Don’t cry for me, Oxford.

Kirby’s got himself a new defensive line coach.

Georgia has already found a new defensive line coach in Tray Scott, who had just recently signed on for the same role at Mississippi. Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze told the Rivals’ affiliate RebelGrove.com about Scott’s decision to leave.

After spending the last two years coaching the position with North Carolina, Scott took the defensive line coaching job at Ole Miss.

Scott replaces Tracy Rocker, who was recently let go by the Georgia program.

Ole Miss released a statement on Scott’s leaving the program.

“Tray Scott is leaving our staff for another opportunity,” the statement reads. “We want coaches that are 100 percent committed to winning championships at Ole Miss. Our student-athletes, our staff and Rebel Nation deserve that, and that is what we will bring to this great program.”

Mmm, those grapes seem to taste a bit sour, Hugh.  Then again, lateral moves tend not to sit too well.  Especially when the guy may not have even found the time to unpack his bags.

Scott was hired to coach the defensive line at Ole Miss in January 2017 after serving two seasons as defensive line coach at North Carolina. According to information on Ole Miss’ bio of Scott: “(His) 2016 unit was especially effective in the red zone, ranking 35th nationally allowing opponents to score only 79.6 percent of the time. His defensive line also helped UNC rank top 50 nationally in scoring defense (24.9 ppg). Scott mentored defensive tackle Nazair Jones to All-ACC honors for the second straight year.”  [Emphasis added.]

Can Kirby borrow that bio?  It doesn’t need any updating.

I wonder if Smart saw something in last year’s opener that caught his eye.  I presume Scott can recruit, or he wouldn’t be headed to Athens.  In any event, welcome aboard, sir.

**************************************************************************

UPDATE:  About the Ole Miss staff,

Scott is the second assistant who has been hired by Ole Miss only to leave before ever coaching a a game. Matt Lubick was hired as receivers coach but left after Baylor offered him a co-offensive coordinator job.

Generally speaking, that’s not a good look.

Also, I’m guessing Greg McGarity is thrilled with the hire, at least in one aspect.

Scott was on a one-year contract, which paid him $375,000. Since it was a one-year deal, no buyout needs to be paid.

Kirby’s probably planning on splitting the savings with the reserve fund, so he can go hire another support staffer.

**************************************************************************

UPDATE #2:  Then again, maybe this is what caught Kirby’s eye.

Scott was hired in late December after long-time Rebel D-line coach Chris Kiffin left to become his brother’s defensive coordinator at UCF. Scott, who’d previously served as a graduate assistant in Oxford, had built a reputation as an up-and-coming star while coaching D-linemen at North Carolina. It didn’t take long for him to prove he had an eye for talent, offering a scholarship to and receiving a commitment from lightly-recruited three-star JUCO tackle Larrell Murchison, who shortly thereafter received offers from Texas and Georgia. Murchison ended up defecting to NC State at the last minute, but it seemed to be a promising example of Scott’s scouting acumen.

There is a touch of irony there, in that Smart got Murchison to flip, but then had to send Rocker to let the kid know there wasn’t a spot for him in the ’17 class.  Small world!