

Starting with the known opening at Ole Miss, Southern Miss’ Larry Fedora continues to be the focus of most of the talk. Makes sense. In four years at USM he’s taken the Golden Eagles from back-to-back 7-6 seasons to 8-5 all the way to 10-2 and the C-USA Championship Game this year. Before moving to Hattiesburg, Fedora was an offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State and at Florida (under Ron Zook).

His proximity and reputation as a solid recruiter make him a natural leader for the job Archie Manning and crew are trying to fill. But his name is also popping up in connection with other jobs — North Carolina for one.

For now, Fedora isn’t talking about about the Ole Miss job… and that’s to be expected. His team is prepping for unbeaten Houston in the C-USA title bout.

Meanwhile, Louisiana-Lafayette’s Mark Hudspeth — a former Dan Mullen assistant at MSU — is believed to be rising up the UM charts. Reports claim he interviewed with the Rebels’ search committee Sunday in New Orleans.

While a BleacherReports.com post claimed Arkansas State’s Hugh Freeze had already agreed to take the Memphis job — totally false — the school has actually released a statement saying that Freeze does not have permission this week to speak with other schools. The Red Wolves face Troy this weekend.

Freeze was an assistant in Oxford under Ed Orgeron and he reportedly made a good impression on folks in the UM administration.

For Fedora, Hudspeth and Freeze, Ole Miss is a step up. Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart is also on the Rebels’ watch list, but would he really want to get his start at the bottom of the SEC West at a school that’s never been to the SEC title game? The money would be good and there’s nothing wrong having the letters S-E-C on the resume, but Smart’s career might be better aided by him starting elsewhere.

Plus, how many Nick Saban acolytes have gone on to great success in coaching? The most high-profile former Saban aides are Jimbo Fisher (Florida State fans are mad at him), Derek Dooley (Tennessee fans are mad at him), and Will Muschamp (Florida fans are already mad at him). All of those coaches are relative newbies on the big stage, but that’s hardly a track record of great success.

For his part, Saban says Smart is ready. “Leadership is really an important part of being a head of anything, a business or whatever it is, and I think Kirby is a great leader,” Saban said yesterday. He also said he thinks Smart will make “an outstanding head coach.”

We still believe Ole Miss would be wise to check out one of the coaches who beat the Rebels this year — Sonny Dykes from Louisiana Tech.

The Mississippi job might not be the only opening in the Magnolia State if the rumor-mongers and messageboarders are correct. Mississippi State’s Mullen has emerged as one of the most talked about candidates to replace Joe Paterno at Penn State.

MSU fans went down this road with Miami rumors last year only to hang onto their coach. Would Mullen make the move to State College this year?

On the surface, Penn State is one of the best college football jobs in America. It’s the top school in a fertile recruiting zone and the Big Ten isn’t as cutthroat and tough as the SEC at the moment.

Below the surface, someone’s going to have a major clean-up job on his hands — and we still don’t know what the NCAA might due to the Nittany Lions’ program. Plus, while Joe Paterno’s name is now tarnished, don’t forget, PSU students rioted to keep him. And Penn State fans are used to winning big — over the long haul — with Paterno. They won’t be patient regardless of the circumstances.

Other nuggets:

* Vanderbilt’s James Franklin has had his name attached to the Penn State job as well.

* Gus Malzahn — once believed to be the leader for the North Carolina head coaching job — has reportedly dropped a bit with Auburn’s recent offensive struggles.

* At Tennessee, fans are waiting to see if Derek Dooley makes any sudden moves on his coaching staff. Rumors emerged last yesterday that offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and offensive line coach Harry Hiestand had been let go. Naturally, those rumors were false.

* Joker Phillips is safe at Kentucky, but there’s much speculation about who from his staff might be let go following the Cats’ first non-bowl season in six years. Offensive coordinator Randy Sanders — who’d done an excellent job until this year — might be a fall guy since defensive coordinator Rick Minter has just wrapped his first year in the Bluegrass State. Minter’s defense struggled as much as Sanders’ offense until the season’s final two weeks.

The Latest On The Ole Miss Coaching Search

John — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:54:21 +0000

Before we sign off for the night, we wanted to bring you some of the news and rumors surrounding the head coaching job at Ole Miss. We’ll start with the fan favorites.

Though Mike Leach and Gus Malzahn are likely at the top of most Rebel fans’ wish lists, we don’t believe either man will wind up in Oxford. We’ve crossed Leach off the list because we don’t believe Ole Miss will even consider him for the job. And we don’t believe Malzahn will have more interest in Ole Miss than he did Vanderbilt and Maryland last offseason. Many people believe he’s ticketed for North Carolina anyway.

So where might UM turn?

* Mike Herndon of The Mobile Press-Register believes Archie Manning’s search committee should act boldly. In his view Leach or Charlie Strong or Malzahn or Kirby Smart should be on the Rebel list.

* Art Briles of Baylor is starting to get some mentions in connection with the Ole Miss job. Mac Engel of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that BU should toss Briles a raise in order to keep him in Waco.

* Doug Segrest of The Birmingham News believes Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians could wind up in the Ole Miss mix as well. Arians has previously served as an assistant in the SEC and he was Peyton Manning’s quarterback coach during his rookie year in Indianapolis… thus the connection to Archie.

* Meanwhile, Louisiana-Lafeyette’s Mark Hudspeth says he’s “not been contacted” by UM officials and that he’s happy with the Ragin’ Cajuns. Hudspeth is a Magnolia State native and a former assistant to Dan Mullen at Mississippi State.

* Hudspeth and fellow Sun Belt coach Hugh Freeze both have their programs — UL and Arkansas State, respectively — headed to bowl games this season. Freeze is a former Ole Miss assistant under Ed Orgeron.

Among the names our sources continue to mention in connection with the Ole Miss job are: Briles from Baylor, Freeze from Arkansas State, Hudspeth from Louisiana-Lafayette, Sonny Dykes from Louisiana Tech, Larry Fedora from Southern Miss, and assistants Malzahn (Auburn), Smart (Alabama), and Manny Diaz (Texas by way of Mississippi State).

Outgoing UM A.D. Boone Wants Unity

John — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:20:55 +0000

Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone has been the target of the largely anonymous fan group “Forward Rebels” for the past several months. Newspaper ads have called for his ouster. Threats have been made regarding giving and donations.

Two weeks ago, Boone announced that he would be stepping down in 2012. Today, UM’s AD spoke with Parrish Alford of The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal and he spoke of a need to unify the Rebel fanbase:

“… Anything I might say about that group might appear to be self-serving, but I will say this as an Ole Miss fans, and I can say it, because I’m not going to be the AD, it’s absolutely devastating to have the Ole Miss fan base divided. We’re not big enough to have that sort of divisiveness. We’re competing with schools that have 25, 30 and 40,000 students, 300,000 active alumni, $100 million budgets… and we’re going to split up? It’s the silliest thing I’ve every heard of.”

Manning Says UM’s Got A Long List

John — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:58:42 +0000

This week, Archie Manning opened up just a tad about Ole Miss’ search for a new head coach to replace Houston Nutt:

“I know a lot of people in football. You get names of possible coaches and you take them down. We’ll turn the names we have over to the search firm and they’ll have more names.

Everybody talks about having a short list. We’ve got a long list. We’re going to try and move as quickly as possible to find a good fit for Ole Miss.”

Manning is heading up his alma mater’s five-person search committee.

The three “realistic” names that we continue to hear most often from our sources in the Magnolia State:

1. Arkansas State head coach Hugh Freeze (a former Ole Miss assistant)

2. Southern Miss head coach Larry Fedora (who was upset by UAB last night)

3. Former West Virginia and Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez

Kudos To Nutt For Still Trying To Teach Some Lessons

John — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:33:24 +0000

As a lame-duck coach, it would be easy for Houston Nutt to look the other way when it comes to rules violations by his players as they finish off the season. After all, why not make sure his best players are on the field? Every loss hurts his reputation, his career mark, and his chances of landing his next coaching job a little bit more. Best to go out with a fully loaded gun.

But Nutt is choosing to go down with some integrity instead. And while we’re sure many Arkansas fans will scream bloody murder because we’re crediting Nutt for anything, in this case, he really seems to be putting his players’ needs ahead of his own.

Yesterday, Nutt announced that his starting quarterback Randall Mackey and his leading rusher Jeff Scott will be suspended Saturday against #1 LSU. He also said it looks like the pair (along with receiver Korvic Neat) will be benched against Mississippi State, too.

The players were done in by the dreaded “violation of team rules.”

“I hate it,” Nutt said. “Got to learn how to handle change and it’s tough for a lot of them. Especially when the season doesn’t go just right, it’s easy to let go.”

Also, receiver/cornerback/playmaker Nickolas Brassell should be back on the field against LSU after being benched for much of last week’s game with Louisiana Tech. Nutt said of his freshman:

“One thing we have to teach our freshmen is you have to really study the game plan. It’s a lot different than just waiting until the lights come on and go play. As talented as you are, you have to study the game and be consistent and do things the right way.”

