Ole Miss fans looking for someone to stand up to Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen’s verbal jabs may have found their man.
After Saturday’s 31-3 win over Ole Miss in Starkville, Mullen said the following:
“It’s great for our seniors to go out that way; great for our young guys. They know how important it is for us and how important it is for our fans - the people of the state of Mississippi. I’m proud of the direction that the program is going. We don’t have a lot of time to enjoy, because we got to get out on the road for recruiting and hopefully all the kids in the state of Mississippi understand this is the place to come to win championships."
Southern Mississippi’s Larry Fedora answered that a bit Monday during his press conference previewing Saturday’s Conference USA Championship Game between his Golden Eagles and Houston.
"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," Fedora said.
It’s a bit of a zinger, but it could be a precursor of verbal shots to come if one prominent source in tune with Ole Miss’ search for Houston Nutt’s replacement is correct. Asked today what he was hearing regarding Ole Miss’ search, he said, “Nothing. I think they’re waiting on Fedora.”
That source is certainly not alone in that sentiment, though the list of schools interested in Fedora is believed to be a long one. Arizona State and Kansas fired Dennis Erickson and Turner Gill, respectively, in the last 24 hours, and Fedora’s name is at or near the top of both of those schools’ wish lists, per coaching/agent sources. Fedora, according to a source close to the coach, will not talk to any prospective suitors until after Saturday’s 11 a.m. game. The coach on the other sideline Saturday, Houston’s Kevin Sumlin, might have some meetings of his own after Saturday’s game. Arizona State likes Sumlin as well, and as we at RebelGrove.com have been telling you for more than a week, he is at the top of UCLA’s list. The Bruins will be coached by Rick Neuheisel in the Pac-12 title game, but Neuheisel was informed Monday that he will not be retained.
As we’ve told you for the past day or so, we believe Arkansas State coach Hugh Freeze interviewed with Ole Miss’ committee Sunday in Memphis. We believe Louisiana-Lafayette coach Mark Hudspeth interviewed later Sunday in New Orleans. A media report earlier today said Hudspeth didn’t interview, but members of his coaching staff at ULL have told friends he did. It could be semantics. It could be that there was no interview, that it was a discussion via videoconference. Who knows? It’s clear, however, that there was contact and Hudspeth is a target of interest.
Freeze is apparently a subject of heavy interest at both Tulane and Memphis, which fired Larry Porter Sunday, as well. Freeze is mentioned as a candidate at North Carolina as well, though it’s believed he’s on down the Tar Heels’ list. Hudspeth is a candidate at Tulane, per sources, and could pop up in some other searches as well.
Keep an eye on Penn State, for example. Don’t be shocked if Mullen is in the mix there. If he were to leave Starkville, Mississippi State would almost certainly turn to Hudspeth or Texas defensive coordinator Manny Diaz.
There have been plenty of rumors today regarding the candidacy of Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, who we believe was a stronger candidate last week than he is today. Alabama coach Nick Saban addressed Smart’s future some today in Tuscaloosa, telling media:
“I think Kirby would make an outstanding head coach. Leadership is really an important part of being the head of anything, a business or whatever it is.
“I think Kirby is a great leader, he's done a great job with what he's been responsible for, which I think is also a big indication. You have to have leadership qualities and the ability to confront and demand that people do things the right way. And you have to gain their respect to be able to do it. He's done a fantastic job of that.
“When our people in our organization do a great job for us, and what they're working for is to become a head coach, and they have an opportunity to do that, we want to be very, very supportive in helping them do that. I don't want anybody to leave. But the only way people are going to be motivated to do a good job is if they have a chance to fulfill their goals and aspirations because that's part of the motivation for them to do a good job. That helps everybody in the organization, too see that people have success and sort of fulfill their goals and aspirations.
“We're going to be very supportive. He's done a great job for us and I'm sure he'll continue to do a great job. I don't know any specific ...No one has called me to ask permission to talk to him, and if they do, we'll deal with it when they do. But that's where it's at.
“There's so much stuff on the internet now, so much stuff out there that people just throw out there to see what sticks. I don't know how anybody knows, really, what's happening for sure. Because there is so much speculation. I can't comment on speculation.”
