So, last week for the Bama game my wife and I had some friends over to watch. One of the couples includes a former Ole Miss player (not sure his exact playing years, but he's in his mid 40's now). He is also a referee (not really active now) and was hired by Coach O to work there off season practices one year. During the Bama game, my buddy had many interesting things to say about Coach O.

First, just as a human being, he thinks Coach O is an incredible person (I don't think that perspective would get much argument from anybody anyway).

Second, he felt that Ole Miss's alumni really never liked him and therefore Coach O never really had a chance to ultimately succeed there. My buddy didn't overlook the fact that his performance while there wasn't great, he just felt like from the get-go the deck was stacked against him.

Thirdly, and maybe most importantly, he felt that (being able to observe up close his coaching style) he spent way too much time and effort micro-managing his coordinators. His opinion was that CEO was so focused on succeeding that he ended up being his own downfall by not trusting his coordinators to do their jobs.

Having said all of that, however, he really believed that the experience from Ole Miss and the experience since has probably shaped him in positive ways. And, since learning all of this from my buddy, I feel like it all makes sense when I now hear CEO speak. I personally feel like he has learned from that time and knows how to not make the same mistakes he made back then. And when you add that to the fact that Louisiana is his home and his passion, I just have to wonder if this isn't a case of the stars aligning to bring us the right guy at the right time; someone who has matured from previous failures and is ready to lead us to a new era.

I live in NW Arkansas and was at the game last night. It was a special moment after the game when the players and coach brought the boot over and celebrated with the fans. CEO loves this team, these players and our fans. And is was clear from the fan's reaction that they absolutely love him too. Anyway, just my thoughts...