Mississippi hires Rich Rodriguez as offensive coordinator

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OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi has hired veteran coach Rich Rodriguez to be its next offensive coordinator.

The 55-year-old Rodriguez has been the head coach at West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona and is regarded as one of the college game's better offensive coaches. He replaces Phil Longo, who left Ole Miss to take the same job at North Carolina.

The school announced Rodriguez's hiring on Monday. Ole Miss spokesman Kyle Campbell said Rodriguez has a three-year contract that will pay $900,000 annually.

Rodriguez's hiring represents a significant staff overhaul after Ole Miss finished with a 5-7 record this season. The Rebels also replaced their defensive coordinator, with former Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre taking the job.

Coach Matt Luke said in a statement that "building a successful program means surrounding our players with the most talented coaches, and I feel like we have done that with hiring of Mike Macintyre to lead our defense and now Rich Rodriguez to lead our offense."

Rodriguez was fired from Arizona in January after six seasons amid sexual harassment allegations by a former administrative assistant. The school could not verify the claims, but the investigation still led to his downfall. Rodriguez has denied the allegations.

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