McCready: 10 Weekend Thoughts presented by Harry Alexander

1. On Saturday afternoon, I posed a question on the RebelGrove.com message board.

What would you say, I asked, if I told you Wesley McGriff returned next season as Ole Miss’ defensive coordinator?

To say the reaction was vehemently opposed to the idea would be an understatement. However, that’s exactly what I’ve heard over the past few days. Specifically, we continue to hear that the decisions regarding the coaching staff, including both coordinator posts, have not been made. We continue to hear that all options are on the table.

Ole Miss athletics director Ross Bjork appeared on the Oxford Exxon Podcast Friday and said money _ or a lack thereof, specifically _ will not prevent Ole Miss from hiring anyone it needs to hire after this season. Several coaches on the Ole Miss staff are on multi-year deals, but there is buyout language that should be affordable if Matt Luke chooses to make changes.

It’s my opinion after talking to people close to Luke (but admittedly, not Luke) that he wants to finish the season and see how it plays out before making any staffing decisions.

As it pertains to McGriff, there are several options.

1. Luke could retain McGriff, gambling the defensive struggles are mostly a result of a lack of talent and would be different with more size and speed on that side of the football. While lack of talent is a documented issue (and it’s really, really bad), that would be risky on Luke’s part. If McGriff is the defensive coordinator next season, in my opinion, Luke is essentially tying his tenure at Ole Miss to McGriff. If, hypothetically, Ole Miss were to have a similar defensive showing in 2019 with McGriff running the show, that would be difficult _ if not impossible _ for Luke to overcome.

2. Luke could elect to make a change at defensive coordinator but keep McGriff as a co-DC, essentially making him a seven-figure position coach. I’m not sure how that would impact the rest of the staff or if McGriff would be agreeable, but discussion of that concept has certainly reached our ears.

3. Luke could move on from McGriff as part of a staff overhaul. I’ve long thought this was the likeliest scenario, but there are people close to the program who don’t believe the number of changes will be that high.

There are, of course, three games remaining over the next 18 days. Ole Miss could finish with a record as impressive as 8-4 or as disappointing as 5-7. If the result is the latter and not the former, it’s hard to imagine Luke not making significant changes. That would be a 1-7 finish in the Southeastern Conference, with the one win coming in a close game over an Arkansas team that appears destined for a 2-10 mark.

Bottom line, as of this writing: No decisions have been made. Everything, including a mere staff tweaking, is a possibility. As I’ve written repeatedly, starting on Nov. 23, Luke is on the clock. No offseason will ever be more critical in his coaching career.

Of course, before we get to Nov. 23, Ole Miss and Mississippi State will meet in Oxford on Nov. 22. That game has proven to lead to emotional decisions, so a terrible defensive effort against Nick Fitzgerald and the Bulldogs could lead to too much anger to ignore. If The Grove message board is any indication, a decision to retain McGriff as defensive coordinator would be met with an incredible amount of consternation. A strong finish to the season, I suppose, could change that tone, but nine games into his first season as Ole Miss' head coach, Luke has hit his first crisis point.

2. Those are good questions and I think they’ll be asked of Luke following the Egg Bowl, regardless of outcome. In my opinion, the South Carolina offense (pro-style, some pace and spread passing concepts mixed in) is more Luke’s philosophy than Phil Longo’s system. As for defensive philosophy, that’s a good question, and it’s one that is at the heart of the upcoming offseason (as referenced in Thought No. 1).

As for Luke’s strategic plan, yes, I think he has one. Is it written down? I have no ideal. However, it's pretty clear Luke's plan is one that advocates blue-collar, physical football. It’s about effort and intensity. No matter what you think of Luke, his team has given full effort week after week. There is simply a talent shortage combined with offensive and defensive systems that do not appear to mesh well.

3. There is a lot of angst about Ole Miss’ fourth quarter Saturday, and that’s more than fair. The Rebels, as I wrote Saturday afternoon, were held to 18 fourth-quarter yards on four possessions after the starting quarterback suffered an ankle injury (Note: It's ironic and proof that breaks even out that Ole Miss has benefited over the past two years from quarterback injuries and were really hurt by one on Saturday).

However, and at the risk of beating a drum too repetitively, Ole Miss’ offense rolled up 44 points and 616 yards against South Carolina. That should win every game.

The Rebels had possession more than 35 minutes, rolled up 34 first downs and accumulated 237 yards on the ground, all while committing just one penalty.

