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Ole Miss Football: How does Hugh Freeze news affect SEC?

By Matthew Bartlett

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 01: Head coach Hugh Freeze of the Mississippi Rebels looks on during the third quarter against the Oklahoma State Cowboys of the Allstate Sugar Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 1, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 01: Head coach Hugh Freeze of the Mississippi Rebels looks on during the third quarter against the Oklahoma State Cowboys of the Allstate Sugar Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 1, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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STARKVILLE, MS – NOVEMBER 5:  (Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images) /

Hot seat coaches

Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin and Butch Jones at Tennessee didn’t get any safer with this news. But the opening at Ole Miss does open up the door should either be asked to move on at the end of the season. Ole Miss doesn’t have the resources and tradition of either of those school’s, but a job is a job. Both guys are proven college football coaching commodities that have big game experience.

For Ole Miss it’s all about getting someone who will have a cool head and weather the storm. They need someone who can build a program from the ground up. That’s exactly what both Jones and Sumlin have done at their respective programs.

Jones took over a 5-7 Tennessee team. Three years later they were 9-4. Last season they jumped out to a miraculous 5-0 start and were ranked in the top 10. Sumlin’s resume is similar. The Aggies had just come off a 7-6 season when he took over in 2012. He, with the help of Johnny Manziel, led Texas A&M to a 11-2 season.

Sumlin has consistently produced top 15 recruiting classes every year that he’s been in College Station. Jones has kept the Volunteers near the top of the rankings as well. Each guy has proven he can recruit.

Ole Miss needs a salesman in the worst way. They need someone who can convince 3-star and 4-star players that they can be the piece that rebuilds a program with a rich history and a bright future. Jones and Sumlin have their warts, but they can both recruit. That alone will put them at the top of the list in 2018.

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