The Ole Miss Rebels ended their long and winding search for a new defensive coordinator to replace Wesley McGriff, who was fired the day after an embarrassing 35-3 loss at home in the Egg Bowl. The new man? A familiar face. Mike MacIntyre, who was on David Cutcliffe’s staff in Oxford and was the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes the past six years.

Yes, Rebels fans were hoping for Pete Golding (and apparently, Ole Miss actually came pretty close to pulling off one heck of a coup), but make no mistake, MacIntyre is a fantastic hire for Ole Miss.

He certainly has his hands full rebuilding a defense that was unbelievably awful last year. The Rebels were 114th nationally in points allowed per game (36.2), 108th in passing yards (261.7), 115th in rushing yards (220.8) and 121st in total yards (482.5). Clearly, this won’t be a quick fix, but Mac will no doubt make an immediate impact in a number of ways.

5. Oversee and unite young coaching staff

The coaching staff on defense is, by and large, a rather young group of coaches. Co-DC Jason Jones (age 41) is the oldest of the group with Jon Sumrall (linebackers), Freddie Roach (defensive line) and Charles Clark (cornerbacks) all in their early to mid-30s. While I think it’s a solid group of coaches who all share bright futures and tenacity on the recruiting trail, they can clearly benefit from the guidance of someone with MacIntyre’s experience level in overseeing a defense.

Under McGriff, the players never appeared to be on the same page with each other or the coaches. The coaches themselves never really appeared to be on the same page with McGriff, both in terms of schematic strategy and with approach to fundamentals. I think this was a big reason the defense appeared to be so poorly coached, i.e. poor tackling, poor pre-snap reads, poor pursuit angles, poor run fits, poor technique, etc.

The young coaches on this staff are like talented young players; the skill set is there, but they need someone experienced to help them develop their talent. I don’t think they had quality leadership or guidance from McGriff, a career position coach with a reputation for his ability to recruit, who was likely in over his head from the start. MacIntyre’s leadership will benefit the coaches on this staff almost as much as the players.

4. Improve and develop DBs

The defensive backfield was a problem in 2018. Granted, that unit was far from the only problem for the defense, and the fact that their best cover corner (Jaylon Jones) tore his ACL in Week 1 didn’t exactly help, either. Still, the unit allowed quarterbacks to complete 63.3 percent of their passes (13th in SEC), for 261.7 yards per game (13th) while allowing 2.2 touchdown passes per game (14th). Fortunately for the Rebels, this is an area MacIntyre specializes in, and he’s well proven in his ability to develop players.

In the past two NFL Drafts alone, four of MacIntyre’s defensive backs for the Colorado Buffaloes were drafted in the first 4 rounds (Isaiah Oliver, Chidobe Awuzie, Ahkello Witherspoon and Tedric Thompson). Bene Benwikere, a corner he recruited when he was leading San Jose State, was drafted in the 5th round in 2014 and has enjoyed a productive NFL career.

Before getting back in the college game in 2008, MacIntyre was a defensive backs coach in the NFL with the New York Jets (under Eric Mangini) and with the Dallas Cowboys (under Bill Parcells), where he worked with guys like Darrelle Revis, Terence Newman, Roy Williams, Darren Woodson and Kerry Rhodes.

Simply put, MacIntyre has a long and proven history of not only developing defensive backs, but putting them in a position to succeed. His defensive backs tend to have size, are strong in man coverage, and – what should be music to the ears of Rebels fans – tackle very well. The Rebels will be losing Ken Webster and Zedrick Woods to graduation this offseason, but they offer some intriguing pieces for MacIntyre to work with and develop, particularly Keidron Smith. This brings us to his ability to …

3. Maximize talent level

MacIntyre is known as a solid recruiter, who, thanks to his experience over the past 20-years, has seen his recruiting footprint grow considerably. He’s not only recruited kids in the heart of the deep south (while at Ole Miss from 1999-2002 with Cutcliffe), but the Carolinas (Duke in 2008 and 2009 with Cutcliffe), northern California and Pacific northwest (San Jose State from 2010-12) and California, Texas and the Rockies while at Colorado (2013-18).