Again, that’s an A-plus effort. Ole Miss’ inability to consistently make stops, combined with two egregious kicking game errors, cost the Rebels on Saturday. The rest is spin and emotional venting.

4. Matt Corral played a handful of snaps on Saturday in relief of Jordan Ta’amu, who suffered an ankle injury. Corral played two snaps right after Ta’amu was injured, handing off on both plays. Corral later relieved Ta’amu for a fourth-quarter series, throwing two incomplete passes during a three-and-out possession. Ta’amu returned to finish the game.

It was Corral’s third game of the season. He can play in one more before losing his redshirt. My stance on this is unpopular. I would preserve Corral’s fifth year at any cost. If I were Ole Miss’ coach, he’d play in no more than one more game.

Now, should Ta’amu’s injury be more serious than believed _ he was due for further tests on the ankle later today _ this becomes moot. Luke is going to play Corral if Ta’amu is unavailable. (It’s a decision I disagree with, but I understand), but if Ta’amu is available but limited, I’d be inclined to come up with a different back-up idea in College Station and Nashville.

There is no bowl to play for. There is no real quarterback depth in the program. As I’ve said, I’d do everything possible to preserve the viability of Corral being available in 2022 before I used a year of his eligibility in 2018.

If Corral is so good that he’s going professional early, well, that would likely mean Ole Miss was way ahead of schedule in terms of winning. That doesn’t change the equation, however. Corral’s value in 2022 is greater than his value in 2018, no matter the variable.

5. Scottie Phillips had another huge game Saturday, rushing for 141 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. Phillips has proven to be a workhorse, a guy capable of getting tough interior yards and a threat in the open field. His one-cut-and-go skills are developing weekly.

Still, Phillips wasn’t thinking about his game Saturday.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” Phillips said. “We have to look at the positives, correct the mistakes and move on to the next one. …We didn’t finish. It’s something we have to work on next week.”

Phillips was pleased with Ole Miss’ improvement in the red zone.

“I think we did pretty good,” Phillips said. “We were struggling with it in the past but we had the mindset to fix that problem. …We did a good job of converting in the red zone."

Phillips said the Rebels were pretty down in the locker room after the game.

“Coach Luke picked us up, telling us to move on and not blink,” Phillips said.

6. Linebacker Mohamed Sanogo led Ole Miss with 11 tackles Saturday. He was the only defensive player made available to the media following the loss, something that’s becoming a bit of a trend.

Sanogo talked about his game, his growing role as the leader of Ole Miss’ defense and more.

7. Alabama and Georgia will meet on Dec. 1 in Atlanta in the SEC Championship Game. Oh, boy, it’s sure going to be an exciting November.

Here is my weekly ranking of the SEC:

1. Alabama — The Tide’s defense completely stifled Joe Burrow, just as we all expected for months.

2. Georgia — The Bulldogs have looked impressive in wins over Florida and Kentucky. They’ll lose by less than 40 to the Crimson Tide. The game will be competitive until at least the first TV timeout. We’re all in for a treat.

3. LSU — The Tigers are good, but they’re leap years away from Alabama.

4. Kentucky — Why not? The Wildcats are the best mediocre team in the league, I think.

5. Mississippi State — The Bulldogs’ defense is legit. They’ll have no shot at Alabama but they know who they are.

6. Auburn — If the Tigers are the sixth best team in the SEC, well, I rest my case.

7. Texas A&M — The Aggies choked on the Plains. There’s no other way to say it.

8. Florida — The Gators’ loss to Missouri was a reminder that the rebuild in Gainesville won’t be easy.

9. South Carolina — The Gamecocks are average but they’ve won some games.

10. Missouri — Barry Odom stopped hot-seat talk with a huge win at Florida.

11. Vanderbilt — Call it a gut feeling, but I actually think the Commodores are going to close strong.

12. Ole Miss — Yes, I think Ole Miss would beat Tennessee. That’s my bold optimism for the month of November.

13. Tennessee — The Volunteers’ offense is just so bad. We really got cheated when we didn’t get Tennessee’s offense versus Ole Miss’ defense.

14. Arkansas — Recruiting is going well in Fayetteville. It needs to.

I don’t have a top 25 ballot, but if I did, mine would look like this today.

