Freeze’s fall at Ole Miss partly traced to Nutt’s suit

The man whom Hugh Freeze replaced as Mississippi’s football coach was at least partially responsible for Freeze’s stunning downfall.

It was a recently filed civil lawsuit from Houston Nutt — who coached Ole Miss from 2008 to ’11 — against the university that unearthed the phone records that eventually revealed Freeze’s school-issued cellphone had dialed an escort service on at least one occasion in 2016.

Freeze resigned Thursday after university officials found that the coach engaged in a “pattern of personal misconduct” that was unacceptable. The 47-year-old — who was making more than $5 million per year — will receive no buyout, according to Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork.

Freeze’s phone records might never have been researched if Nutt hadn’t sued the university earlier this month. The lawsuit claims a breach of his severance agreement because of false statements he says school officials made to try to pin blame for the NCAA investigation on Nutt.

There are 21 allegations in the NCAA’s case against Ole Miss. Four of them occurred in relation to Nutt’s tenure while 17 happened under Freeze.

Ole Miss strongly defended Freeze in its latest response to the NCAA’s allegations, saying the coach emphasized NCAA rules compliance during his tenure. Now the school will go forward in its case without him.