re: SEC Top 25 2017

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I just don't get this. Freeze is the best coach we have had in a while. As long as he doesn't get fired from all of the NCAA stuff he should be fine. As Ole Miss fans, we seem to forget the 10-3 Sugar Bowl season that we had last year. No, we shouldn't have went 5-7 this year. Too much talent to have that record. But, with all of the NCAA stuff, the injuries, the garbage defense, and the youth of our team, this year seemed to be a recipe for disaster.

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What people aren't giving enough attention to is the fact that it doesn't take serious punishments to make firing a coach appealing to a program. If the rumor mill gets serious and credible legs, OM might just fire Freeze to as a show of good faith to mitigate the punishments. They certainly wouldn't be the first program to do that. The fact that Freeze has been great for OM will make that more painful, but it won't necessarily avert the decision to do so.

Also, don't forget the chilling effect sanctions -- looming or implemented -- can have on recruiting. Freeze can do a helluva job with lesser talent, but there's no denying the very heights of his success have been with great recruiting. They're sitting pretty low in the recruiting rankings right now, right? If the investigation doesn't go away, Freeze is going to need to put in some serious overtime to get his recruiting closer to the level it's been recently.