Nutt has taken a beating over the years for oversigning players. We ourselves have rolled our eyes at his near-constant suggestions that his job is about “helping young men” (as if football talent had nothing to do with the number of second- and third-chance players he’s tried to rescue).

But in these instances, Nutt has had no need to teach his players how to better respond to change or how to take game preparation more seriously. He’s vapor, he’s gone. The next guy can worry about Brassell and Mackey and Scott.

The fact that Nutt isn’t going that route deserves a thumbs-up just as so many of his previous actions have been given thumbs-down.

As his SEC coaching career draws to a close after more than a decade, Nutt’s proving that he’s not just running out the clock. Kudos for that.

Leach Says He’s Not Been Contacted By Ole Miss

John — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:27:39 +0000

Among fans, he’s probably the most popular coaching prospect in the country. But when it comes to administrators, boards and presidents who actually hire football coaches… not so much.

Mike Leach — whose name has been kicked around as a possible replacement for Houston Nutt by everyone including Houston Nutt — sounded a bit disappointed this afternoon when Oxford radio host Erik Ryan Solberg asked him on WUMS-FM if he’d been contacted by Ole Miss officials:

“I wouldn’t tell ya if I had… but I haven’t.”

A hint of frustration could be detected as he uttered those last three words.

Leach once again reiterated that “Ole Miss is a job that I think anyone would have an interest in” and that “all SEC jobs are good and they’re all exciting.”

Looking at Leach’s success at Texas Tech — 10 bowls in 10 years, good graduation rates, etc — there are only two possible reasons the man with the explosive offense hasn’t been snapped up by a program hungry for success:

1. His mercurial nature

2. His lawsuit against the most powerful entity in sports, ESPN

Perhaps Archie Manning and crew will pick up a phone and chat with Leach at some point in the coming weeks. But since he’s already out of work and free to talk, if someone was going to contact him from Oxford, they’d have likely done so by now.

Mackey, Scott Suspended At Ole Miss

John — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:41:46 +0000

You can probably go ahead an pencil in a couple more losses for Ole Miss as Houston Nutt makes his way to the exit. The team was expected to lifeless against Louisiana Tech and it was in a 27-7 homefield loss on Saturday.

Now, on top of the emotionally-draining coaching change, Nutt’s team will have to soldier on without two key players.

Starting quarterback Randall Mackey and running back Jeff Scott have been suspended along with backup receiver Korvic Neat for Saturday’s game against LSU and possibly for the Egg Bowl, too. The oft-cited “violation of team rules” was given as the reason for the punishments.

“I hate it,” Nutt told The Jackson Clarion-Ledger last evening. “Got to learn how to handle change and it’s tough for a lot of them. Especially when the season doesn’t go just right, it’s easy to let go.”

As for the suspensions carrying over to the Egg Bowl, Nutt said, “It looks like two (games) right now.”

Zach Stoudt will start at quarterback and Barry Brunetti will see some time against LSU’s suffocating defense, too. Congratulations.

Mackey and Scott ranked first and second on the Rebel team for total offense.

Credit Nutt for asking the UM administration for the right to go down with his ship, because that vessel is most certainly going down fast at this point.

Here’s A Longshot Name For Ole Miss’ Consideration: James Franklin

John — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:32:01 +0000

The odds of Ole Miss approaching, interviewing, selecting and hiring James Franklin away from Vanderbilt are slim. Very slim. So slim that no one is even mentioning the possibility.

But we believe Archie Manning and crew could do worse than lining up a chat with Vandy’s Mr. Turnaround.

In his first season, Franklin has taken a program coming off back-to-back 2-10 seasons and already won five games with two to play. If his Commodores defeat Tennessee and/or Wake Forest, they’ll be bowl eligible for just the second time since 1982. If he wins both games and then manages a bowl victory, the Commodores would have just their third eight-win season since 1955.

Perhaps more impressive than VU’s 5-5 record at the moment is just how competitive the Dores have been inside the SEC:

Beat Ole Miss 30-7 (think the Archies remember that one?)

Lost to South Carolina 21-3

Lost to Alabama 34-0

Lost to Georgia 33-28 (had a chance to win the game in the final
seconds)

Lost to Arkansas 31-28 (should have beaten the Hogs)

Lost to Florida 26-21 (showed incredible fight to bounce back from previous heartbreaker)

Beat Kentucky 38-8 (destroyed their long-time cellar-mate)

This summer — with nothing to sell but his message and hope — the first-year coach began putting together an eye-popping recruiting class. Now with the ability to tell recruits, “think of what we can do with you on our team,” Franklin could possibly land a Top 20 signing class. Mull that one over for a second or two.

He’s also changed the culture inside the Vanderbilt locker room. After a particularly snippy game with Georgia, Franklin summed up this program’s attitude thusly:

“We’re also gonna fight. I want to make sure everybody understands that. We are not gonna sit back and take stuff from anybody. Anybody. No one. Those days are long gone. And they are never coming back. Ever.”

To Vandy fans, that’s equivalent of Mel Gibson’s “They may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom” speech from “Braveheart.”

Frankin would also help the oft-mentioned race issue facing Ole Miss’ recruiters. While some Rebel fans refuse to acknowledge the obvious obstacle that the school’s Civil War-related nickname and imagery creates for coaches, Manning and the UM administration are certainly aware of it. Having a black head coach might help to silence the initial “Mississippi Burning” fears of some recruits and their parents.

Would it be wise for Ole Miss to make a run at someone with such a short track record? Well, if the Rebels are going to wind up with an assistant coach from elsewhere as their new head coach, Franklin would actually bring more experience to the table.

Neither options would be a safe bet, but Franklin’s certainly shown that he has the moxie to lead and the know-how to recruit.

Franklin has also made numerous comments in his first season at Vanderbilt suggesting that he’d like to see better fan support for his players. He’s gone out of his way to praise other schools’ fans for “arriving early” and “staying late,” something VU fans haven’t often done this season. So there might be at least some reason to believe he’d bail on Vandy after a year.

More money, less stringent academics, better fan support (if he could lure Rebel fans out of The Grove and into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium) might all cause Vandy’s coach to consider a cross-conference move. It’s certainly been done a time or two in the past couple of decades (Houston Nutt, Tommy Tuberville, Gerry DiNardo, and while Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban detoured to the NFL, they too have coached a pair of SEC programs).

In the end, I don’t believe Ole Miss will give Franklin serious consideration. I also don’t think he would make the move from Nashville to Oxford just one year into his current tenure. He might not see Ole Miss as a step-up, to be perfectly blunt.

But that doesn’t mean UM’s search committee shouldn’t consider him. He’s proven more as a head coach than frequently mentioned candidates Kirby Smart, Gus Malzahn and Manny Diaz.

Dungy Rumored (What No Gruden?), Leach Remains Fan Fave At Ole Miss

John — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:48:52 +0000

It’s become standard in College Coaching Search World.

1. School fires (or thinks about firing) its coach.

2. ESPN analyst and ex-NFL coach Jon Gruden buys land in that area, is spotted golfing in that area, tells the “source” of a messageboard poster that he’d be very interested in the job.

3. In reality he’s done none of the above, isn’t interested, and isn’t hired.

So how come we haven’t heard Gruden’s name connected to the opening at Ole Miss? His name has certainly popped up at Tennessee and Georgia and Colorado and Southern Cal and Ohio State in recent years.

Maybe it’s because he signed a new five-year deal with ESPN last month.

Well, with Gruden’s name not kicking around the rumor mill, there was bound to be some big name that would fill the vacuum. Insert the name of Tony Dungy.

According to Hugh Kellenberger of The Jackson Clarion-Ledger, he’s heard various reports that Dungy would be a target of Mississippi’s Archie Manning-led search committee. Of course, that’s not true.

What’s more likely is that Manning — whose son Peyton played for Dungy — might call Dungy for some input on finding a “good man” to coach the Rebels. (As the recent Joe Paterno mess shows us, looking for a “good man” is silly because no one knows what decisions flawed humans make behind closed doors.)

Dungy assisted his alma mater — Minnesota — in that way during its latest coaching search.

Rick Cleveland of The Jackson Clarion-Ledger writes today that Ole Miss’ search is going to take a while. How could it not, most coaches are still coaching.

One coach who is not currently coaching is Mike Leach. The ex-Texas Tech coach appears to be the leading candidate among Ole Miss fans. Houston Nutt basically endorsed him on national radio two days ago. And Leach told The Memphis Commercial-Appeal he’d be interested (using the exact same words he’d used to state an interest in Arizona’s job a week earlier).

But Cleveland believes the ESPN hurdle would have to be cleared before UM hired the offensive mastermind:

“He’d definitely be interested. He also has lawsuits pending against ESPN and Texas Tech. ESPN is paying the SEC billions. We’d be crazy to think that’s not a factor.”

