Ole Miss undergoing offensive overhaul
Players and coaches come and go every year in the SEC.
But rarely has there been a mass exodus like the one taking place at Ole Miss on offense.
Kent Austin, the Rebels’ offensive coordinator for the last two seasons, is the latest to leave. He will reportedly be named the head coach at Cornell on Wednesday.
Suffice it to say that the Rebels will be starting over on offense next season.
Quarterback Jevan Snead gave up his senior season to enter the NFL draft, and both of the Rebels’ top offensive playmakers – Dexter McCluster and Shay Hodge – were seniors.
Go back and look at what Ole Miss’ offensive production would have looked like last season without those two guys.
The middle of the Rebels’ offensive line was also gutted. Gone are senior guards John Jerry and Reid Neely and senior center Daverin Geralds.
As Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt searches for Austin’s replacement, one of his first calls will almost certainly be to David Lee, who was Nutt’s offensive coordinator at Arkansas in 2007. Lee followed Nutt to Ole Miss as offensive coordinator, but took a job with the Miami Dolphins as quarterbacks coach soon after arriving in Oxford.
No matter who Nutt hires, this spring ought to be an interesting time around the offensive side of the field at Ole Miss.
ESPN.com
1/27/10
