Football coaches often enter political game. Which former Mississippi coach could become US Senator?

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3 days ago

Former Ole Miss football coach Tommy Tuberville once said that the only way he would leave Oxford would be "in a pine box". Shortly after that he became the next head coach at Auburn University.
After stints at Texas Tech and Cincinatti, he retired from coaching but is currently serving as a United States Senator for Alabama. He is also planning to run for Governor of Alabama in 2026.
Now, it looks like Derek Dooley, the son of legendary Georgia football coach Vince Dooley and a former coach at the University of Tennessee is going to make a run at politics. He has thrown his hat in the ring as a Republican for a bid at the U.S. Senator's seat in Georgia.
It makes one wonder if there are any former coaches from Mississippi, other than Tuberville, that might make a run for Senator once Roger Wicker or Cindy Hyde-Smith step away in the next few years. Here are a few options we came up with.
If there were ever former Mississippi coaches that could have been elected as U.S. Senators, No. 1 would probably have been legendary Ole Miss coach Johnny Vaught, who was the Rebels football coach from 1947-70 and for the final eight games in 1973. He won six SEC championships.
No. 2 might be much more recent in former Mississippi State coach Mike Leach. While only a MSU coach for a short period of time, Leach, who died in 2022, was a true renaissance man. He was a law school graduate and had a way with words and could hold a conversation on seemingly any topic at any time. He also seemed to be beloved by all Mississippians, regardless of school affiliation.
Here are some options of former Mississippi coaches that could run and get a few votes.
Deion Sanders
The former Jackson State coach and current Colorado coach is one of the most well-known sports figures in America and is still popular in Mississippi. Sanders went 27-6 in the three seasons at Jackson State, winning SWAC titles and participating in the Cricket Bowl in 2021 and 2022. He still has a following in Mississippi and is never shy about letting his feeling be known.
When you hear him talk, it's almost like you are in a Sunday church service listening to the pastor deliver a well-manicured sermon. That would serve Sanders well on the campaign trail.
Ed Orgeron
While his time as the Ole Miss football coach might not have gone swimmingly, posting a 10-25 record with a 3-21 mark in SEC play, and particularly after getting hammered in a certain Egg Bowl by Mississippi State, Ed Orgeron was always entertaining and a people person. His ability to recruit players has been legendary and he used that talent to become coach at LSU and won a national championship there. His time at LSU is now over, but how entertaining would it be to hear his gravelly voice and deadpan humor on the Senate floor arguing against whatever bill is the controversy of the day.
He was nothing if not honest, which was what we want in politics, right? After being fired at LSU, Orgeron reflected on how it went down.
"We had a meeting," Orgeron said reflecting on the meeting in October 2021, "(Scott Woodward) said, 'Coach, things aren't going well.' And I said, "No sh-t, Ray Charles could see that."
"He told me, 'You've got $17.1 million left on your contract and we're gonna give it to you.' I said, 'What time do you want me to leave and what door do you want me out of?'"
Dan Mullen
He might not have been the most popular coach in the history of Mississippi or at Mississippi State, but Dan Mullen was arguably the most successful coach in MSU football history.
Mullen's 69 wins sit six behind Jackie Sherrill for most in program history. The 2014 season under Mullen when quarterback Dak Prescott led the Bulldogs to 10 wins and a No. 1 ranking was arguably the best in MSU history. While many thought he could have a prickly personality at times, Mullen won six games in eight of nine seasons — including five with at least eight wins.
Even leaving MSU for more money at the University of Florida, which was followed by a gig at ESPN and now as coach at UNLV, there are still MSU fans that would welcome him back to Starkville if things go sideways with Jeff Lebby. That being said, maybe he could still be a viable candidate for U.S. Senate.
Hugh Freeze
Hugh Freeze, who coached the Rebels for five years and led the program to a 2016 Sugar Bowl victory, resigned just before the season started in 2017 after the university discovered a 'pattern of personal misconduct". If Freeze didn't resign, then athletic director Ross Bjork said the university would have exercised the termination clause in his contract for 'moral turpitude.'
It was widely reported, even by USA Today and the Clarion Ledger, that a one-minute phone call on Freeze's university-issued cell phone was made to a female escort service.
Freeze, however, went on to revitalize his career at Liberty and now at Auburn.
Who doesn't love a comeback story, especially in politics. Freeze is an Oxford native, and his folksy, if not almost preacher style of speaking, totally lends itself to going on the stump to campaign for public office. Surely if Tuberville can pull it off, Freeze could pull it off.
Jackie Sherrill
Jackie Sherrill may be at longshot at 81 years old, but after Joe Biden in his 80s and Donald Trump in his 80s, why shouldn't the man who castrated a bull at a Mississippi State practice not be considered a top choice in the next election for U.S. Senator for the Magnolia State.
While Mullen may be in running for best MSU coach with a 69-46 record, Sherrill had more wins at 75.
He had his run-ins with the NCAA too and even went so far as to sue the organization, saying the NCAA tarnished his career and future coaching prospects. A run at Senate could poke a finger in the eye of the NCAA.
Those who played for Sherrill, would do anything for him and still speak of him in glowing terms. There's no reason the former MSU, Texas A&M and Pittsburgh coach couldn't get a sizeable portion of the vote and be able to swing sizeable legislation. But seriously, can he really top winning the SEC West title and the whole castration story?
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is a writer for the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at [e-mail] or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter @GreenOkra1.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Could a former Mississippi college football coach become US Senator?
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