Ole Miss Football Spiraling Downwards Weeks Before 2017 Season

Former head coach of Ole Miss football Hugh Freeze resigned this past week, and it came as a shock to just about no one. After his phone number was found linked to a female escort service on what has been viewed as an “ongoing pattern”, the 47-year old had essentially no choice but to depart from the institution.

Freeze had roughly $2 million owed to him for the upcoming season, $5 million owed in 2018, and $5.15 heading his way in 2019. Going forward, it was announced by the administration that Freeze will no longer be paid for his efforts.

According to former head coach Houston Nutt, this has not been the first act of indecent behavior from the former head coach. Remember Nutt? The one who was fired from Ole Miss back in 2010, and who is currently suing Ole Miss in a critical lawsuit? The status of Ole Miss with the NCAA is still up in the air currently, considering they are undergoing a one-year postseason ban heading into the 2017 season.

A couple of weeks ago, back at SEC media days, Freeze got the supposed “vote of confidence” from the administration of Ole Miss. However, it all changed by this past Thursday night when the official announcement was confirmed by the school. The tenure of Freeze in Ole Miss was long overdue in my books. The recovery time that Ole Miss will need to undergo in order to get their winning reputation back may take awhile, but patience is essential for the lifelong fans of the Rebels.

In fact, I even feel bad for interim coach Matt Luke, who has been assigned to take over for the team. Luke has been the co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the last six seasons with the school, but will undoubtedly have an unhealthy amount of media coverage surrounding himself, his staff, and his players.

This is the first time a team in the SEC was forced to make a last-minute coaching change just before the start of the season since May of 2003, back when Alabama made a drastic change from Mike Price to Mike Shula. The only time difference between the two aforementioned situations is a mere two months. This particular incident occurred on July 20th, and with only a few weeks to go before the 2017 season starts, the fans in Ole Miss are still in shock. The long climb will begin soon, but for now, a dark cloud will metaphorically hang over this university.

New York Times Images

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