Now, he’s not the head-hunting type of recruiter who’s going to hook a bevy of whales. He won’t bring in a slew of 5-star prospects, and he never has. His average recruiting class ranking at San Jose State was 105th nationally (according to 247sports), and his average class at Colorado was 61, yet he found an extraordinary amount of success at each stop.

He turned a San Jose State program that went 1-12 in his first year to 10-2 in Year 3. He took a Colorado program that went 1-11 the year before he arrived, and in Year 4 led them to their first 10-win season since 2001. Considering his level of success and the caliber of recruiting classes he signed, we can surmise that he not only can identify and develop prospects, but maximize their ability on the field.

Ole Miss needs someone who can do this. The Rebels don’t have a bunch of 4- and 5-star prospects littering the defensive side of the ball thanks to years of neglect under Hugh Freeze. The unit has some talent but will be very, very young in 2019. They need a coach like MacIntyre who can maximize the talents of guys like Smith (below), Jacquez Jones, Kevontae’ Ruggs, etc., and turn them into solid players.

Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

2. Install flexible 3-4 scheme

More than likely, MacIntyre will install elements of a 3-4 scheme in Oxford. Now, he’s too good of a coach to simply force a roster of guys who have been recruited to a 4-2-5 to immediately and solely play a foreign scheme, so it’ll likely be a slow transition. At first, it’ll likely be a flexible scheme that mixes in 4-3, 4-2-5, 3-4, 3-3-5, etc. Considering the talent level on the team, moving guys around as much as possible to keep offenses off balance is likely a wise strategy.

I’ll be very surprised if he doesn’t slowly start using more and more 3-4 looks as time progresses. Is this a good thing? I think so. A fool would jump to the conclusion and reference the fact that Alabama, LSU, Georgia and Florida all run 3-4 heavy defenses, but considering the type of athletes playing on those teams, it doesn’t really matter what scheme they run, because they’ll undoubtedly be successful. Ole Miss doesn’t have that caliber of athletes, but mixing in 3-4 looks and slowly transitioning to an odd front is promising.

A 3-4 defense helps maximize the amount of speed on the field. It’s harder for offenses to game plan for due to the various ways LBs can be used (blitzing, dropping back, reading run, spy, etc.). It also allows for greater opportunity to provide different pre-snap looks, moving guys around, showing vs. not showing blitz, delayed and zone blitz, etc.

There are different types of 3-4 defenses (such as 1- and 2-gap), and it appears MacIntyre favors a 1-gap, Wade Phillips-style. Whether he runs that immediately isn’t known because we’re not sure how he plans on using the personnel on hand, but he’s a smart coach with enough experience to be able to use what he does have in a way that’s most efficient and effective.

1. Provide leadership and experience

Ultimately, the greatest thing that MacIntyre will provide to not only the defense, but the program as a whole, is experience. He can provide a legitimate sounding board for head coach Matt Luke, who was prematurely thrust into a position that he wasn’t qualified for, and has struggled to learn on the fly. Sure, offensive line coach Jack Bicknell, formerly the head coach of Louisiana Tech, also has an ocean of experience and knows what it’s like to be the face of a program, but even he pales in comparison to MacIntyre’s resume.

Truth be told, Luke just brought someone on staff who is far more proven and qualified a head coach than he is. That’s a gutsy move that many young coaches wouldn’t be interested in, but Luke is in desperation mode right now. MacIntyre knows the challenges Luke faces. He’s built a program from the ground up, not once, but twice. And he hasn’t just done it at the lower levels of football, he’s done it at a Power-5 program.

He knows what goes into creating a winning program and all the little things that have to be done behind the scenes. He knows what it’s like to deal with the handlers of recruits. He knows what it’s like to deal with grumpy academic administrators. He knows how to deal with tight budgets. He knows how to deal with troublesome players. He knows how to deal with meddlesome boosters and dissatisfied alumni alike.

That kind of experience doesn’t just come overnight, that comes from a lifetime of coaching, which is a truly invaluable resource. And for a coach like Luke, who doesn’t have a staff full of grizzled veterans who have spent countless years fighting battles on and off the field in the SEC, he’s precisely what he needs.