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5 candidates to replace Matt Luke at Ole Miss

By Brad Berreman

OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI - OCTOBER 05: Head coach Matt Luke of the Mississippi Rebels reacts during a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI - OCTOBER 05: Head coach Matt Luke of the Mississippi Rebels reacts during a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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With Matt Luke gone after three seasons, here are five candidates to be the next football coach at Ole Miss.

The Ole Miss Rebels were not going to earn bowl eligibility with a win over rival Mississippi State on Thanksgiving night. But the way they lost a second straight Egg Bowl, with a costly celebration penalty, brought a 4-8 record. On Sunday night, the school announced head coach Matt Luke had been fired.

Luke took the helm at Ole Miss on an interim basis in the wake of NCAA violations of a scandal that led to Hugh Freeze’s resignation and subsequent NCAA violations levied against the football program and the athletic department. In three seasons under him the team’s win totals went six, five and four. This year’s four wins was the lowest win total for the program since a 2-10 mark in 2011, Houston Nutt’s last season as coach.

The decision to fire Luke is apparently not going over well. One Rebels player told Nick Suss of the Clarion-Ledger that half the team” is talking about leaving the program if the entire coaching staff is dismissed, and several recruits have already de-committed.

Competing at a consistently high level in the SEC is going to be hard for schools like Ole Miss, and even the success Freeze authored during his tenure came with apparent corner-cutting and consequences. But on the other hand, it’s an SEC job and being in a marquee conference is appealing for any coach who’s looking for a challenge (or a new challenge).

Here are five candidates to be the next head coach at Ole Miss.

5. Mike MacIntyre, Ole Miss interim coach

Luke hired MacIntyre as his defensive coordinator after last season, and after Luke was fired MacIntyre was promoted to interim head coach. The Rebels are not playing in a bowl game, so promoting MacIntyre is a cosmetic place-holding move to prevent a recruit exodus that has apparently already started.

MacIntyre came to Oxford with some head coaching experience, with nine total seasons at San Jose State (2010-2012) and Colorado (2013-2018) and two 10-win campaigns (2012, 2016) on his resume. Colorado won the Pac-12 South in 2016. MacIntyre was also part of the coaching staff at Ole Miss from 1999-2002.

How much consideration MacIntyre will get to permanently replace Luke is unclear, and it’s probably dependent on the level of candidates that are pursued or may want the job. Offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez, the former Arizona, Michigan and West Virginia head coach, may also be a candidate to replace Luke.

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