MORE: Monday Nugget Thread | Awful look leads to Luke firing
Ole Miss parted ways with head coach Matt Luke on Sunday, as first reported by RebelGrove.com. Luke, who spent three seasons in Oxford including his interim season, finishes the tenure with a 15-21 overall record and 7-17 record in the Southeastern Conference.
Here are some initial potential names as we start the hot board for the search. The profiles are in no particular order.
MIKE NORVELL - MEMPHIS HEAD COACH
Salary/Buyout: $2.66 million salary/$500,000 buyout
Why it makes sense: Norvell is 36-15 as the head coach at Memphis and is one AAC Championship Game win over. Cincinnati from taking the Tigers to the Cotton Bowl. He's taken Memphis to another level, knows the Mid-South well and is an excellent recruiter. He's won with average quarterbacks and limited personnel. Many believe he'd excel with a deep SEC roster. Norvell is just 38 years old. He's from Conway, Ark., and has coaching experience at Arizona State and Pittsburgh. From a resume standpoint, there's not much not to like.
Why it doesn't make sense: Well, Norvell is on every list. He's a top candidate at Florida State. Arkansas and Missouri are, to some degree, in on him as well. He's in demand.
LANE KIFFIN - FLORIDA ATLANTIC HEAD COACH
Salary/Buyout: $950,000 salary/$1.5 million buyout
Why it makes sense: Kiffin, 44, has head coaching experience in the NFL (Oakland Raiders), SEC (Tennessee), Pac 12 (USC) and now at FAU. He was 28-15 at Southern Cal after taking over a program that was ineligible for postseason play, but was fired five games into his fourth season. He rehabbed his reputation at Alabama as Nick Saban's offensive coordinator and is 25-13 at FAU and has the Owls headed to the Conference USA title game for the second time in three seasons. He's a splash. He'd draw national media attention and sell tickets. He's an elite recruiter. He'd put Ole Miss back on the radar.
Why it doesn't make sense: Kiffin would put Ole Miss back on the radar. He's brash, though he's dialed it down over the past couple of years. He is a serious contender at Arkansas, so it might be too late to truly get in on him. He's a risk, certainly, but it appears he's a risk someone in the SEC is willing to take.
