After a crushing 55-20 Egg Bowl loss to Mississippi State that removes Ole Miss from bowl consideration, coach Hugh Freeze is determined to get the Rebels back on track.

“I woke up this morning and I just had a different perspective. It’s time to right this ship,” Freeze told Ole Miss Spirit’s Chuck Rounsaville. “We’re going to evaluate, get the right coaches in here, recruit the right players and get back moving in the right direction.”

Freeze’s biggest hire will be the new defensive coordinator.

Freeze said that the Rebels will have a new defensive coordinator “by the first of January, but if the right guy surfaces, one I know is a sure thing, I will pull the trigger sooner than that.”

Rounsaville also reports that the Rebels are willing to pay for seven-figures for the right hire:

As a sidebar, we have been told Athletic Director Ross Bjork has given Freeze the green light in regards to pay for any new coach or coaches he wants to hire, within reason. Obviously, the going rate now for SEC coordinators is $1 million-plus. Bjork, we have been told, is willing to write that check.

Defensive coordinator Dave Womack announced he would be retiring Saturday.