So it continues to seem as though schools can’t depart leagues and schools can’t hire coaches without first getting the blessing of the world’s most powerful sports entity. Shame.

But then again, as fun as Leach’s offense is to watch, would the Rebel fanbase — a group that often acts like it’s 1963 and they should compete for national titles every year — be accepting of the ex-Red Raider once he arrived in Oxford?

After all, here were his school’s records at Tech:

2000 — 7-6 (3-5 in Big 12)
2001 — 7-5 (4-4)
2002 — 9-5 (5-3)
2003 — 8-5 (4-4)
2004 — 8-4 (5-3)
2005 — 9-3 (6-2)
2006 — 8-5 (4-4)
2007 — 9-4 (4-4)
2008 — 11-2 (7-1)
2009 — 8-4 (5-3)

In Lubbock, fans ate that up. They went bowling every season (though many were second-tier bowls). They won more than they lost in Big 12 play 5 times in 10 seasons. They enjoyed teams that were fun to watch. And they occasionally pulled off the big upset (like beating #1 Texas in 2008).

Would that be enough for Ole Miss fans, though? Probably not.

Take a look at the record that got David Cutcliffe’s fired in Oxford:

1998 — 1-0 (bowl win)
1999 — 8-4 (4-4)
2000 — 7-5 (4-4)
2001 — 7-4 (4-4)
2002 — 7-6 (3-5)
2003 — 10-3 (7-1)
2004 — 4-7 (3-5)

Leach won 66% of his games. Cutcliffe won 60% of his games. Throw in the toughness of the SEC and its not crazy to think that Leach’s winning percentage might drop six points or so.

The ex-Tech coach makes a lot of sense for Mississippi (not counting the ESPN and loose cannon factors). But even if the Rebels grabbed him, we don’t believe it would be too long before UM fans jumped his case.

What Leach did at Tech wouldn’t be acceptable at Ole Miss. Not when groups like Forward Rebels are demanding championships.

Obviously, titles should be the goal for UM. But the school’s fans should also realize what the past 50 years of history have shown them — that it’s not easy to win an SEC title (much less a national title) from inside the Magnolia State. There’s goal and there’s the expectation. Rebel fans seem to think the two are one and the same.

With apologies to Clint Eastwood, a fan’s got to know his limitations. Many Rebel fans don’t want to hear that. So even if they land the coach of their dreams, we think he’d fail to live up to their 1963-esque expectations.

“Forward Rebels” Congratulates UM On Changes

John — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:35:18 +0000

The anti-Pete Boone fan group “Forward Rebels” has sent out a press release today congratulating Ole Miss for dismissing Houston Nutt and accepting the resignation of Boone.

“Recognizing a problem, the administration took decisive action by replacing the top two figures in Ole Miss sports… Forward Rebels supports these choices, and is thankful for these wise decisions…

Congratulations also on the decision to insist on the hiring of a national search firm to lend its expertise to our local search committee. Thanks to Archie Manning and Mike Glenn for lending their names and reputations to this effort. Their wisdom in choosing to seek the advice of nationwide experts is admirable, and, in this time of uncertainty and skepticism among Ole Miss fans, this objective addition is vital to protecting this search from the undue pressures of special interests from both within and without the Administration. The fair and unfettered operations of this independent search is absolutely vital to any efforts to rebuild trust among Ole Miss fans. Similarly, if our AD or coaching choice is made by an predetermined or inside dealings, the damage will be irreparable. We must scour the entire nation for the best candidate, and we must not limit ourselves to “Ole Miss boys” alone. A “rubber stamp” by the Committee of a pre-made decision to hire a good ol’ boy would be obvious to fans and devastating for Ole Miss.”

Yeesh. Good ol’ boys? What’s the fear, that Gunter Brewer will be promoted? Or is that line aimed at Arkansas State’s Hugh Freeze, a former Rebel assistant and the Michael Oher’s high school coach (as depicted in “The Blind Side”)?

And how about that bit regarding the “undue pressures of special interests.” Anyone else find it ironic that a group (made up of mostly anonymous fans) best known for placing ads in papers and threatening financial repercussions against Ole Miss should Boone be kept… is now wanting to make sure no one else puts “undue pressures” on the administration?

That’s a little like forming a lobby group to lobby against the existence of other lobby groups.

The Forward Rebels release closes with the following stanzas (which we suggest you read with a fife and drum playing softly in the background… “Green Acres” style):

“Once (an AD is) selected, we also look forward to the final chapter of the good ol’ boy network at Ole Miss and are excited to see Dr. (Dan) Jones give carte blanche to this new leader. to do whatever it takes to rid Ole Miss of the culture of complacency, cronyism, and ‘good enough’ that has plagued us for decades. It’s time.

Finally, upon hiring this duly and honestly chosen candidate, Forward Rebels will commit its full support to this leader and to his or her leadership of the athletic department. We are certain that ours, and others’, coffers of support, both emotional and financial, will fling open to make Ole Miss great.”

Meanwhile, outside the Magnolia State, long-time Arkansas-based columnist Harry King breaks down why no coach in his right mind should want to go to Ole Miss.

Somewhere between King’s gut punch and Forward Rebels’ puffery… the truth lies.

Nutt, Leach Campaigning For Leach To Land Ole Miss Job

John — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:08:23 +0000

Houston Nutt seems to want what’s best for Ole Miss despite his dismissal. And he seems to want to help an old acquaintance to get back in the business.

Mike Leach seems to want a crack at the Rebel job. And it seems likely that he and Nutt have spoken about him campaigning for it.

Here’s why…

A few weeks ago while listening to Leach’s daily Sirius radio talkshow, I heard someone call in and ask the ex-Texas Tech coach about the Ole Miss job and whether he would be interested. He sidestepped the question saying that Nutt was a friend of his.

Yesterday it was his friend who went on the radio and pitched Leach for the job. Nutt appearing on Tim Brando’s radio show said:

“You’ve got to bring maybe a little something different offensively. You’re not always going to have the best 11 on the field when you go against Alabama and LSU. You need something a little bit creative. I always think about what Mike Leach did at Texas Tech. He didn’t hae the best players compared to OU, Nebraska and those guys. But in playing him in the Cotton Bowl and studying him, he did something a little bit different. Probably along those lines is what maybe Ole Miss will be.”

So would Leach be interested? From this quote in The Memphis Commercial-Appeal it sure sounds like it:

“I haven’t heard from anybody, but I’m not too hard to find. It’s a great job. I’m sure the administration has a certain individual it is looking for, and I’m sure they’ll find the right guy…

There’s a lot of great athletes in the state of Mississippi and you need to get them to stay in-state. I know the atmosphere is incredible (at Ole Miss). It’s a great place with great people.”

It’s not the first time the 50-year-old Leach has talked up a coaching vacancy. Arizona’s job has been open for a few weeks already. While in Tuscon promoting his book, “Swing Your Sword,” last Wednesday. At the time he said of the Wildcats’ position:

“I think it’s a great job. Anybody would be interested in this job. The thing is, they have an idea of what they’re looking for. They have an idea of what direction they’re going. If I somehow fit in there, then maybe there will be some dialogue. And if I don’t, I’m sure they will select a good individual for the position. It’s an exciting position.”

Sound familiar?

In reality, Leach would probably be a better fit at Arizona than at Ole Miss. Football isn’t as serious in Tuscon as it is in the Deep South. There would be less media scrutiny in the Pac-12 than the SEC.

But it doesn’t appear that Arizona AD Greg Byrne — formerly of Mississippi State — is interested in Leach. If he were, he would’ve called him already.

Which leaves us to wonder what Archie Manning’s search committee — expected to be put together by Friday — will think of the often odd Leach.

The ex-Tech coach believes his lawsuit against ESPN has hurt his chances of getting back on a sideline. “I think it’s had a chilling effect, there’s no question. In 2008, I was National Coach of the Year,” he told The Lexington Herald-Leader.

“I want to get back to coaching. These should be my best coaching years and I want to get back.”

Ole Miss should want the best on-field coach for the job and that appears to be Leach. But in terms of the off-field duties of that job, the UM administration might not want to take a risk on a loose cannon that’s currently at war with one of the SEC’s (and Ole Miss’) most-important business partners.

Nutt Suggests Leach Would Fit At Ole Miss

John — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:10:08 +0000

If there’s a fan favorite when it comes to Ole Miss’ coaching candidates, that man is most surely Mike Leach.

The former Texas Tech head coach — who has also had offensive success as an assistant at Kentucky — would bring instant credibility to Oxford. His offense would excite recruits. His fascination with pirates would give students something better than a black bear to dress up as on gameday.

But would he be a good fit at a school like Mississippi? Houston Nutt seems to think so. Speaking on Tim Brando’s radio show today, Nutt said that Ole Miss needs hire a coach who’ll do something different on offense. He then threw props to Leach.

But there’s a downside to making a run at Leach, too. First, the coach’s ugly departure at Texas Tech will be mentioned again and again. Would Chancellor Dan Jones want to fool with that?

