The rumor mill is continuing to churn about the next head coach of the Ole Miss program and if the dominant ones are to be believed, there might be a lot more moving than just Texas A&M and Missouri to the SEC. The prime name bandied about for the Ole Miss football head coach opening is Art Briles, the head coach of the upstart Baylor Bears. It's a popular name for many analysts and most believe he'd be a fine addition for the Rebels.
Briles has the Bears playing at a high level this year, flirting with the Top 25 in many polls on multiple occasions and certainly it doesn't hurt to have Robert Griffin III as your starting quarterback. The Bears are 7-3 this season and just upended the Oklahoma Sooners last weekend with a thrilling 45-38 win. Briles is currently 21-25 at Baylor and just now seems to be turning the program around. Is it too soon?
It's hard to tell but when any school in the SEC comes calling, it's a good sign that your stock is soaring. Briles had already put Houston on the map when he was head coach there, going 34-28 in five season including a 10-4 season in 2006. Before that he was the running backs coach at Texas Tech.
With wins over TCU and Oklahoma, it's clear that Briles can coach the big game. Yet he has yet to display that consistency over time. Perhaps Ole Miss believes in Briles ability to turn around the ship and if any team in the SEC could use it, it's the Rebels.