The first SEC team to search for a new coach this season appears to be narrowing the field, according to a report from Steven Godfrey of SBNation.
Several names have emerged for the Ole Miss job, including South Florida coach Charlie Strong, Memphis coach Mike Norvell and UTSA coach Frank Wilson.
There appears to be several factions and variables related to the search, including some boosters who are pushing for SMU coach Chad Morris and Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt. Some Memphis boosters separately are lobbying for Norvell, as some at the school think Arkansas would pursue Norvell if they part ways with Bret Bielema.
There are varying levels of connections to the Ole Miss program for these coaches.
Strong was an Ole Miss assistant in 1990, and is familiar with the SEC from his time as an assistant at South Carolina and Florida. South Florida is 8-1 in Strong’s first season. Wilson was an assistant for then-Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron, he was credited for helping build Ole Miss Cotton Bowl teams in 2008 and ‘09 Cotton Bowl teams with recruits from Louisiana. He has two former Ole Miss players on his staff in San Antonio. He led the Roadrunners to their first-ever bowl in 2016. The Roadrunners are 5-3 this season.
The SBNation report also suggests that Athletic Director Ross Bjork is hoping to make a hire quietly and to have a replacement for Hugh Freeze and interim head coach Matt Luke in place immediately following the Egg Bowl, which is on Thanksgiving.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