Second, Leach’s lawsuit against ESPN for it’s coverage/involvement in his ouster — he also claims the network nixed his chances of landing the Maryland job last year — would make for some interesting times. The SEC and ESPN are business partners. How would ESPN cover Leach? How would Leach handle media requests from ESPN?

Finally, would UM’s chancellor want a known loose cannon heading up his football program? Most bosses like to make safe hires. Leach ran a clean program and graduated playes (and won games) at Texas Tech, but his off-the-wall persona certainly doesn’t jive with the words “safe hire.”

Should Ole Miss kick the tires on Leach? In our view… absolutely. He’d be the first call we’d make.

But we’d want to get to know the guy before we handed him the keys to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

The Morning After At Ole Miss

John — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:43:16 +0000

Houston Nutt will be done at the end of just his fourth season. Athletic director Pete Boone will be gone sometime in the next year. And Archie Manning, Rebel nation once more turns its lonely eyes to you. (Woo, woo, woo.)

A look at what’s making news in Oxford, Mississippi this morning:

Changing of the Guard

Nutt asked for the right to coach out the season, saying his staff will give Ole Miss their “very, very best these next few weeks. Because this program deserves the very best we can give. I’d feel real bad if I couldn’t coach the next three. Because we always tell our guys to finish. So I don’t see how anybody could walk away.”

Manning Gets the Ball

The ex-Rebel great will head up a five-person search committee that it will look for a football coach and an AD to replace Boone (at some point in the coming year). A national search firm will also be hired to give assistance.

Chancellor Dan Jones said he would be involved in the search, but “when it comes to which are opinions are more important, my opinion or Archie Manning’s, I’ll let Archie take the lead on that.”

Who’s Next?

Names are being kicked around left and right at this point. Yesterday, we listed four candidates we believe fans would most like to see hired: Mike Leach (former Texas Tech coach, former Kentucky assistant in the SEC), Kevin Sumlin (Houston’s coach), Gus Malzahn (Auburn’s offensive coordinator), and Kirby Smart (Alabama’s defensive coordinator).

Do we think any of those candidates will be offered the job or accept it? Maybe on the offered part, no on the taking part. Smart and Malzahn know the issues Ole Miss faces from coaching in the same division. If Malzahn wasn’t enamored with Vanderbilt or Maryland, why would he jump at the Rebels’ job?

Leach is kooky so there’s no telling if Archie and his crew would like what they found during a visit with the Pirate-lovin’ coach.

Sumlin is an up-and-comer, his Cougars are currently unbeaten, and there’s a chance he’ll get a better offer somewhere else.

Other names being mentioned:

Brent Venables — Oklahoma defensive coordinator

Larry Fedora — Southern Miss head coach

Sonny Dykes — Louisiana Tech head coach and former Leach and Mike Stoops assistant

Tommy Tuberville — Texas Tech head coach and former Rebel head coach (mentioned by Parrish Alford of The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal… an interesting idea if old wounds have healed)

Hugh Freeze — Arkansas State head coach

Manny Diaz — Texas defensive coordinator and former Mississippi State assistant

Mark Hudspeth — Louisiana-Lafeyette head coach and another former Dan Mullen assistant

Rich Rodriguez — Former Michigan coach who had great success at West Virginia

Skip Holtz — South Florida head coach

Charlie Strong — Louisville head coach and a former Ole Miss assistant for one season

Stewart Mandel of SI.com says Ole Miss’ opening is “good timing” because “there are big names out there to be had. Whether they would come to Ole Miss, I don’t know.”

Recruits

Not surprisingly, many of Nutt’s recruits are taking a wait-and-see approach to Ole Miss’ plans.

Rick Cleveland — the longtime columnist for The Jackson Clarion-Ledger — believes Nutt’s demise can be traced directly back to his recruiting.

Even Nutt admitted that he found the going tougher in Mississippi than he did in Arkansas. “The one thing that makes it a little more difficult here is that you’re not far from Memphis, Southern Miss, Mississippi State. … And then you have to fight off Alabama from coming in your state. Auburn. LSU. … I wish there was just one university in Mississippi. That’d make it real, real nice. But it’s harder here. It’s harder.”

Trying To Make Sense Of Ole Miss’ Moves Today

John — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 22:33:45 +0000

So let’s get this straight…

Ole Miss is firing Houston Nutt. But not immediately.

And AD Pete Boone is stepping down, saying today that he’s hired his last coach. But he’s not leaving immediately either.

That leaves everyone to wonder who’s hiring who and what will the time frame be?

Some bulletpoints on today’s announcement from Oxford:

* Nutt will step down after coaching the last three games of the season having asked for that right. “The thing about the SEC, one thing I know is they pay you to win. We do a great job with academics. … We change their lives, but the bottom line is, you have to win. I would like to be here, see it through, want to go to Atlanta (for the SEC title game) with this group, but I understand the decisions that have to be made. That’s not up to me.”

* Nutt will be paid $6 million over the next five years as a buyout.

* UM did not reveal how much it will owe Nutt’s assistant coaches.

* Nutt’s replacement will be Ole Miss’ fifth coach since 1998 and its third since 2007.

* Rebel legend Archie Manning and FedEx executive/UM booster Mike Glenn will co-chair a five-person search committee charged with finding replacements for Nutt and Boone.

* Boone will remain as Ole Miss’ AD for another year, resigning at some point before December, 2012.

* Boone will not be instrumental in the search for Nutt’s replacement. But… “Pete is the athletic director and will be until the day he retires,” Chancellor Dan Jones said. “He will have the full authority and responsibility of the athletic director’s position, no question about that.”

* The chancellor acknowledged that “resources” at Ole Miss are more of a challenge that at some other SEC schools.

* Jones also admitted that hiring a coach before an athletic director would not be the best option, but he said he was confident the school could make quality hires.

Uh, yeah. Good luck on that front.

So Mississippi is going out to find its fifth coach in 14 years and its third in five. It will do so as one of only three schools never to have reached an SEC title game. It will do so having not won a conference championship since 1963. It will do so with a program of limited resources which is currently buried at the bottom of the toughest division in college football.

And once Ole Miss finds a man willing to ignore all of that, the search committee will then have to tell him that he’ll also have a new boss at some point in the coming year. He’ll have no clue who that boss will be, what his expectations will be, or how supportive he will be of a coach he inherits from ol’ #18′s search committee.

Yeah, that list of candidates should be quite impressive.

If Ole Miss wants to go down this road, it should have made Boone’s resignation effective immediately. Then it could grab an AD before a football coach. As it stands, one mess looks like it will likely just lead to another mess.

As for Nutt, he closed with the typical, “I can’t believe they would fire me” spiel that so many multi-millionaire coaches toss out on their way out the door.

“I never expected it to happen to me. You talk to any coach, they’d say the same thing. You work as hard as you can. I gave it my all, without a violation, the right way. I go to bed feeling good about that. But it comes down to one thing. It’s not a graduation rate. It’s not community service. It’s about winning. It’s a big, big, big business.”

Yep. And that’s why he’ll be paid $6 million to not coach football… while millions of Americans look for ways just to make ends meet.

It’s a big, big, big business. And he’s done pretty well by it.

Here’s coverage from…

The Jackson Clarion-Ledger

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

The Associated Press

Ole Miss Press Conference Notes

John — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:11:22 +0000

We were going to live blog today’s press conference from Oxford, but the University of Mississippi’s ridiculous decision not to allow cameras in has crushed those plans.

The school stupidly decided to push everyone on Earth to its website to watch a live stream of the presser. Alas, their site couldn’t hold the traffic.

Hey, trust me, we at MrSEC.com know all about traffic crushing servers. But that’s why we would never have been so dumb as to think that everyone interested in the coaching change could squeeze in for one mass viewing.

At least UM had the good sense to put out a press release — via the SEC office — at the moment the press conference began.

The gist:

* Houston Nutt will finish out the season at Ole Miss, but he’s done at the end of the year.

* Pete Boone will step down as well.

Quotes on Nutt’s departure:

“Our goal is to compete for championships, and we are not making progress in that regard. It’s time for our team to have new leadership and a new direction.” — Boone

“My time at Ole Miss has been very special, and I’ve enjoyed working with a wonderful group of athletes and the Ole Miss community at large. Change is never easy, but I understand why it’s necessary. My attention is on finishing out the 2011 season and winning this Saturday.” — Nutt

Quotes on Boone’s resignation:

“When Coach Nutt arrived four years ago, I said publicly he would be the last coach I would hire. I meant it. On several occasions over the past year, Chancellor (Dan) Jones and I have discussed what would happen if a disappointing football season resulted in a coaching change, including whether a change would affect my timetable as athletics director. When I decided we need new leadership in the football program, I knew it was also the right time for new leadership in the athletics department.” — Boone

“Pete Boone loves Ole Miss, I am grateful to Pete for his leadership of athletics, including his selfless decision to announce his plans for the future. There will be other opportunities to acknowledge his contributions to the university, but I know we all recognize the significan progress in facilities we have made under his leadership and the vision he has provided for financing the next phase of facility improvement.” — Jones

And now Ole Miss must quickly find an athletic director who can then get to work to finding a football coach. Most intelligent coaches aren’t going to take a job if they don’t know who their new boss is going to be.

