For the first time in his tenure in Oxford, Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze has made the decision to move on from several key assistants on his staff.

Heading into the 2016 season, Ole Miss was the only program in the SEC that had all the same coordinators for four consecutive seasons. With the school announcing the retirement of defensive coordinator Dave Wommack just before the Egg Bowl and this week announcing co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Dan Werner and assistant athletic director Barney Farrar would not be returning, Freeze appears to be taking a hard look at his staff following the disappointing 5-7 season.

Ole Miss fans hoping to land a new offensive coordinator soon may be in luck, as 2017 quarterback recruit Myles Brennan told Jake Thompson of the Oxford Eagle that the coaching staff led him to believe the team’s next offensive coordinator could be in place very soon:

If the Rebels do in fact name an offensive coordinator soon, there’s been speculation that the job could go to current Sam Houston State offensive coordinator Phil Longo. According to Antonio Morales of The Clarion-Ledger, Longo is a candidate for the job after leading Sam Houston to the No. 1 scoring offense in the FCS this season.

Naming an offensive coordinator before LSU could very well give Ole Miss a leg-up on its recruitment of players like Myles Brennan, who is currently committed to LSU despite the school’s overtures to other prospective quarterbacks in recent weeks. If recruits approve of the hiring and like the system the new offensive coordinator brings to Oxford, that could go a long way toward bringing back up the number for the Rebels’ 2017 recruiting class – which at this point has only 10 commits.