Update: Ole Miss has made it official and announced that it has hired Sam Houston State offensive coordinator Phil Longo to the same role in Oxford.
"We explored every name for this position, but Phil has been on my radar for a long time and it was clear that he is the man that can take our offense from good to great," Freeze said. "Over the past three years, he has authored one of the most prolific and innovative offenses in all divisions of college football. Specifically, his units have excelled in three key areas that we need to address -- rushing offense, third down efficiency and red zone success. From Chip Kelly to Joe Moorhead, we have seen offensive coordinators make successful transitions from FCS to FBS, and I expect Phil to continue that trend."
The Rebels also made the hire of Auburn co-defensive coordinator Wesley McGriff as the Rebels new defensive coordinator official on Friday as well.
Original story:
Ole Miss will reportedly hire Sam Houston State offensive coordinator Phil Longo to serve in the same capacity with the Rebels, according to Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman.
Longo's Air Raid attack with the Bearkats ranked first in total offense at the FCS level in 2016, and his team finished the season fifth in scoring, ninth in rushing and 16th in passing. Prior to Sam Houston State, Longo served as the offensive coordinator at Slippery Rock and receivers coach at Youngstown State.
Ole Miss and co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Dan Werner parted ways last week. The Rebels will look to Longo to bring his high-powered attack to Oxford. Ole Miss' offense had its ups and downs in 2016 and finished the season ranked 45th in scoring offense (32.6 ppg), 13th in passing offense (314.9 ypg) and 97th in rushing offense (147.4 ypg).
Longo will be tasked with bringing balance to the Ole Miss offense that had no issues passing the ball but struggled to run it consistently in 2016.