UPDATE — Scratch the last paragraph, folks. While Boone did say he would not hire another coach, he will have until December of 2012 to step down. Which means a new AD will be hired and will come onboard before Boone leaves… or someone other than Boone will hire Nutt’s replacement and then the school will hire an AD.

Rumors: Nutt Out At UM, Boone Resigning

John — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:51:16 +0000

There are more rumors in the Magnolia State today — following a day in which Houston Nutt had to tell everyone at his weekly press conference that he’d not been fired. Today’s rumors? That Nutt will be done in Oxford at season’s end and maybe sooner. Ole Miss has a press conference at 3pm ET today and it’s expected that Nutt’s ouster will be announced at that time.

According to RebelGrove.com — the Rivals site covering Ole Miss — Nutt is expected to coach the final three games of the season. He will be available to the media after the press conference which will be held by chancellor Dan Jones and AD Pete Boone.

Also, it’s being reported that the embattled Boone will step down “as soon as a successor is named.” According to RedCupRebellion.com — the SB Nation site covering Ole Miss — “A search committee will be employed to find a replacement.”

Parrish Alford of The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal has been told that Boone will resign but it “might not be today.”

RebelGrove reports here — not behind a paywall — that there was no simple reason for Nutt’s failure in Oxford.

Nutt took Ole Miss to back-to-back Cotton Bowls in his first two seasons before dropping off to 4-8 last year. This year his team is 2-7 and he has lost 12 SEC contests in a row dating back to last season. In addition, he’s dropped two games in a row to Dan Mullen and Mississippi State.

The buyout for Nutt is believed to be about $6 million. So the Rebels will have to dig deep to pay him off and find a “name” replacement.

There are four names that we expect to hear kicked around with regards to the Rebel job:

* Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart

* Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn

* Houston head coach Kevin Sumlin

* Former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach

Ole Miss is the only West Division team to have never reached the SEC Championship Game. The Rebels’ last conference titles came in 1962 and 1963. Would Smart, Malzahn, Sumlin or Leach view Ole Miss as having potential? Or would they focuse on the fact that UM is left with Kentucky and Vanderbilt as the only league schools not to reach a conference championship game in the past two decades?

Timing might play a factor as well. Ten years ago, the SEC West was wide open. Now Nick Saban, Les Miles and Bobby Petrino all have their programs in the Top 10 and none of them look to be leaving anytime soon.

The Rebels’ Run Defense Just Gets Worse And Worse

John — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:42:50 +0000

For three weeks running, the SEC’s Offensive Player of the Week honor has gone to a running back that had just faced the Ole Miss defense. Each topped the 150-yard mark while the Rebel run continued its fall to the bottom of the conference’s stat table. Mississippi has allowed 1,814 yards rushing this season and 5.48 yards per carry.

“(Opponents’) tailbacks are getting too many yards,” Houston Nutt said, stating the obvious. “There are too many explosive plays. We have to be better. I think out guys know that.”

Here’s a look at how Tyrone Nix’s unit has been bludgeoned on the ground:

Opponent	Total Rushing Yards	Leading Rusher
BYU	91	J. DiLuigi, 12 for 56
S. Illinois	223	S. Strother, 10 for 116
Vanderbilt	281	Z. Stacy, 11 for 169
Georgia	207	I. Crowell, 30 for 147
Fresno State	163	R. Rouse, 28 for 123
Alabama	389	T. Richardson, 17 for 183
Arkansas	206	D. Johnson, 15 for 160
Auburn	254	M. Dyer, 27 for 177

Horrible, right? Well, it gets worse.

Crowell, Richardson, Johnson and Dyer all recorded their season high in rushing yards against the Rebels. And Vandy’s Stacy ran for more yards only against Army.

Lucky for Ole Miss Kentucky is banged up at running back and ranks just ninth in the SEC in rushing yards per game (139.7). Then again, Arkansas cranked out 206 on the ground against UM and they rank one slot behind Kentucky.

Nutt, Boone Asked About Coach’s Job Security At UM

John — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:54:52 +0000

Houston Nutt is in trouble. Coaches who follow up a 4-8 season with a 2-6 record to start the next year, find themselves answering questions about their job security. Ole Miss’ coach was doing just that yesterday.

“I don’t look at it that way, going into the office like, ‘Uh-oh, this could be it.’ I don’t look at it that way,” Nutt said yesterday. “I’m in charge or responsible for about 120 guys. I love it here. But I know this, they pay me to win. Right now we’re not winning”

“I’ll take every single day and give you everything I have,” Nutt added. “I’ve done that since the first day I got here, worked from daylight to exhaustion. Everyday, giving it. Trying to make a difference in a young person’s life and try to win football games. We haven’t done that this year. I don’t like that. I hate losing.”

So do boosters. And the must especially hate the Rebels’ 11 consecutive losses to SEC foes… the worst stretch in Ole Miss history. Nutt blames attrition for his program’s woes.

“A lot of it, when you look back, you look at guys that should be here. Guys like Clarence Jackson, a Patrick Patterson, Tig Barksdale. You look at guys that bottom line, for whatever reason, didn’t work out, hurt your numbers.”

In 2009, Nutt signed 37 players (which led the SEC to begin to cut back on oversigning). Of those 37 signees, only 15 are currently on the team and — according to The Jackson Clarion-Ledger — only seven of them have started multiple games this season.

But isn’t that on Nutt? He is the one who signed all of those washouts. Yes, surprises and disappointments occur. But to lose 22 of 37 signees? That suggests you’re taking a lot of chances on guys (something Nutt’s predecessor, Ed Orgeron, did as well).

Making matters worse is the Pete Boone situation. Following a 30-7 loss to Vanderbilt in September, Ole Miss’ AD said the performance was “unacceptable” and he held a special Sunday meeting with Nutt. Afterwards he said he wanted to see the Rebels play with more “fire.”

Since then, Ole Miss has gone 1-5.

But Boone himself is on the hot seat with many fans. The group “Forward Rebels” has run a Tea Party-esque grassroots media campaign to cost him his job.

What do head coaches do when the pressure gets to be too much? They fire assistant coaches. So it’s possible that Boone might be thinking that he can dismiss Nutt and when back some fan support — and booster donations — by bringing in a “name” hire (Mike Leach is sitting on the beach waiting for someone to give him a big check and a second chance).

From what we’ve been told, Nutt has made it clear to many that he’s not a fan of Boone’s difficult schedules and lack of support. Indeed, Boone refused to support his coach yesterday. “I think that we’re at the point in the season that we just let the season play itself out. I really don’t want to get into a week-to-week conversation about whether it is going well or not.”

To fire Nutt, Ole Miss would have to pay him a $6 million buyout. Do the Rebels have that kind of money to throw around right now? And if so, do they have enough to then go out and get a top-notch replacement for even more cash?

Nutt began his stay in Oxford with back-to-back Cotton Bowl wins. The past two seasons have been horrible. But if you look at Nutt’s track record at Arkansas, you’ll see a familiar pattern:

* 9-3 in 1998 and 8-4 in 1999

* a dropoff to 6-6 in 2000 and 7-5 in 2001

* a rise back to 9-5 in 2002 and 9-4 in 2003

* a fall back to 5-6 in 2004 and 4-7 in 2005

* another rise to 10-4 in 2006 and 8-4 in 2007 before moving to Ole Miss

Two years up, two years down. If history is any indication, the Rebels should be back in the eight- or nine-win range next season.

But will Rebel fans put up with such an up-and-down pattern moving forward?

Can the school afford to pay off Nutt and hire someone better? Are key boosters willing to chip in to make that happen?

And how does the pressure on Boone affect all of this? Would a solid coach walk into a situation where his boss might himself be ousted shortly?

There are lot of questions swirling around Oxford right now. The only answer we have to give is this — Nutt had better be glad he got a nice new contract after his Cotton Bowl appearances. Because if his buyout weren’t $6 million, his coaching grave would have already been dug.

Another Group Now After Boone’s Scalp At UM

John — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:49:43 +0000

The group Forward Rebels now has some company. A new movement is utilizing Twitter to bring about the dismissal of Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone. The word they’re spreading via social media — make it a “Black Out Boone” day on Saturday.

All season, Ole Miss fans have been encouraged to wear red to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Black Out Boone folks are asking like-minded individuals to show up in either black or Rebel navy. They want them to cheer on the Rebels… while simultaneously showing a lack of support for school’s top athletic official.

Boone wouldn’t comment on the movement when asked about it by The Jackson Clarion-Ledger. But Houston Nutt’s not in favor or it.

“Let’s don’t do that. Let’s wear red like they’ve asked you to all year long. I don’t want Arkansas coming up, being the only ones in red. This is our stadium, let’s wear red. Let’s get into the game.”

