Houston Nutt finally savors bittersweet taste of vindication in Ole Miss probe

[jbcarol]

Houston Nutt answered the call on the first ring Friday.

The former college coach is enjoying life in Texas these days and is getting ready for a trip to Canada to see a couple of his old assistants who now coach with the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats. I called Nutt after reading the response of his former school, Ole Miss, to the NCAA's notice of allegations that was released earler in the day. Full disclosure: I worked with Nutt for two seasons at CBS.

In that release, it was alleged by the NCAA -- and agreed upon by Ole Miss -- that "serious violations have occurred." The response also pointed out that the majority of the 13 violations involving the Rebels football program occurred on coach Hugh Freeze's watch. Not on Nutt's, which is what sources inside Ole Miss had intimated to several reporters, including myself, months ago.

Those sources said in late January that the majority of the allegations stemmed from women's basketball, track and field and the Nutt regime, which technically is accurate since nine of the 28 total violations against the Rebels athletic program were on Freeze. But I can see why Nutt felt a measure of vindication after seeing how he was getting the blame despite the fact that nine of those 13 violations happened under his successor.

Yes, there were some violations that did stem from Nutt's staff as well. Two of his former staffers, David Saunders and Chris Vaughn, are alleged to have facilitated academic fraud for three football recruits taking the ACT at a Mississippi Community College in 2010. Vaughn also violated the NCAA's principles of ethical conduct when he knowingly provided false and misleading information to the institution and the NCAA enforcement staff. The ACT fraud charge is the worst violation of the entire bunch. Still, the bulk of this report had little to do with the Nutt regime in Oxford.

"It's the most frustrating thing there is," Nutt told FOX Sports, "to be on the sidelines and hear your name keep getting mentioned and mentioned. It's hurtful. It makes you mad.

"I don't have a major violation in 30 years of coaching."

********************

Twenty minutes after I hang up with Nutt, my phone rings.

It's him.

"You know, it's ironic," he says. "I'm going up to Canada and I'm gonna go see Jeremiah Masoli (the Tiger-Cats backup QB). A while back, Stewart Mandel (who?) wrote a column that I was the dirtiest coach in the South because we took Masoli. I'd like to ask him if he still thinks I'm the dirtiest."

[jbcarol]

From Aug. 2010: Masoli move latest proof Houston Nutt is a certifiably dirty coach

Stewart Mandel: College football fans love to toss around the word "dirty." Pete Carroll was "dirty," they'll tell you, because one of his former stars took a bunch of money. Urban Meyer must be "dirty" because so many of his players get arrested. Lane Kiffin is presumably "dirty" because ... well, duh.

The definition of "dirty" seems to vary based on one's affiliation, but surely we can all agree on at least one designation: A dirty coach is willing to eschew his integrity if doing so might pay off in a couple more W's. He's not so much a winner as a survivalist. He's not even necessarily a rule-breaker because he creates his own loopholes.

Which is why Ole Miss' Houston Nutt -- more so than any of the aforementioned names -- is a certifiably dirty coach.

Nutt's controversial decision to add trouble-plagued Oregon exile Jeremiah Masoli to his roster on the eve of preseason camp is so transparently pathetic in its desperation you wonder how he can make it with a straight face...

[jbcarol]

Pat Forde ‏@YahooForde May 27

Remember when people insisted that the Ole Miss violations were all women's basketball, track and Houston Nutt-era football? Yeah, me too.


Neal McCready ‏@NealMcCready May 27

Neal McCready Retweeted Pat Forde

Not one damn soul told you that. Plenty of people wrote that football was being investigated since 2013.

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/slmandel/status/736209606863556612