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Ole Miss football: True Rebel, Matt Luke named permanent head coach

By Hunter Kinniburgh

OXFORD, MS - SEPTEMBER 02: Head coach Matt Luke of the Mississippi Rebels takes the field before a game against the South Alabama Jaguars at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
OXFORD, MS - SEPTEMBER 02: Head coach Matt Luke of the Mississippi Rebels takes the field before a game against the South Alabama Jaguars at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Ole Miss football has their man. Matt Luke, formerly the Rebels interim head coach, has been named the permanent head coach.

Days after Ole Miss’s huge upset victory in the Egg Bowl over Mississippi State, interim coach Matt Luke has had his interim title removed and is now the permanent head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels.

Luke had the audition of his life when Hugh Freeze resigned as head coach back in July and Luke took over as the interim coach. That 12 game audition payed off and Luke is now the permanent coach of the Rebels.

Matt Luke might not be the popular hire for many in the Ole Miss fan base but he makes sense. He led the 2017 to a 6-6 record in what was undoubtedly one of if not the most turbulent year of Ole Miss football. Matt Luke is beloved in the locker room and might be able to keep players like Shea Patterson from possibly transferring.

Luke is also Ole Miss through and through and won’t bolt for another job. He has and will continue to give the program his all. Luke was a center at Ole Miss, a graduate assistant, a co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for Freeze’s staff from 2012-2017 before being named the interim coach.

Now Coach Luke gets the chance to not only fully lead this program. He’ll get to bring in his own staff. The one hire he made as interim was to replace himself as the offensive line coach. Luke hired Jack Bicknell Jr., which proved to be a solid hire. Luke is the perfect guy to lead Ole Miss through the remainder of the NCAA drama. Which should be coming to a close any day now. Many will say that the decision to hire Luke points towards heavy sanctions but I don’t buy that.

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All I know is that Matt Luke will pour his heart and soul into this job. He has been tapped to be the man to lead Ole Miss through some trying times. He will have to weather the NCAA, unsupportive fans and deal with making the most out of recruiting. But he can do it because he loves Ole Miss no matter what. If anyone could give their all to the program, it was Matt Luke.

Ole Miss will hold a press conference on Monday to formally announce Luke at 12:30 p.m. ET.

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