From what sources tell us, Nutt and Boone don’t have the very best of relationships at this point, but Nutt probably realizes the more pressure is put on Boone, the more likely he’ll whack some underling in order to appease the masses. And Nutt could very well be that underling.

More Bad News At Ole Miss: Harris Dismissed; Nutt On Record Losing Streak

John — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:52:17 +0000

Let’s see if we can get hold of the current situation in Oxford this morning:

* The Rebels are currently 2-4 overall and just 0-3 in the SEC.

* The three league losses this season bring Ole Miss’ current SEC losing streak to nine games. Ed Orgeron went 0-8 in the league during his final season in Oxford, but Houston Nutt is the first Rebel coach in history to lose nine straight SEC contests.

* Up next for Nutt is his old school Arkansas. The Razorbacks are currently #9 in the BCS rankings and will be expected to roll Nutt and his Rebels on Saturday.

* Ole Miss was pummeled by Alabama this past Saturday, 52-7. That game came just two days after Nutt had to suspend four players for violations of team rules, including key offensive weapon Brandon Bolden.

* While the football program struggles, a fan group Forward Rebels continues to publicly push for the ouster of Nutt’s boss, Mississippi AD Pete Boone.

Oh, and Nutt had to dismiss a player yesterday, too. Just one day removed from learning that two starters on his defense would miss the rest of the season with broken bones.

If that’s not Hell, it can certainly be seen from The Grove at this point.

Wide receiver Melvin Harris was the player given the boot yesterday. Here’s what Nutt had to say about the move:

“I tell you, we’ve really tried to help him for three years and I don’t want to get all the way involved into everything, the scenario with this thing. He’s going to continue to go to school and hopefully get his life in order. He’ll probably transfer to a I-AA school and finish it out. But it’s just sad. But I know this, I know we did everything we could to help him. I know that.”

Harris didn’t play in the Rebels’ first three games of the season, but he did catch passes against Fresno State and Alabama. He was Mississippi’s second-leading receiver a year ago.

It’s a rough time to have ties to the Rebel football program. By my calculations, either frogs or locusts should be up next for Oxford.

“Forward Rebels” Calls For Immediate Termination Of UM’s Boone

John — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:01:43 +0000

Forget the newspaper ads, the group Forward Rebels on Monday put out a press release calling for Ole Miss chancellor Dan Jones “to immediately terminate Athletic Director Pete Boone and to hire a professional, outside search firm to begin an open, objective, and nationwide search for our new leader of athletics.”

The release states that the problems at Mississippi run deeper than just two bad seasons of football. “Under Boone’s watch, Ole Miss has seen a steady decline in sports and in public support, and it is time to make the right decision to steady the ship.”

“Forward Rebels is certain that Ole Miss will begin a new era, and we implore our leader to stand up for what’s best for Ole Miss. Chancellor Jones, rise above socioeconomic status, race, and all other artificial barriers, and lead Ole Miss to a better day. Ole Miss has had enough of the same group of Mississippi friends patting each other on the back as Ole Miss is run into the ground. Ole Miss needs a leader who is not beholden to individuals, corporations, or groups who simply enjoy power. Ole Miss needs a leader who is only beholden to demanding and driving excellence in all facets of Ole Miss Sports.

Ole Miss needs a leader who is of the people, not above the people, and we, along with all of our players, eagerly await the opportunity to succeed.”

The contact listed on the release is Lee Habeeb. Habeeb is the 50-year-old co-creator of a number of successful right-wing radio shows including The Laura Ingraham Show. Late last month, he took part in a Q&A feature regarding Forward Rebels with The Daily Mississippian Online.

In that piece, Habeeb said that he was “approached and agreed to volunteer” to be the spokesperson for Forward Rebels. “We had a gut feel that we’d be attacked for the ads by some who were determined to protect the status quo, but we also knew we’d get support from the Ole Miss fans as this story unfolded.”

If you think Forward Rebels with its “we’re not political insiders” message sounds like an Ole Miss sports version of the Tea Party movement, you’re right. In fact, the group “TEA Party Oxford” will be holding a meeting on Tuesday night and the keynote speaker is none other than… Lee Habeeb.

Clearly, the man helping to run the show for Forward Rebels knows how to play the media and he knows how to play political hardball. So if anyone thinks this group of ad-placing Boone-bashers will fade quietly into the night, you might want to think again. Habeeb will likely keep right on pushing.

Of course, the more he and Forward Rebels push, the more likely it is that Chancellor Jones will dig in his heels. If the chancellor of the University of Mississippi caves to a group of people placing ads in newspapers it would set an awfully bad precedent. Who might place ads — and for what reason — next?

“Forward Rebels” Group Still After UM’s Boone

John — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:09:56 +0000

The anonymous fan group known as Forward Rebels has placed another anti-Pete Boone ad in Mississippi newspapers today. The group continues to angle for the dismissal of Ole Miss’ longtime athletic director.

According to Parrish Alford of The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, the ad asks, “How much money is Pete Boone costing Ole Miss? … Find out soon.”

While UM is making a push to raise $150 million — and claims to have already raised $40 million — the people behind the Forward Rebels ad claim that “Pete Boone and Co. are happy to ride inflation, increased student enrollment and new ticket taxes as successful fund-raising,” adding, “We disagree.”

The ad then calls for people to share with Forward Rebels how much money they’re withholding from UM due to Boone. Future ads will no doubt feature claims of people withholding thousands upon thousands of dollars.

Rebels Lose 2 Defensive Starters For The Season

John — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:33:20 +0000

Alabama doesn’t just beat teams. The Tide beat teams up.

Following a 52-7 throttling at the hands of Bama, Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt announced yesterday that senior captains Marcus Temple (cornerback) and Wayne Dorsey (defensive end) have been lost for the season. Temple broke his right ankle, Dorsey his right arm during Saturday’s loss.

“Two really good players and two captains that have done a lot for us,” Nutt said.”

The Rebels now rank dead last in the SEC in total defense allowing 442 yards per game. They are 10th in pass defense, but their rush defense sits in 12th place following Alabama’s 389-yard explosion on Saturday.

With Temple and Dorsey now out, it’s probably time to make the following introduction: Bad, meet Worse.

Our Money’s On Boone To Outlast Nutt At UM

John — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:33:35 +0000

For a month, the anonymous fan group “Forward Rebels” has been pouring money into a campaign to oust Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone. The group’s newspaper ads have stated that UM’s individual coaches aren’t as big a problem as the man who hired them.

But Boone has received the backing of chancellor Dan Jones. And Boone got a lengthy standing ovation from a booster club in Jackson just this week.

Whether Forward Rebels like it or not, it seems as though football coach Houston Nutt is in a bit more trouble than the man who brought him to The Grove. After all, a good way to save one’s self is to feed someone else to the sharks first.

Check out what Nutt had to say about the schedule Boone has handed him… a schedule that included last week’s road game at Fresno State:

“We’re closer to UAB. We’re closer to Memphis. But I don’t get to make the schedule. Next year we’re gonna play Texas. Whew. I don’t mind playing one (tough game), on out of four. But I’ll tell you, when you play BYU and Fresno at Fresno, come on. I want to keep my job, y’all.”

From what we’re hearing, the coach isn’t exactly thrilled with some of the support — of lack thereof — he’s recently gotten from his boss, either. Remember, after UM’s loss to Vanderbilt, Boone let the public know that he’d asked Nutt to come in and meet with him the following Sunday.

“Houston and I met yesterday, and had a good discussion,” Boone said back on September 19th. “Certainly he’s disappointed and committed to correcting some of the issues he sees are correctable and fixable within the program. That’s what his job is, and that’s what he’ll be doing.”

Boone also said he wanted to see “a little bit more fire, a little bit more attitude” from Nutt’s players.

Nutt knows the lay of the land (having apparently been tipped to it by Mark Richt). He understands that fans want wins today, not yesterday:

“My Cotton Bowl victories are in the rear-view mirror. They don’t talk about ‘em no more. So every not and then I’ve got to bring ‘em up. Every now and then. But I know you’re only as good as your last one.”

And he also knows that Boone isn’t yelling “Remember the Cotton Bowls!” from the top of the Lyceum.

However you slice it, things don’t look too peachy for Nutt at the moment. Not only has his own boss handed him a tough schedule and publicly hung him out to dry post-Vandy, but Boone himself is under the gun. That pressure on Boone might lead him to do something drastic if things don’t turn around quickly in Oxford — like fire a coach after four seasons despite a pair of Cotton Bowl wins in his first two.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Think Boone couldn’t win a little fan support for himself by holding his nose and hiring proven-winner-but-known-wild-card Mike Leach?

It’s a long season and the Rebels certainly have time to turn things around. But if we had to put money on one man surviving at Ole Miss this fall, we’d put that cash on Boone, not Nutt.

Rebel Booster Club Applauds A.D. Boone

John — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:09:29 +0000

Speaking to the Jackson Touchdown Club yesterday, Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone was welcomed with “a standing ovation, a long one.” And according to JCL columnist Rick Cleveland, not once did the group “Forward Rebels” come up.

