Rocker Out at Ole Miss

Well the Rebels lost their defensive line coach to Auburn today. Tracy Rocker who was an All American at Auburn is returning to coach at the school he played college ball for. Rocker is reportedly going to get paid $400,000. Paying that much money for a D-Line coach in my opinion is absured. Rocker was my favorite assistant coach on staff. I watched him at the first day of practice in the summer and he impressed me. But not worth $400,000. It is my understanding Ole Miss played the cash game with Rocker during negotiations this weekend. But enough is enough. I dont blame Pete Boone and Nutt one bit for not matching the offer. We can go out and find another D-Line coach for almost half of that. From what I have heard there have been several coaches contact Nutt about the position open on his staff. I feel confident Nutt will find a replacement, a good one at that, real soon.

(Clarion Ledger)OXFORD — Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker has left Ole Miss to take a similar position with Auburn, according to Rebels’ head coach Houston Nutt.Rocker was instrumental in turning UM’s talented defensive line into one of the best in the country, led by All-American senior defensive tackle Peria Jerry. The Rebels finished the season with a 9-4 record and won the Cotton Bowl over 8th-ranked Texas Tech 47-34 on Jan. 2.“There’s no question he did a phenomenal job with our line,” Nutt said. “Especially when some of our guys were out early with injuries, he really built some outstanding depth that helped us win games this season.”The Ole Miss defense tied for the national lead with 112 tackles for loss in 13 games, with the majority of those coming from Rocker’s defensive line.Rocker had been with Nutt for six years as a defensive line coach, including five at Arkansas and one at Ole Miss. When he came to Oxford last year, he signed a 3-year contact worth $210,000 per year.Nutt and his assistants were given raises in December, but Rocker’s new contract had not been released. Nutt said he did not know if money was a factor in Rocker leaving for Auburn.“It was a tough decision for him because we’ve had a great working relationship for six years,” Nutt said. “But it’s his alma mater and he’s got family less than an hour away, so it was something he felt like he needed to do. It’s a tough loss, but I understand why he did it.”Rocker played for Auburn in the 1980s, where he was an All-American and Outland Trophy winner on the Tigers’ defensive line. Auburn recently hired coach Gene Chizik to replace Tommy Tuberville, who had been with the Tigers for 10 seasons.Nutt said he was in Nashville at a coaching clinic, working on finding Rocker’s replacement. He said he hoped to name a successor soon.