With apologies to Warren Zevon…
I think we all know what I’m going to write about this week. Whether you’re Crimson or Orange and Blue clad, you have an opinion on the matter.
We’re talking about Hugh Freeze.
The former head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels resigned last week amid a scandal that might eventually bring the program as close to the “death penalty” as any institution has since the infamous SMU case in the late 1980s.
Phone records linking the coach to an out-of-state escort service were inadvertently made available by the university to private investigators and authors. The resulting research revealed the source of the phone calls and, with less than two months from the start of the 2017 regular season, Freeze was given his walking papers – in the more presentable resignation form – and the Rebels are looking for a sturdy hand to guide them through what most believe will be a hell-fire and brimstone lecturing from the NCAA Committee on Infractions.
Although the NCAA investigation into the athletic program regarding recruiting and program violations was well under way before 2016, the year-long hell that the Ole Miss program has endured began with Laremy Tunsil face planting into the microphone during the 2016 NFL Draft.
The first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins admitted on record to accepting impermissible benefits. That moment brought more pressure and eyes to Oxford than anyone imagined. And the football team performed as if they were distracted by a dark ominous cloud hovering above the tiny southern town.
Since the season ended it has been relatively silent, with the exception of lawsuits filed by former coaches seeking to clear their names in what they call a “smear campaign” to levy the burden of guilt onto them. And more accusations were thrown around.
There was a sense that more was to come.
The 2017 SEC Media Days welcomed Freeze to Hoover and the former coach spoke at length about the program sailing out of the storm and into better waters. He spoke of loyalty, integrity and faith. The same sermon he preached when he was hired and propagated throughout his tenure.
Freeze, however, turned out to be another wolf hunting for his supper amid the sheep.
It’s still unknown or confirmed whether the phone calls were for his personal use or for recruits, but the word on the street is the storm is about to fire back up and even more revelations are to come.
I am not shocked.
It could be said I’m taking a hard stance because I’m a graduate of the University of Alabama. But I am a journalist, I can take my Bama shirt off and think objectively regarding the concerns of the SEC. Besides, before transferring to Alabama and moving to Tuscaloosa, I was living in Fulton, Mississippi and planning to attend Ole Miss.
The reason this issue fires me up is simple: the arrogance.
I know I am one to talk – being an Alabama fan in my personal time – but my team has the trophy case to back it up. Ole Miss defeated Alabama two straight seasons but still managed to blow a trip to Atlanta. All Alabama did was win two SEC titles and the program’s 16th national title while the Ole Miss faithful insisted that they were the far superior program despite losing to the likes of Memphis and Arkansas.
So, I direct this to any Ole Miss supporter, administrator or fan.
Reliving Freeze of his duties only displays a deeper awareness of the university’s guilt. You absolutely deserve what’s coming to you.
