Coaches remember interview

FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas Coach Chad Morris had an interesting interview with then-Ole Miss Coach Ed Orgeron for a job back in the winter of 2006-07.

Jevan Snead, who had played quarterback for Morris at Stephenville (Texas) High School, had decided to transfer from the University of Texas and was making a recruiting visit to Oxford, Miss. Snead visited the Ole Miss campus on a Friday and thought he liked what was available, so he called Morris and asked him to check it out. Morris flew into the area the next day and wound up interviewing for an open position on offense to coach either the receivers or the tight ends.

“I interviewed him at the Waffle House in Oxford,” Orgeron said on Wednesday’s SEC teleconference. “I ended up hiring Hugh Freeze instead.”

Freeze, who had been tight ends coach for the Rebels in 2006, transitioned to wide receivers coach in 2007 and would eventually take over as head coach in 2012 after his year as head coach at Arkansas State University.

Orgeron might have a faulty memory on the location however, since there isn’t a Waffle House in Oxford, but there is a Huddle House.

“Might have been the Huddle House then,” Morris said Wednesday afternoon.

“I actually ended up at his house as well. … Jevan went on an official visit up there and called me and said, ‘Coach, I need you to come up here.’ I got on a plane and flew up there and went through the rest of the official visit with him.

“I went to an interview with Coach Orgeron and the whole bit. I did wind up having another followup interview at the ACA Convention down in San Antonio.”

Morris was asked about not getting the job.

“I remind him of that every now and then when I see him that he didn’t hire me,” Morris said, laughing. “So he said, ‘It worked out pretty good anyway.’ It’s all good.”