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History shows Ole Miss upheaval tough to overcome

 
After coach Jim Tressel resigned, Ohio State went 6-7, including a loss to Florida in the Gator Bowl, in 2011.
After coach Jim Tressel resigned, Ohio State went 6-7, including a loss to Florida in the Gator Bowl, in 2011.
Published July 22, 2017

After Mississippi football coach Hugh Freeze resigned Thursday, with the opener six weeks away, offensive line coach Matt Luke is being thrown into an interim head coaching position. He will try to save a season that already had been scarred by a self-imposed bowl ban for NCAA violations.

Mississippi does not face fellow SEC school Florida this season.

Scandal-driven offseason football coaching changes have become somewhat common. History shows teams that endure unusual upheaval do not fare well.

Here are some notable offseason changes and how those seasons turned out.

Art Briles, Baylor

After an external investigation found the school mishandled sexual assault claims, some against football players, Baylor's board of trustees began the process to fire Briles on May 26, 2016.

Temporary replacement: Jim Grobe.

Result: The Bears opened the season ranked No. 23 and started 6-0, lost six straight, then won their bowl game.

Tim Beckman, Illinois

Fired on Aug. 28, 2015, after an external investigation found he mishandled player injuries.

Temporary replacement: Bill Cubit.

Result: The Illini had shown progress in the previous season under Beckman and started 4-1, but dropped six of their final seven games.

Jim Tressel, Ohio State

Resigned on May 30, 2011, after it was revealed he lied about NCAA violations.

Temporary replacement: Luke Fickell.

Result: The Buckeyes went 6-6, 3-5 in the Big Ten. The administration did not self-impose a bowl ban and the Buckeyes lost the Gator Bowl to Florida to finish with a losing record. The next year Ohio State had to serve an NCAA-handed-down postseason ban when Urban Meyer's first team went 12-0.

Bobby Petrino, Arkansas

Fired on April 11, 2012, for lying to school officials about his relationship with a woman who was involved in a motorcycle accident with him.

Temporary replacement: John L. Smith.

Result: The Razorbacks, coming off an 11-win season, tanked, going 4-8.

Butch Davis, North Carolina

Fired on July 27, 2011, amid an NCAA investigation into improper benefits and academic misconduct.

Temporary replacement: Everett Withers.

Result: The Tar Heels started 5-1, but finished 7-6, losing to Missouri in the Independence Bowl .

And the exception: Galen Hall at UF

Bucking history, offensive coordinator Galen Hall successfully took over when UF fired Charley Pell with a 1-1-1 record in 1984.

Hall's laid-back approach worked better than the intense, gruff Pell, as the Gators won their final eight games with redshirt freshman walk-on Kerwin Bell at quarterback. UF won the SEC championship, but NCAA probation for violations under Pell kept it from a bowl game, and the SEC stripped the conference title.