Ben Garrett 16816 posts
52 minutes ago
VIP
I'll have a write-up on the meeting here in a bit, but a few things I was able to jot down from sources in the room.
First off, among it was a packed house in the team meeting room. Among the former players in attendance were Evan Engram, Derrick Burgess, Todd Wade, Wesley Walls, Ronnie Heard and some Rebels whose playing careers reached back to the 60s. The topics discussed included frustrations with compliance, coaching staff criteria (there was a sentiment from some that Ole Miss needed to hire a coach that followed the Saban model) and a reconfigured approach to recruiting. Burgess, for example, argued that the star chasing needs to stop, per sources. That approach, he argued, is what put Ole Miss in a precarious situation at particular positions. For example, the lack of depth due to egregious misses at linebacker, for one.
Other former players vocalized their desire for a renewed focus on LSU as Ole Miss' natural rival over Mississippi State. There were also questions regarding the timing of when the next coach will be hired. Ole Miss A.D. Ross Bjork, as he touched on briefly during in my interview with him that will run Monday, said a hire likely won't come until after the conference championship games are over. So, effectively, when the season is over. But the process could move quickly. There was also discussion about the importance of assistant coaches, and many players weighed in on how many of them in the room who played/are playing in the NFL are a tremendous resource in that regard, yet they're not being utilized in any meaningful way.
Story to come. Might take some time, but there will be a lot in there.