I talked to someone close to the Alabama program this afternoon about Smart. He said there’s no doubt Smart is ready to be a head coach and no doubt Smart very much wants to be a head coach very soon, preferably next season. He said Smart makes the game plan and calls the defensive plays, though Saban must approve of the game plan before it is implemented. He said Smart is Saban’s most trusted assistant, perhaps ever, and he said Smart recruits like a position coach, meaning he’s extremely involved in the process. He did say he believed Saban would do anything he could to keep Smart in Tuscaloosa until after the Jan. 9 BCS national title game (assuming Alabama is in it, which appears likely), so that could be the “timing issue” we kept hearing about Friday.
Smart has not, per a source close to Smart, interviewed for the position.
We continue to hear there are other candidates being vetted, but we don’t know who. We don’t believe it’s Mike Leach, in case you’re wondering. Leach’s name has popped up on lists associated with openings at Washington State, Tulane, Kansas and Memphis today, but so far, no one seems to be jumping out to land his services.
Other names we’ve heard today are San Diego Chargers special teams coach Rich Bisaccia, NFL Network host/former NFL head coach Jim L. Mora, West Virginia coach Dana Holgerson and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. Of those, none appear to be all that realistic. It’s hard to believe Ole Miss would hire Arians or Bisaccia at this time, though several former players are lobbying hard for Bisaccia. Mora, we hear, is simply not very interested in the job and Holgerson has a nice gig in Morgantown, though Ole Miss likely could pay him more than West Virginia could.
Ole Miss’ team of six coaches/recruiters, led by wide receivers coach Gunter Brewer, are out recruiting. They’ve been in Mississippi (Brewer saw Channing Ward yesterday), Atlanta, Nashville, the Midwest and checking in on current commitments, attempting to keep some proverbial fires warm while the search continues. There will be a team meeting tomorrow afternoon, and then the team of six will recruit the rest of the week.
We continue to hear nothing is likely this week in terms of a coach being announced.
This post was edited on 11/28 4:03 PM by Neal McCready
After Saturday’s 31-3 win over Ole Miss in Starkville, Mullen said the following:
“It’s great for our seniors to go out that way; great for our young guys. They know how important it is for us and how important it is for our fans - the people of the state of Mississippi. I’m proud of the direction that the program is going. We don’t have a lot of time to enjoy, because we got to get out on the road for recruiting and hopefully all the kids in the state of Mississippi understand this is the place to come to win championships."
Southern Mississippi’s Larry Fedora answered that a bit Monday during his press conference previewing Saturday’s Conference USA Championship Game between his Golden Eagles and Houston.
"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," Fedora said.
It’s a bit of a zinger, but it could be a precursor of verbal shots to come if one prominent source in tune with Ole Miss’ search for Houston Nutt’s replacement is correct. Asked today what he was hearing regarding Ole Miss’ search, he said, “Nothing. I think they’re waiting on Fedora.”
That source is certainly not alone in that sentiment, though the list of schools interested in Fedora is believed to be a long one. Arizona State and Kansas fired Dennis Erickson and Turner Gill, respectively, in the last 24 hours, and Fedora’s name is at or near the top of both of those schools’ wish lists, per coaching/agent sources. Fedora, according to a source close to the coach, will not talk to any prospective suitors until after Saturday’s 11 a.m. game. The coach on the other sideline Saturday, Houston’s Kevin Sumlin, might have some meetings of his own after Saturday’s game. Arizona State likes Sumlin as well, and as we at RebelGrove.com have been telling you for more than a week, he is at the top of UCLA’s list. The Bruins will be coached by Rick Neuheisel in the Pac-12 title game, but Neuheisel was informed Monday that he will not be retained.
As we’ve told you for the past day or so, we believe Arkansas State coach Hugh Freeze interviewed with Ole Miss’ committee Sunday in Memphis. We believe Louisiana-Lafayette coach Mark Hudspeth interviewed later Sunday in New Orleans. A media report earlier today said Hudspeth didn’t interview, but members of his coaching staff at ULL have told friends he did. It could be semantics. It could be that there was no interview, that it was a discussion via videoconference. Who knows? It’s clear, however, that there was contact and Hudspeth is a target of interest.
