The Randolph Leader: Sports

When college football coaches get fired, it is usually a time of worry (although those buyouts can be comforting in a time of tribulation). Even though they get those nice golden parachutes, a coach wants to coach. He hates being unemployed, especially in the fall when he is bombarded by college football.

He worries about his family, his reputation, his assistant coaches and their families. And, he worries about where he might land next. Sometimes those worry lasts for months, maybe even years.

That's what made Houston's Nutt departure from Arkansas so strange.

His time of worry lasted only a few hours. He was named the Ole Miss coach almost before the word of his departure from the Razorbacks had even reached the most remote outposts of Arkansas.

"It was time for me to leave Arkansas," said Nutt. "Ten years is a long time to be at one place."

His breakup after a 10-year marriage to Arkansas was ugly. There was as acrimonious split with his offensive coordinator, who had been forced on him in the first place. There were suggestions of improper behavior with a female television reporter with whom he exchanged a large number of text messages.

And he was losing his big three - Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis. Yes, it was time for Nutt to leave Arkansas. Fortunately for Nutt, it was also time for Ed Orgeron to leave Ole Miss, but not for the same reasons. Ole Miss fans, who liked Orgeron's recruiting prowess, were not happy with his on the field coaching record. So long, Ed. Hello Houston.

"I had always looked at Ole Miss as a school with great tradition," Nutt said. 'I had heard my Dad talk about Ole Miss and Archie Manning and Johnny Vaught. I didn't want to lay out, so when I heard that Ole Miss was available through (agent) Jimmy Sexton I wanted them to know I was interested."

More than interested, Nutt was on his way to Ole Miss the next day.

"I wanted to stay in the SEC because I think it is the best conference in America," he said.

Nutt was familiar with Ole Miss from bringing his Razorbacks in to play the Rebels, but on a game day a coach really has no idea of what is going on outside the stadium. He didn't get to enjoy tailgating in The Grove or even know how much that means to Ole Miss fans. All he saw was the visiting locker room and the sidelines. So when he arrived in Oxford for the introductory press conference, he was stunned.

There was a real passion for football at Ole Miss.

"When we went to the press conference, I thought we were going to a little room somewhere," Nutt remembers. "But then we went to the auditorium and it was packed. I heard they had to turn people away. There is a real hunger here among the fans.

"When I got here I was impressed with the facilities and Dr. (Robert) Khayat," he said. "Then when I met with the players I found out they were hungry to win.

"They have been good here, and they want to be good again."

It's been awhile since the Rebels were good. In the past four seasons, one under David Cutcliffe and three under Orgeron, the Rebels have won 14 games, only six of which were Southeastern Conference games and none of those came last season. After bottoming out last season Orgeron was expendable and Nutt was ready for the challenge of bringing the Rebels back to at least respectability first and then to challenge for championships.

Ole Miss fans are excited to have him. They were ready to get a look at the new Ole Miss Rebels under Nutt in the Grove Bowl spring football game. Get a look they did, in a record number.

"We had the largest crowd for the spring game in school history," Nutt said. "It was a beautiful day - a big crowd and when guys like Patrick Willis, the Rookie of the Year with the 49ers, came back, and Eli Manning and Archie and Cooper...

"They didn't have to come, but they did," Nutt said.

But winning on the football field will be a tougher challenge than just winning over the fans who are hungry for a winner. The Rebels were awful last season and they lost leading rusher Ben-Jarvis Green-Ellis and both quarterbacks. But on the other hand, there are 15 other starters returning, eight on the defensive side of the ball and seven on offense. Of course, for a team that didn't win a conference game that might not be the best of news.

There is hope for Ole Miss, though, because of one player. The starting quarterback for the Rebels will be Javon Snead, a transfer from Texas who lost a close battle for the Longhorns starting job two years ago to Colt McCoy.

"Thank goodness he's here," said Nutt.

Arkansas fans feel the same way about Nutt.