Houston Nutt files breach of contract lawsuit against Ole Miss
By Zach Bigalke
What does Houston Nutt hope to get out of this lawsuit?
Nutt is claiming damages under Mississippi law. These damages include lost wages and attorneys’ fees. Furthermore, Nutt is also claiming emotional distress, embarrassment, and punitive damages. It is hard to quantify emotional distress or embarrassment, and punitive damages are always a sticky subject that usually goes through several rounds of appeals. Houston Nutt goes into no details beyond that in terms of a dollar figure he seeks.
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What we do know, though, is that Houston Nutt made $2.7 million in his final year at Ole Miss. Nutt jumped right into the CBS Sports Network studio in 2012. Nutt wasn’t unemployed for long. But, when what are surely millions in attorneys’ fees are tacked on, we are not talking about a small amount of money here.
What should we take away from this lawsuit?
The key to the entire lawsuit is whether or not what Ole Miss was saying about Houston Nutt impeded his return to the coaching ranks. He has been working for CBS, and the question becomes whether he has tried to get back into coaching. Did this alleged Rebels smear campaign keep other schools from calling Nutt?
A few months ago, this could have passed if Nutt had received a public apology from the school. When that seemed like it would never materialize Nutt assessed his options. A defamation suit was in the works at least as early as six weeks ago. Forget the wins and losses. The ultimate question, here, comes down to whether Nutt was a negligent and disreputable coach.
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In the end, the NCAA found little to pin on Houston Nutt in its extensive list of allegations against Ole Miss. The school was happy to point its fingers, though, at the man who preceded Hugh Freeze. Because Ole Miss knew Nutt was not nearly as culpable as they claimed, the suit was inevitable.