Crimson Red Sports

After Saturday’s loss, fans were not the only ones embarrassed and upset by the performance of their Rebels.

University of Mississippi athletics director Pete Boone, who watched the closing minutes of the game from field level at Vanderbilt Stadium, was not pleased either.

“I am just like every fan,” Boone said in Monday’s press conference. “I go up and down with emotion. What I have to do is, as quickly as possible, set them aside and deal with facts.”

Boone met with head coach Houston Nutt Sunday afternoon to discuss the state of the football program. Following the meeting, Boone sent a letter to football ticket holders expressing disappointment and addressing Saturday’s “unacceptable” performance.

“I’m sure everyone who loves Ole Miss is frustrated,” he said. “Nutt and I had a discussion, and he thinks issues are correctable and fixable within the program.

“That’s his job and what he’ll be doing. My job is to give coaches everything (they) need to be successful, and I need to make sure that I do that.”

Meeting with Coach Nutt to discuss the state of the program on a Sunday afternoon following a game is not routine. Under the circumstances, Boone thought it was time to talk to Nutt and his staff.

“This was a rare circumstance — that I called for an in-season meeting with Nutt,” he said. “I didn’t want the coaches to be walking around on egg shells. I felt we needed to talk now.”

While Boone would not divulge specific details about what was said during the meeting Sunday, he wants the players and coaches to have “a little bit more fire, a little bit more attitude” and know that “our players and our coaches ought to leave everything out there on the field at the end of the day.”

Boone went on to say that everyone needs to be on the same page and working toward the same goal of improving the play on the field.

“You need the family to be together,” he said. “It’s a tough world, tough athletics, and your family has to fight together and stay strong together. If it is not, there’s a tall hill to climb.”

Boone said he would “take it a day at a time” on evaluating Nutt for the rest of the season and is “not going to try and focus too much on the future.”

Looking toward the future, Boone discussed the sluggish start to the football season and its implications for the $150 million capital campaign, Forward Together Rebels.

“I would say that I don’t think there are any broken bones, but there are some bruises,” he said. “The beginning of this year is certainly not the way that most successful campaigns would take off. But the fact is, the campaign is bigger than a game and is bigger than a season.”

Boone said the campaign is about Ole Miss’ future.

“That’s what I think our fans are focused on,” Boone said, “where are we going to be five years from now and 10 years from now.”

The most important thing right now, and what the team needs the most, is the fans, Boone said.

“It is early in the season,” he said. “The main thing this team needs right now is for all of our loyal supporters to be out there Saturday.