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Pete just feels different than the Luke hire

Posted on 12/11/25 at 7:55 am
Posted by Landmass
Premium Member
Member since Jun 2013
24800 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 7:55 am
Y'all know me. I hate bad hires and did not think that Golding was anywhere near qualified for the job that we've become. I honestly thought that Pete was beneath us. It seems like I may be eating my assumptions.

Luke was completely out of his depth and it showed quickly. We seemed to also be scraping the bottom of the barrel for staff hires. That's not the case, it seems, with Pete. I really like the way this is trending. Under Luke, recruiting also shite the bed. We seem to be taking that very seriously with the new staff.

With Lane leaving, we have retained the vast majority of our coaching staff and filled the gap on those leaving with at least one top level hire so far. I think we actually upgraded at OC. All in all, aside from Kiffin and Weis, the only real coaches we lost were McDonald (WR) and Joe Cox (TE).



This post was edited on 12/11/25 at 7:57 am
Posted by Pickle_Weasel
Member since Mar 2016
5096 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 7:56 am to
Savage is a pretty big loss, IMO. He's one of the best S&C coaches out there.
Posted by TMRebel
Oxford, MS
Member since Feb 2013
7328 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 7:57 am to
It helps we don’t have crippling recruiting sanctions. I’m not a Matt Luke apologist and agree that he was a bumbling buffoon of a head coach, but I’m not sure we can place all of the blame of where the program was entirely on him.
Posted by Landmass
Premium Member
Member since Jun 2013
24800 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 7:59 am to
quote:

I’m not a Matt Luke apologist and agree that he was a bumbling buffoon of a head coach, but I’m not sure we can place all of the blame of where the program was entirely on him.


I will always place the blame where it was deserved. Ross Bjork

That being said, Luke was never qualified to be a head coach. Hell, he needs to be a better position coach before he comes close to sniffing a HC job. His OL at Ole Miss was the biggest thing that held back those 2014 and 2015 teams under Freeze. Just an awful hire, even with sanctions.
Posted by Landmass
Premium Member
Member since Jun 2013
24800 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 8:01 am to
quote:

Savage is a pretty big loss, IMO. He's one of the best S&C coaches out there.


He's a good S&C coach but I disagree to the impact of his loss. There are good S&C guys all over football.
Posted by Dougiejurgens3
Member since Nov 2023
339 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 8:05 am to
If we hired a former Saban disciple that left for like Oklahoma as DC and then led them to the #2 defense in the country last year then hired him as HC everyone would be pumped
Posted by Landmass
Premium Member
Member since Jun 2013
24800 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 8:10 am to
quote:

If we hired a former Saban disciple that left for like Oklahoma as DC and then led them to the #2 defense in the country last year then hired him as HC everyone would be pumped


I wouldn't. To be honest, we have become annual contenders and can pay top money and have the NIL ability of much larger schools. I would always think a coordinator promotion, regardless of where they are from, is beneath us. Let those types of hires train at Memphis or Tulane.
Posted by TMRebel
Oxford, MS
Member since Feb 2013
7328 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 8:16 am to
Ight, so who are we hiring from where?
Posted by Dougiejurgens3
Member since Nov 2023
339 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 8:18 am to
quote:

I would always think a coordinator promotion, regardless of where they are from, is beneath us. Let those types of hires train at Memphis or Tulane.


There’s no rhyme or reason to any of it and recent trends suggest you’re better off hiring a coordinator. Look at this list from 2021 and it doesn’t even include Oregon hiring Lanning. LINK
Posted by HYDRebs
Houston
Member since Sep 2014
1506 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 8:22 am to
quote:

I wouldn't. To be honest, we have become annual contenders and can pay top money and have the NIL ability of much larger schools. I would always think a coordinator promotion, regardless of where they are from, is beneath us. Let those types of hires train at Memphis or Tulane.


So you would have been against the Kirby Smary hire at Georgia as well
Posted by Landmass
Premium Member
Member since Jun 2013
24800 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 8:50 am to
quote:

Ight, so who are we hiring from where?


Pete made sense this year due to the lack of available options. I was hoping for Sumrall but I think it all worked out in the end. I think Pete is showing signs of being a good head coach. A lot of coordinators can't make that jump, but they also typically have to take on a massive rebuild. Pete doesn't have to do that, he just has to keep the machine running.
Posted by olemissfan26
MS
Member since Apr 2012
6825 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 9:47 am to
The biggest difference IMO is the support from the administration, fans, and more importantly financial backing from the grove collective that Pete is getting. There are tons of elite coaches out there that “suck” because their rosters are bad.

This hire is different for sure. Pete can recruit and knows how to run a program. Matt was learning on the fly without the support of the fans and a half arse administration
Posted by Henry Jones Jr
Member since Jun 2011
75804 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 9:49 am to
quote:

knows how to run a program.
Remains to be seen
Posted by Landmass
Premium Member
Member since Jun 2013
24800 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 9:53 am to
quote:

knows how to run a program


We shall see.
Posted by DarthRebel
Tier Five is Alive
Member since Feb 2013
24934 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 10:43 am to
So we really only lost 2 coaches?

Guess KC was right, coaches did not want to follow Lane.
Posted by TheJunction
Mississippi
Member since Oct 2014
1829 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 11:00 am to
Is Kevin Smith set in stone for stay for next year? Thought that was trending from no chance to a possibility, but still up in the air?
Posted by Landmass
Premium Member
Member since Jun 2013
24800 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 11:08 am to
quote:


So we really only lost 2 coaches?


Weis - but replaced with a rockstar
TE and WR position coaches, so 3.

There's some analysts and the S&C coach as well but those aren't as impactful at all. Only 3 field coaches.
Posted by TMRebel
Oxford, MS
Member since Feb 2013
7328 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 11:13 am to
There’s some reports there’s an MOU in place, others that don’t specify he’s done anything. It’s still up in the air to me.
Posted by Landmass
Premium Member
Member since Jun 2013
24800 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 11:16 am to
quote:

There’s some reports there’s an MOU in place, others that don’t specify he’s done anything. It’s still up in the air to me.


Yes, Kevin Smith signed a binding MOU with Ole Miss.
Posted by Pickle_Weasel
Member since Mar 2016
5096 posts
Posted on 12/11/25 at 11:24 am to
Kevin Smith and Joe Judge are still not confirmed.
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