The Forward Rebels movement has been placing ads in the state’s newspapers calling for Boone’s job. Cleveland asked Boone after his talk how he is doing.

“I’m fine. I really am. I mean, I hate this for Ole Miss, because I want Ole Miss to come out on top. I want all Ole Miss people, including me, spending all our time trying to make us better. That’s my concern. This capital campaign (to raise $150 million for athletic facilities) is so important. I am pleased we’ve gotten $25 million in commitments. We’re going to get it done.”

Last week, UM chancellor Dan Jones gave Boone a public backing in spite of the calls for the AD’s head and threats that the public harassment campaign could get worse if unheeded.

Boone Says He’s Not Stepping Down At Ole Miss

John — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:46:30 +0000

Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone — appearing on the Head-To-Head radio network across the state of Mississippi yesterday — addressed the criticism that he has been receiving and his job status:

“Absolutely our fans are frustrated as I am and certainly any of the Ole Miss family is frustrated. And the Vanderbilt game, obviously, was a very low point because of just the game itself and how it was played. But at the same time, we picked it back up last week a bit and there are a lot of emails that come in… It is a lot of passion. And thank goodness the Ole Miss folks have passion. But we’re gonna get it done…

No, I have no plans to step down… I will retire at some point and time. I’ve got two and a half years left on this contract.”

Asked if he’s the best man for Ole Miss job, Boone said, “I think I am. If I didn’t I would leave.”

Boone also said his door is open to everyone, including groups like Forward Rebels that have been placing ads in Mississippi newspapers calling for the AD’s job.

Boone Still Under Fire At UM; Says There’s No Truth To Resignation Rumor

John — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:16:14 +0000

Will it be one, the other, or both?

Pete Boone and Houston Nutt are both under fire in Oxford and at this point it’s questionable whether either man will remain in his current position past the fall.

Rumors that Boone would step down grew so prevalent in the Magnolia State last night that Parrish Alford of The Northeast Mississippi Journal put in a call to the Ole Miss AD just to make sure his job status wasn’t changing. When Boone called him back, he left this message:

“There’s absolutely no accuracy to the question you were asking me about (my) resignation.”

But the fan group “Forward Rebels” keeps turning up the heat. Today they placed a new newspaper ad featuring the words “It’s time for a change, Ole Miss” just above a photo of Boone.

“Under Boone’s leadership, Ole Miss has routinely underperformed in the SEC,” the ad reads. “Coaches have been fired. A generation of athletes have come and gone. But Pete Boone stays? And continues to earn over $429,000 per year. We at Forward Rebels believe THAT is unacceptable. Ole Miss leadership must be held accountable.”

If you’re Boone and the natives are restless enough to place ads calling for your head, it’s doubtful that you’ll be able to hang on to Nutt for another year if the Rebels finish as poorly as they’ve started.

How might UM’s AD buy himself more time? Perhaps by hiring a Gus Malzahn or Mike Leach to excite Rebel fans. Of course, what coach is going to walk into a situation where his boss is on the hot seat?

No matter how you slice it, Boone and Nutt are in for the fight of their lives over the next couple of months.

Group Calls For Change At UM; A.D. Boone Responds

John — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:15:55 +0000

Things in the Magnolia State aren’t to pleasant right now. Many Ole Miss fans are riled up hotter than a sleuth of black bears. (Couldn’t resist… and look up “sleuth of bears.) Some have even taken out advertisements calling for change in the UM athletic department.

A group calling itself Forward Rebels placed the ad, following Ole Miss’ blowout loss to Vanderbilt over the weekend. The ad reads in part:

“A cloud hangs over us. We’re told we’ll never compete in the SEC. That we lack talent. The fan support. And the funding.

We respectfully disagree.

We believe Ole Miss can compete in the SEC. And win championships.

We believe that our coaches are not the problem. Or our athletes. Or our fans.

The Ole Miss administration is the problem.

Our leadership has failed us. And our leadership must be held accountable. Our coaches and athletes deserve it. Ole Miss supporters deserve it.

We’ve waited long enough. We’re tired of losing.

It’s time for a change.”

Sounds good. But Ole Miss’ budget really does lag behind most other schools in the conference, including Vanderbilt’s. And I don’t believe AD Pete Boone was the guy tossing five interceptions on Saturday, either.

Speaking of Boone, the embattled athletic director sent out a letter last night confirming rumors that he’d met with football coach Houston Nutt Sunday morning. He also called for fans to continue to support the Rebel program:

“The Rebel Family is the most important part of Ole Miss Athletics. Without your generous support month after month, year after year and generation after generation, Ole Miss would not be what it is today — a destination university for Mississippians as well as the nation. The richness of tradition and pride that encompasses Ole Miss fans all over the world is unparalleled.

The fullness of the Ole Miss football experience that you deserve and have generously invested in, has not lived up to expectations recently. Coach Nutt and I met today and discussed the current state of Ole Miss football. Bot of us are extremely disappointed in our performance this year. We agreed that to be successful, this disappointment must be met head on with solutions for improvement. We discussed several areas that needed improvement and I support Coach Nutt in his efforts to correct those areas.

As I have said, Saturday’s performance and our running two-season SEC record are unacceptable. Our commitment to compete at a championship level is as strong as ever and we will succeed! We need your continued support of the team as Saturday is another SEC weekend and we need you here!”

Hear that? That’s what doom sounds like.

Perhaps Nutt can turn things around in Oxford which would regain him some fan support and cool all the calls for his boss’ head, too.

But when a program starts to experience blowout losses to Vandy, ads being placed by angry fan groups, and its AD talking about “unacceptable” results, donations are usually quick to dry up… and once that happens, heads roll.

Start the Gus Malzahn/Mike Leach watch now. Ole Miss appears to be headed for dangerous waters.

Report: Texas Lawmakers About To Get Involved In SEC Expansion

John — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 04:00:14 +0000

According to Orangebloods.com — the Rivals site covering the University of Texas — lawmakers in the Long Star State are on the verge of involving themselves in Expansionpalooza 2011. If they do, that could potentially be bad news for the SEC.

Until late last week, Texas politicians had given Texas A&M a free-pass to exit and head east to the Southeastern Conference. But now legislators are worried that Texas and Texas Tech could bolt from the Big 12 and race west to the Pac-12. Some/many/most politicos in Texas don’t want to see that happen. So…

According to Orangebloods:

“Sources said the reason lawmakers are hot is that they received assurances from the Big 12, including (UT president Bill) Powers, that the Big 12 would survive without Texas A&M.

And because of those assurances, lawmakers did not take an aggressive stand against Texas A&M withdrawing from the Big 12. But that may be changing.

Sources said members of the Legislature are or will be reaching out to Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin to tell him the Aggies may no longer have the blessing of lawmakers to leave the Big 12, especially if it looks like the Big 12 will collapse.”

In addition the site claims that Big 12 sources have said there is “an increasing likelihood of litigation” against the SEC.

Good luck to the Big 12 on that front.

The Big Ten began the expansion craze last summer. The Pac-10 then began flirting with Texas and others in an effort to swipe four- to six-teams from the Big 12, which would have extinguished the conference in one push. The Pac-1o was conducting an all-out raid last summer. By comparison, the SEC simply answered a phone call this July.

When the smoke cleared in 2010, Nebraska had left for the Big Ten and Colorado had departed for the Pac-12 (as it’s now called).

Unless the judge overseeing such a silly case attended Baylor, the Big 12 would have a hard time convincing any sane person that it was actually the third school out the door that destabilized the league. Especially when Oklahoma president David Boren has been making comments like this to the press:

“The Big 12 is not the same Big 12. I was extremely disappointed when Nebraska departed. Disappointed when Colorado departed.”

Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel also stated last week:

“Obviously we have some issues in our league… When Nebraska leaves one year, Colorado leaves and then also now Texas A&M. So it’s three real good football teams (that) are leaving.”

Do a Google search and you’ll find countless other Big 12 figures who’ve been publicly stating the obvious — that Nebraska and Colorado exited and hurt the league a full year before A&M started looking for an escape hatch.

But while a tortious interference case would likely be hard to prove, that doesn’t mean such a lawsuit still couldn’t gum up the works for Mike Slive and the Aggies. The mere threat of a lawsuit could cause SEC presidents to slow down out of fear that the person hearing such a case really would be a Baylor grad… angry that his Bears are in danger of being left for dead in this round of realignment. (Nevermind the fact that the Bears left TCU, SMU, Houston and Rice for dead when Baylor jumped to the Big 12 without remorse in the mid-90s.)

Back in 2003, several Big East schools filed suit against the ACC for a raid that netted the Southern league Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech. In 2005, the ACC settled that suit for a grand total of $5 million. Pocket change.

