After Ole Miss made it clear they weren’t going to support Andy Kennedy, the downward spiral was quick. While Kennedy was the winningest coach in school history, overachieving with modest resources, Ole Miss’ administration used a quick hook. In stepping down, Kennedy set the program up to hire a good coach. The roster had talent at the top, much better than their 12-20 record showed in Kennedy’s final year.
Kermit Davis deserves some credit for capitalizing on what he inherited, but the roster bears much of Kennedy’s imprint. In the four seasons before a disastrous 2017-18 campaign, Ole Miss’ posted an average record of 10-8 in SEC play.