1. Alabama

2. Clemson

3. Notre Dame

4. Michigan

5. Georgia

6. West Virginia

7. Oklahoma

8. Washington State

9. Ohio State

10. LSU

11. UCF

12. Kentucky

13. Syracuse

14. Utah State

15. Boston College

16. Mississippi State

17. Fresno State

18. Texas

19. Washington

20. North Carolina State

21. Iowa State

22. Cincinnati

23. Michigan State

24. UAB

25. Penn State

8. Ole Miss whipped Fayetteville (N.C.) State Friday night, 101-52, in the Rebels’ final tune-up for the 2018-19 season.

Forward Bruce Stevens came off the Rebels’ bench to score 16 points and grab 10 rebounds in 19 minutes of action. Stevens, who struggled with his weight and his agility on the defensive end last season, has lost a significant amount of weight and looks much more athletic on the defensive end of the floor.

Stevens is hoping that newfound agility allows him to team with center Dominik Olejniczak (15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks vs. Fayetteville State) to form a formidable low-post duo for the Rebels, who open the regular season Saturday at 3 p.m. with a date at The Pavilion versus Western Michigan.

9. If the message board is any indication, you guys need a drink. Right on time, here's Jonathan Howard:

It’s over. The colonoscopy into the Rebel program is over. We get to have official visitors and operate like a normal university.

Sure, we lost another bowl opportunity, but other than wanting that for some of the best Rebels that will ever suit up, it’s a positive. Now we know the date we can hit recruiting hard and see what the future of our program might look like.

So, to celebrate the final verdict how about a drink that symbolizes that very act, The Last Word.

The Last Word was first introduced in Ted Saucier's classic cocktail book Bottoms Up! in 1951. In the book, Saucier attributes the drink to barman Frank Fogarty of the Detroit Athletic Club, who was serving the drink there 30 years earlier, before introducing it to New York as well.

John Frizell later researched the archives of the DAA and found the drink was actually a pre-prohibition libation and was the most expensive cocktail on their menu at 35 cents per serving.

The drink is a rather potent, herbaceous and refreshing gin cocktail. For the gin, I would use a London Dry, Beefater or Tanqueray, specifically, as the other ingredients are rather complex in flavor, so the dryer and simpler the flavor profile of the gin, the better. A couple of the ingredients might be a bit strange to find in a neighborhood liquor store but are easily available online.

Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur is distilled from ripe marasca cherries, their crushed pits, sprigs and leaves, honey and other ingredients that remain a secret. It is the only known European liqueur that is developed through distillation.

Green Chartreuse is a 110-proof liqueur made from 127 alpine herbs by three Parisian monks. Each monk knows only one third of the recipe, therefore making it impossible to replicate.

The Last Word

3/4 oz. London Dry Gin

3/4 oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

3/4 oz. Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice

3/4 oz. Green Chartreuse

Directions: Add all of the ingredients to a cocktail shaker tin, add ice to tin and shake HARD for 12 seconds. Strain the cocktail through a tea strainer into a preferably chilled cocktail glass.

NEXT LEVEL TIP: Place your cocktail glass in the freezer for 10 minutes before use, you will notice your drink will stay remarkably colder longer.

10. We'll have complete coverage of Ole Miss' preparations for Saturday's 11 a.m. game at Texas A&M, the Rebels' season opener Saturday afternoon against Western Michigan, football recruiting, basketball recruiting and more this week. Until then, here are some links of interest to me _ and hopefully, to you _ for your reading pleasure:

Anthony Davis: 'I got to play almost perfect every night to give us a chance to win'

Damian Lillard more than a Trail Blazer in Portland: ‘I’m where I need to be.'

Houston’s pursuit of Jimmy Butler checks all the right boxes

L.A. confidential: Paul George is not from where you think he's from

Alfonzo McKinnie’s stunning rise from basketball oblivion to the Warriors' rotation, as told by Alfonzo McKinnie

‘He knows I’ll always have his back’ — Nerlens Noel’s special bond with a young leukemia patient

Rosenthal: Redeemed at last, the emotions run freely for Red Sox's David Price

Inside Baseball: Predicting the deals for 131 of free agency's potential movers and shakers

Best 2018-19 Hot Stove value may be in trade | MLB.com

What the Cole Hamels option means for the Cubs and Bryce Harper

Marlins haven’t given up on signing J.T. Realmuto and should aim high if trade is inevitable

Thirty up-and-coming coaches to keep an eye on – The Athletic

College Football Playoff selection committee: Meet the Selection Committee

Mayfield vs. Mahomes: The inside story of the most offensive night in college football history

New York Times boss Mark Thompson: 'When it comes to news, Facebook still doesn't get it.'

'Professional mermaid' says creepy 'merverts' are the worst part of the job