But television contracts have jumped to another level since 2005 and the Big 12 — whoever’s left of the Big 12 — would likely ask for a cool billion of SEC cash. Well, even if there were just a 1% chance of losing that kind of cash, the SEC would need to do some serious risk/reward analyses. Perhaps the league would decide to stand pat and not offer A&M a landing spot. If that were to happen, would the Big 12 then be forced to re-admit a suddenly homeless Texas A&M? Now that would be a happy, long-lasting marriage, to be sure.

Bottom line? This thing isn’t over, folks. In some ways, it may just be getting started.

Oh, boy. Great. ’Cause who wants to talk about football?

UPDATE — Pete Thamel of The New York Times reports that Judith Zaffirini — the chairwoman of the Senate Higher Education Committee in Texas — claims the state senate has no intention of getting involved in conference expansion and realignment.

UM’s Boone Talks SEC Expansion, A&M

John — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:37:05 +0000

Texas A&M and the SEC continue to dance closer and closer to one another… without actually touching. Sort of like Baptists.

A&M athletic director Bill Byrne blogged yesterday and listed the “Bigger Ten,” the Pac-12 and the SEC as possible landing spots for the Aggies. Today, Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone shared a couple of quick notes on SEC expansion and A&M… without ever really connecting the two:

“The SEC has to be very mindful of any institution that would seek to come in. A lot of it has to do with location. So much of it has to do with culture. Texas A&M has a rich culture and history, not just with its agriculture and military but also in athletics and academics.”

Am I the only who wishes A&M and the SEC could just work this out, make an announcement, and let the rest of us focus on football?

Bolden: There’s No Drama At Ole Miss This Year

John — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:34:10 +0000

Ole Miss running back Brandon Bolden feels Ole Miss is in a better spot heading into the 2011 season than they were at this time last year. Why? The Rebels were still waiting for word on quarterback Jeremiah Masoli’s eligibility in late-August 2010. This year, the Rebels know their quarterbacks and they know the system:

“No drama. It’s straight to football. We don’t have to get a quarterback adjusted to our offense and try to adjust our whole offense to fit the quarterback. We have a system. It’s not how it was last year. It’s more focused right now.”

But will the lack of drama add up to a season-opening win rather than a season-opening loss? Brigham Young is a bit tougher foe than Jacksonville State.

Brunetti Cutting Down On “Disasters” As UM Opener Approaches

John — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:02:50 +0000

The good news is Ole Miss quarterback Barry Brunetti improved during Wednesday’s practice. The bad news is his coach’s use of the word “disaster” to describe some of his play during Tuesday’s practice.

New offensive coordinator David Lee is happy with Brunetti’s improvement since being named the team’s opening day starter, but a ringing endorsement this is not:

“I wasn’t excited about (Tuesday’s practice). Barry Brunetti had numerous errors. Had nine and about three of them were disasters.

I thought he really improved today and cut it to about six or five, which is what you like to see happen as we get closer and closer to the BYU game.”

With Randall Mackey suspended for the opener, Lee says Zack Stoudt will be “ready to go” if needed. “We’ll see how Barry does. If he’s doing well, we’ll stay right there with Barry.”

Just as long as avoids disasters.

Brunetti Named Starter At Ole Miss

John — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:26:49 +0000

In the end, Ole Miss’ quarterback battle — at least for the season opener — was settled by one player’s off-field decision-making.

Houston Nutt announced yesterday that Barry Brunetti will get the start against BYU in the Rebels’ opener next week. Zach Stoudt will also play in the game.

UM’s third quarterback candidate, Randall Mackey, blew his shot at the job with an arrest for disorderly conduct on Monday night. Allegedly, Mackey got involved in a large bar fight at an Oxford music venue called The Lyric. During the scrum, Mackey allegedly struck a police officer who was trying to play peacemaker. He was given a lesser charge because it’s not believed he took a swing at the officer on purpose.

“I am still looking into everything, but the bottom line is that he got into a fight,” Nutt told The Jackson Clarion-Ledger. “The bottom line, as I tell them, even though there may be 50 other arrests, your arrest is headlines. Walk away. Turn the other cheek.”

Mackey violated his team’s curfew by being out after 11:30pm.

“I wish I had known there was a Monday night school party downtown,” Nutt said. “I really wish I’d known that. Because had I known that it wouldn’t have happened.”

Credit Nutt for acting quickly on this one and suspending Mackey for a game. At LSU, senior starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson also broke his team’s curfew and also found himself in embroiled in the aftermath of a bar fight. But Jefferson has continued to take first-team snaps in Les Miles’ practice sessions.

Brunetti transferred from West Virginia to Ole Miss this past offseason. He has been the favorite to win the Rebels’ quarterback job, but he’s still been splitting reps in practice. Now he has the opening day start nailed down and he obviously has a leg up in the ongoing competition for everyday starter. His performance against a good BYU team will obviously help determine if he can keep said leg up.

UM’s Mackey, Mosley Arrested In Separate Incidents

John — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 21:06:43 +0000

Rule #1 on how not to win a quarterback battle: Don’t get arrested on charges of disorderly conduct.

Alas, that’s exactly what Mississippi quarterback candidate Randall Mackey did last night. He was picked up by police following a fight at an Oxford music venue.

Here’s the school’s official statement:

“We are currently gathering information on the incident involving Randall. Once we have all of the facts, we will determine the appropriate course of action.”

But Houston Nutt told WHBQ-AM in Memphis today that Mackey “threw away” a chance at starting. While the coach says Mackey was not drinking, he did break the team’s 11:30pm curfew. That and he got arrested.

Mackey wasn’t the only Rebel arrested in the last few days. Tight end Jamal Mosley was reportedly picked up Saturday night on charges of public intoxication.

Report: Golson Headed To Back To UM After All

John — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:57:47 +0000

It looks like Ole Miss had dodged a bullet. Again.

Senquez Golson — who the Rebels thought had turned down a baseball offer from the Boston Red Sox earlier this summer — apparently decided late yesterday not to ink with the baseball team. After practicing with the UM football team, Golson traveled to Boston yesterday for one last negotiating session.

According to reports, Golson turned down a “substantial” signing bonus from the Sox just before the midnight signing deadline.

That’s great news for Houston Nutt as the true freshman has already established himself as one of the Rebels’ best four cornerbacks.

Golson Expected To Leave UM For Red Sox

John — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:25:31 +0000

Several weeks ago, there was much rejoicing in Oxford when cornerback signee Senquez Golson announced that he would be playing football at Ole Miss rather than baseball in the Boston Red Sox farm system. But the player appears to have had a change of heart.

Golson was in Boston today to take a physical and — reportedly — to negotiate a contract with the baseball club. If Golson does leave the Rebels, it’s expected to be a rather big loss down the road.

Kennedy Excited About New UM Arena

John — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:45:07 +0000

No one is happier about Ole Miss’ recently announced $150 million fund drive than Rebel basketball coach Andy Kennedy. The man coaches in what’s widely considered to be the worst arena in the SEC. A women’s game was cancelled due to rain last year. Rain.

With a chunk of that $150 million earmarked for a new arena, Kennedy sees better days ahead:

“It’s an exciting day for Ole Miss athletics. It’s an exciting day for the basketball coach at Ole Miss, because this obviously addressed a need going forward that is huge in the future of our program. A first-class facility that is committed to being put in play in the not-so-distant future. It sells a vision but it also affords us as coaches the opportunity to tell future Rebels that, ‘Hey, you don’t have to settle to come to Ole Miss. We’re going to give you everything you need in order to be successful.’ And as Chancellor (Dan) Jones said, if ultimately you’re trying to compete for SEC championship, in essence you’re competing for national championships. And this gives us the opportunity to realistically make that statement.”

No question a new hoops arena will be a great step forward for the University of Mississippi. But whether Kennedy will still be coaching in Oxford in the not-so-distant future might depend on whether or not he can finally get his Rebels into the NCAA Tournament field this season.

Nutt: You Gotta Believe It To Achieve It

John — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:32:58 +0000

Houston Nutt wants his 2011 team to be a lot more confident than his 2010 team. He also wants them to have more fun playing football. (Though it’s hard to blame last year’s squad for not having fun… they finished 4-8.)

“We didn’t have fun last year. Now your mindset has to be different. You have to change and if you don’t believe it, you’re never going to achieve it. We live in a world that says, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ That’s what some of y’all might say, and I understand that after going 4-8.”

Nutt’s players seem to be buying into his message. But if the Rebels should struggle in September, one has to wonder just how much they’ll be believing by the time October and November roll around.

Brunetti In The Lead For UM QB Job

John — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:53:12 +0000

Barry Brunetti — who has transferred to Oxford after just one season at West Virginia — has already grabbed the lead in Ole Miss’ quarterback competition. At least that’s the take of new offensive coordinator David Lee:

“I would say Barry is ahead now. I like him. I felt his presence in the spring game. that’s the best way to put it. I didn’t have that feeling all spring long, but it weighs heavy on me.”

Asked about Brunetti’s chief competitor Randall Mackey, Lee says the former juco transfer still needs “to get the mental part right.”