Ole Miss has had a lot of coaching trouble over the last ten years. It all started when they let David Cutcliffe go to hire Ed Orgeron. David Cutcliffe had successfully lead Ole Miss to 5 consecutive winning seasons. In 2003, Ole Miss had its first 10 win season in 30 years. But, in 2004, Ole Miss struggled; it's never easy to replace a quarterback who is a number one draft pick. With Eli Manning gone and Cutcliffe having health issues, Ole Miss limped to a 4-7 record. When Cutcliffe was fired by Pete Boone, it was released that he had refused to fire any of his assistants, resulting in Cutcliffe and his assistants being fired. We know that 4-7 is a disappointment for any school and all SEC schools expect to be in a bowl game every year. However, it is a bit strange to fire a coach who brought you so much success after one bad season. After all, it would be very difficult for any coach to replace a player like Eli Manning. After the 10-3 season however, expectations were very high and Pete Boone was under pressure from an upset fan base. This is the first example of expectations taking precedence over what is the best thing for the football program at Ole Miss. Cutcliffe might have continued to struggle, it might have been the right decision to let him go. The decisions that followed though are harder to justify.
When Pete Boone started the coaching search he wasn't just looking for the best coach available. He had to please a fan base that wanted a "name" coach. A coach that would take Ole Miss to the next level. Never mind that Ole Miss had just gotten to the level they were on. The fan base had all but forgotten the days before Cutcliffe and was now ready to move on to becoming a national power. There are a lot of problems with this attitude but we will get into that in Part 2. The point at hand is that Ole Miss wanted a big name coach. The problem was they didn't have a big name coach that wanted them. Ole Miss was rumored to be turned down by several coaches during their search including former Notre Dame coach Ty Willingham.
When you are searching for a big name coach, you lose track of some great options. There are so many coaches that are doing amazing things in the lower divisions. They aren't given a chance by athletic directors like Pete Boone because they don't have big name recognition, they aren't going to "excite the fan base." The problem is that the fan base's level of excitement doesn't win football games. It's nice to get a big name coach, it's better to win games.
So in 2004, Ole Miss hired Ed Orgeron. Ed Orgeron was a well known recruiter and defensive coach from USC. He had little to no head coaching experience but it was hoped that a staff of experienced assistants would make up for this. Orgeron immediately got to work recruiting and managed to bring Ole Miss a top 15 recruiting class in 2005. While the recruiting was improving at Ole Miss, the play on the field suffered. Despite a plethora of talent, Orgeron lead Ole Miss to three consecutive losing seasons.
In 2007, three days after Orgeron was fired, Houston Nutt resigned from his position as head coach of Arkansas. He was quickly announced as the new head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. Nutt had proven he was a contender in the SEC West. His record was a little better than average 42-38 in the SEC. Of course, his record at Arkansas was no better than Cutcliffe's was at Ole Miss. It makes one wonder what Ole Miss ever gained by making these coaching changes.
Ole Miss would be a very different job than Arkansas. One of Arkansas strong points is that it is the only major college in the state. It doesn't have to compete for instate recruits with any other SEC school. Mississippi on the other hand has Mississippi State to contend with, not to mention a smaller population than Arkansas. Arkansas was also a major player in the recruiting game in Texas. As the closest SEC school, Arkansas was able to make a grab at Texas talent. For the time being though, Nutt would be set. He had a load of talent left over from the recruiting skills of Ed Orgeron. In his first two years, Nutt led Ole Miss to a Cotton Bowl birth.
In 2007, three days after Orgeron was fired, Houston Nutt resigned from his position as head coach of Arkansas. He was quickly announced as the new head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. Nutt had proven he was a contender in the SEC West. His record was a little better than average 42-38 in the SEC. Of course, his record at Arkansas was no better than Cutcliffe's was at Ole Miss. It makes one wonder what Ole Miss ever gained by making these coaching changes.
Ole Miss would be a very different job than Arkansas. One of Arkansas strong points is that it is the only major college in the state. It doesn't have to compete for instate recruits with any other SEC school. Mississippi on the other hand has Mississippi State to contend with, not to mention a smaller population than Arkansas. Arkansas was also a major player in the recruiting game in Texas. As the closest SEC school, Arkansas was able to make a grab at Texas talent. For the time being though, Nutt would be set. He had a load of talent left over from the recruiting skills of Ed Orgeron. In his first two years, Nutt led Ole Miss to a Cotton Bowl birth.
2010 was a different matter completely. Ole Miss was beaten by Jacksonville State in the first game of the year. Even with the addition of Jeremiah Masoli, the former Oregon star quarterback, Ole Miss struggled. To make matters worse instate, rival Mississippi State has been steadily improving. Although State still hasn't been able to reach the recruiting prominence of Ole Miss, they have beaten Ole Miss on the field for two years in a row. Times are once again tough in Oxford. Looking at the Ole Miss team for next season there is little reason to be hopeful. Ole Miss has 9 possible quarterbacks on its roster, none of which look to be a real solution. Ole Miss will be hard pressed to make a bowl this year. If they don't reach a bowl once again, Coach Nutt might be looking for a new job and Ole Miss a new coach. Nutt has consistently thrown his hat into the ring for every available coaching position. He may end up jumping ship before the end of next season.
So, what happens when the Nutt era ends? Where does Ole Miss go from here? We think it's time for Ole Miss to start looking at reasonable options. There are many coaches in the lower division that have done extraordinary things and are ready for a chance. Paired with the right recruiting director, Ole Miss could, and should, be a bowl contender every year. They could, and should, beat or play Mississippi State hard every year. And they could, and should, be a middle of the pack SEC west team every year. It's time to stop shooting for the big names and BCS championship. It's time to be realistic in Oxford.
Stay put for part 2 of our series on Ole Miss football.
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