UPDATE: Nutt gets new deal at Ole Miss

By Andrew Gribble
Auburn University Beat Reporter
Published: December 5, 2008

Well, this shouldn’t be new to Auburn fans, but the roles are somewhat reversed.

It looks like Houston Nutt will be staying in Oxford, according to a report from the Associated Press. Here’s the brief story.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP)—Mississippi is working on a contract extension to keep Houston Nutt amid reports he’s a top candidate at Auburn.

Nutt is working out the extension with athletic director Pete Boone and the new deal will be announced as soon as it is complete, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday on the condition of anonymity. The person asked not to be identified because an announcement hasn’t been made.

Nutt signed a four-year, $7.4 million contract when he took over at Ole Miss last season after resigning at Arkansas.

Nutt told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal and the Clarion-Ledger of Jackson he has had no contact with Auburn.

The timing seems a bit ironic, considering that Nutt’s name emerged as a top candidate just this morning, according to multiple reports. Nutt is represented by super agent Jimmy Sexton, who also represents Tommy Tuberville and other big-name coaches. Just last year, Tuberville’s flirtation with the open job at Arkansas delayed and extended talks between he and athletic director Jay Jacobs before the two settled on a contract extension and the well-noted meaty buyout.

It’ll be interesting to see how many other coaches, and Sexton clients, use the opening at Auburn to get a bump in their hometown paychecks.

And so, the search continues. No one thought this thing would end in a day. Let’s just hope it’s over before Christmas.

UPDATE: The Jackson Clarion-Ledger reports that Nutt will receive a raise and extension on his contract, which is expected to be in the $2.5 million per year range.