The Ole Miss Hire of Coach Houston Nutt Paid Off Early
When Pete Boone announced to the football world that Ole Miss would make Houston Nutt the shortest unemployed coach in the NCAA to many it was a shock. The sheer timing of it was staggering. Nutt turned down a contract extension and a salary bump to stay in Arkansas after conflicts between him and the school and it's fan base.
Some say Nutt's agent, Jimmy Sexton may have already had the Ole Miss deal in his hand before the resignation. In any case, the timing between the resignation and the Ole Miss hiring was stunning in many ways.
Most in the sports world thought of Nutt as, well as a nut. Between all the staff problems, the Mustain saga, the infamous "Text Message Scandal" and the rift with the administration and fans most saw him as damaged goods.
Boone saw a coach that consistently had the Hogs in Bowl games and often in contention for conference championships. He saw a man who could do that at Ole Miss. Many scoffed.
Nutt took the five-year 9.5 million dollar contract and moved down the road to set up shop and start with a clean slate at a new school. He immediately set to work to secure the good and promising recruits that Orgeron had started assembling.
He signed those along with a few other goodies and hope was beginning to spring to life in Oxford. And that hope ended up being justified.
Ole Miss is just a few plays from being far better than its 6-4 record. With remaining games against LSU and Miss. State, the rebels could be 7-5 by season's end. That alone would be justification if anyone felt the need to justify Nutt's hiring.
There is not a person on the Ole Miss team that has ever been to a bowl game unless they bought a ticket to one as a kid. This is a reward to these men that have wanted for a long time and thanks to Nutt, they'll get it.
Plus in the college football world you can not overstate the importance of a bowl game for the extra weeks of practice it gives a team. Not only does it make next year's team better, but it helps attract new signees, additional revenues and so much prestige.
It's vindication for Nutt. Ole Miss is going bowling and has a 6-4 record while Arkansas is on the outside of the bowl picture now looking in with a 4-6 record. At least here in Ole Miss, Nutt will be appreciated for that record.
