Three consecutive losing seasons. Three wins and 19 losses in the Southeastern Conference over three years. Empty seats dotting Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturdays. Fans grumbling louder with each loss. Despite those facts and that the University of Mississippi football team has a 2-7 overall record and is in danger of posting its first winless SEC record since 1982, school Chancellor Robert Khayat remains adamant: Ed Orgeron will be back next fall for his fourth season as the Rebels’ head coach. “Unless something completely insane happens - and I mean like breaking the law or something - Coach O will be our football coach next year,” Khayat said. “It’s not going to have anything to do with wins or losses this season. We believe he’s taking this program in the right direction.” But the bottom line for some fans is this: They believe the program is going backward. Ole Miss has clinched its fourth consecutive losing season, the first time that has happened since 1979-82. The Rebels will be heavily favored to win Saturday’s home game against Northwestern State of Louisiana, a lower-level team and Orgeron’s alma mater. But the Rebels will be underdogs for the final two games against league opponents Louisiana State University and Mississippi State University. And while 11 of the SEC’s 12 schools remain in contention for a bowl berth, Ole Miss is the one that already knows it will be home for the holidays this year - again. “The joke right now is that there’s 12 football teams in the SEC - if you decide to count Ole Miss,” Rebels fan and alumnus Drew Wallace said. “I’ve looked, but I can’t find a column in the SEC standings for moral victories. It’s just sad how quickly we’ve fallen.” Orgeron, 46, is under contract through 2010. He makes around $900,000 per year with incentives that could bring the deal closer to $1.7 million. His overall record at Ole Miss is 9 wins and 23 losses. Orgeron said he has the understanding that he’s managing a five-year rebuilding process. “Look at places like Kentucky,” Orgeron said. “It just takes time to get your players in and get your coaching staff together. I wish I could do it all in one day, you know? It’s hard.” There have been bad losses for Orgeron this season, like the 44-8 home beatdown administered by Arkansas. There was a hard-fought, confidence-building loss, like the day the Rebels played then No. 3-ranked Florida down to the wire before losing 30-24. There’s even been a game that arguably was unfairly snatched away: The 27-24 loss to Alabama that hinged on a questionable officiating decision. And then there’s statistics. Ole Miss ranks last in the SEC in 13 different categories and hovers near the bottom in several others. The Rebels have not played in the postseason since winning the Cotton Bowl in 2003 under then-coach David Cutcliffe and star quarterback Eli Manning. From 1989 to 2003, the Rebels had 12 winning seasons. But Cutcliffe was forced out after a losing season in 2004. In came Orgeron, who was not Ole Miss’ first choice and who did not have head coaching experience. However, Orgeron had seen plenty of winning football as an assistant at national powerhouses like the University of Southern California and University of Miami. Orgeron also was a well-respected recruiter who was charged with revitalizing Ole Miss’ talent pool. Since Orgeron arrived, the Rebel recruiting classes consistently have earned strong reviews from recruiting Web sites such as Rivals.com and Scout.com. His dogged desire to get players to Oxford is featured in a recently published book, Meat Market. Orgeron says players who are on the team but sitting out this year because of NCAA rules, guys such as quarterback Jevan Snead and running back Jeremy McGee, will help the team immensely next season. If defensive end Jerrell Powe becomes academically eligible, he could step in and fill the potential long-term void left by star defensive end Greg Hardy - who was suspended indefinitely on Monday for violating team rules. In short, Orgeron believes that despite the poor record, he’s only a few players from making his move in the SEC. Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone agrees. “I do think the talent pool under Orgeron has improved immensely,” Boone said. “We’ve got lots of young players that I think can take this team over the top in the coming years.” And the Ole Miss administration isn’t alone in its respect for Orgeron’s ability. “You’ve got to give him a chance to develop his players,” said Scott Dean, an Ole Miss fan from Madison. “I think he’s got a great plan to turn this program, but it’s just going to take a while. He’s smarter then people give him credit for and is really bringing in some quality players.” Still, there are many fans - and some outsiders - who wonder if Orgeron can get it done. Tom Dienhart, who covers college football nationally for The Sporting News, said he “wouldn’t be surprised to see Ole Miss make a change after this year.” Dienhart said Orgeron made a big mistake when he put so much time and effort into recruiting junior college quarterback Brent Schaeffer, who started each game during last year’s 4-8 season and this year has lost his job to Seth Adams, who came to Ole Miss without a scholarship. “That’s been like an albatross,” said Dienhart, who added: “If you ask me, Ole Miss is not going up. It’s not holding steady, so it’s obviously going down.” Khayat and Boone cite Orgeron’s character as a main reason they still are comfortable with the direction of the program. The Rebels largely have managed to stay away from the police blotter, a fact Orgeron said “doesn’t get much publicity.” But starters Corey Actis, John Jerry and Hardy have been suspended for “violating team rules” this season - a vague definition that has troubled some fans. Actis and Jerry served one-game suspensions. Secrecy and Orgeron’s less-than-fuzzy public persona have combined to damage the trust between the coaching staff and some fans. “With injuries, we never know what happens,” said fan and former Ole Miss student Jeff Strawn, who now lives and works in the Memphis area. “Players are suspended and you never hear an explanation. Sometimes players aren’t allowed to speak. It’s just weird. You’d think they would want fans to know what’s going on with the team.” Help for Orgeron’s cause could come from a strange place - SEC rivals Mississippi State and the University of Kentucky. MSU coach Sylvester Croom, who is in his fourth season in Starkville, and Kentucky coach Rich Brooks, in his fifth season in Lexington, each drew heat after terrible third seasons. Furious fans on Internet message boards said Croom couldn’t recruit or coach and that Brooks was past his prime. Those schools stayed with their coaches, who are now winning. MSU, with a 5-4 record, is one victory from becoming eligible for its first bowl game since 2000. UK won last year’s Music City Bowl and has been ranked in the national polls much of this season. But with millions of dollars in alumni giving at stake and seats going unused at Vaught-Hemingway, can Ole Miss afford to wait and see if Orgeron pans out? Khayat says yes, while at the same time saying this season hasn’t been easy to stomach. Still, the chancellor said he won’t fall victim to the quick fix and is committed to giving Orgeron time to finish the job he started. “I’m disappointed just like every Ole Miss fan is,” Khayat said. “I’m uncomfortable with us losing football games. But (Orgeron) has come in here and kept his head up despite some major challenges. I still think he’s going to develop a successful and competitive football program.”
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