Yes, I know, we've see the same "rumors" and "reports" week after week and loss after loss circulated on blogs, forums, and Twitter, but it seems to be legitimate this time. After yesterday's loss to Kentucky, the 12th consecutive SEC loss Ole Miss has endured under Houston Nutt's coaching tenure, the Rebel head coach was informed that he would not be retained beyond the Egg Bowl and will, perhaps, be dismissed as early as Monday.
Again, I know we've heard all of this before, but sources close to the Cup have confirmed this and, come on, at this point it's not like it's something that's all that hard to believe.
The coaches and athletics administration will meet today to discuss whether or not Houston Nutt will coach the remainder of the season and who his interim replacement would be if he is not to stay. The situation that I am hearing is likely to happen is that Nutt is ousted and Gunter Brewer is to serve as his interim but, given that this is Ole Miss, I wouldn't be stunned to see that not take place in favor of Nutt finishing this season.
This brings us to the much more exciting question of who exactly will coach Ole Miss next season. Rebel boosters have been in touch with a handful of intriguing prospective head coaches over the past several weeks, including Alabama's Kirby Smart, Oklahoma's Brent Venables, Auburn's Gus Malzhan, and Houston's Kevin Sumlin. I haven't a clue as to which direction we are looking to go with this next hire, but if that's the short list they're choosing from then I can't be too worried.
And to answer the inevitable "but what about Pete Boone" questions, I have heard nothing regarding the fate of the Ole Miss athletic director. Naturally, we will keep you all updated with additional developments.