Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze made a calculated decision this offseason after deciding to move on from offensive coordinator Dan Werner and hire Phil Longo from FCS school Sam Houston State. Compounding the tough decision, Werner will be staying in the division and working as an analyst for rival Alabama.

Freeze gave his first public reaction to the news of Werner taking the job at Alabama while speaking with Davis Potter of The Oxford Eagle. While Freeze isn’t thrilled with the location of Werner’s new job, he’s happy to see an old friend land on his feet.

“Hopefully I helped him,” Freeze said. “I don’t know if I did or not. He got it, so I didn’t hurt him. I think Dan is a heck of a football coach and even more of a quality man. He deserves any opportunity he gets, and I’m really happy for him. I hate that it’s in the SEC West, but that tends to happen.”

The decision to move on from Werner was a surprising one, as Ole Miss finished each of the last two seasons ranked in the top four in scoring offense in the SEC. In fact, Mississippi finished No. 8 in the nation in scoring following the 2015 season. However, the Rebels did finish No. 95 in the nation in rushing offense last season. The ability to rush the ball effectively has been something Freeze noted he wanted to see increased upon hiring Longo this offseason.

It will be interesting to see what knowledge Werner can pass along to Nick Saban and Alabama’s defense heading into the Sept. 30 game in Tuscaloosa. Ole Miss has scored 43 points against the Tide in each of the last two seasons, if the new-look Rebel offense led by Longo fails to achieve similar success against Alabama, it may be hard for Freeze to justify making the move at offensive coordinator.

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