Freeze is apparently a subject of heavy interest at both Tulane and Memphis, which fired Larry Porter Sunday, as well. Freeze is mentioned as a candidate at North Carolina as well, though it’s believed he’s on down the Tar Heels’ list. Hudspeth is a candidate at Tulane, per sources, and could pop up in some other searches as well.
Keep an eye on Penn State, for example. Don’t be shocked if Mullen is in the mix there. If he were to leave Starkville, Mississippi State would almost certainly turn to Hudspeth or Texas defensive coordinator Manny Diaz.
There have been plenty of rumors today regarding the candidacy of Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, who we believe was a stronger candidate last week than he is today. Alabama coach Nick Saban addressed Smart’s future some today in Tuscaloosa, telling media:
“I think Kirby would make an outstanding head coach. Leadership is really an important part of being the head of anything, a business or whatever it is.
“I think Kirby is a great leader, he's done a great job with what he's been responsible for, which I think is also a big indication. You have to have leadership qualities and the ability to confront and demand that people do things the right way. And you have to gain their respect to be able to do it. He's done a fantastic job of that.
“When our people in our organization do a great job for us, and what they're working for is to become a head coach, and they have an opportunity to do that, we want to be very, very supportive in helping them do that. I don't want anybody to leave. But the only way people are going to be motivated to do a good job is if they have a chance to fulfill their goals and aspirations because that's part of the motivation for them to do a good job. That helps everybody in the organization, too see that people have success and sort of fulfill their goals and aspirations.
“We're going to be very supportive. He's done a great job for us and I'm sure he'll continue to do a great job. I don't know any specific ...No one has called me to ask permission to talk to him, and if they do, we'll deal with it when they do. But that's where it's at.
“There's so much stuff on the internet now, so much stuff out there that people just throw out there to see what sticks. I don't know how anybody knows, really, what's happening for sure. Because there is so much speculation. I can't comment on speculation.”
I talked to someone close to the Alabama program this afternoon about Smart. He said there’s no doubt Smart is ready to be a head coach and no doubt Smart very much wants to be a head coach very soon, preferably next season. He said Smart makes the game plan and calls the defensive plays, though Saban must approve of the game plan before it is implemented. He said Smart is Saban’s most trusted assistant, perhaps ever, and he said Smart recruits like a position coach, meaning he’s extremely involved in the process. He did say he believed Saban would do anything he could to keep Smart in Tuscaloosa until after the Jan. 9 BCS national title game (assuming Alabama is in it, which appears likely), so that could be the “timing issue” we kept hearing about Friday.
Smart has not, per a source close to Smart, interviewed for the position.
We continue to hear there are other candidates being vetted, but we don’t know who. We don’t believe it’s Mike Leach, in case you’re wondering. Leach’s name has popped up on lists associated with openings at Washington State, Tulane, Kansas and Memphis today, but so far, no one seems to be jumping out to land his services.
Other names we’ve heard today are San Diego Chargers special teams coach Rich Bisaccia, NFL Network host/former NFL head coach Jim L. Mora, West Virginia coach Dana Holgerson and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. Of those, none appear to be all that realistic. It’s hard to believe Ole Miss would hire Arians or Bisaccia at this time, though several former players are lobbying hard for Bisaccia. Mora, we hear, is simply not very interested in the job and Holgerson has a nice gig in Morgantown, though Ole Miss likely could pay him more than West Virginia could.
Ole Miss’ team of six coaches/recruiters, led by wide receivers coach Gunter Brewer, are out recruiting. They’ve been in Mississippi (Brewer saw Channing Ward yesterday), Atlanta, Nashville, the Midwest and checking in on current commitments, attempting to keep some proverbial fires warm while the search continues. There will be a team meeting tomorrow afternoon, and then the team of six will recruit the rest of the week.
We continue to hear nothing is likely this week in terms of a coach being announced.
This post was edited on 11/28 4:03 PM by Neal McCready
