Houston Nutt Says Thanks but No Thanks to Kansas

A day after word leaked of mutual interest between Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt and Kansas, the veteran coach said Tuesday he is not interested the Jayhawks job.

Nutt, who is in his second season leading the Ole Miss Rebels, said he wants to continue building what he has started at Ole Miss. The Rebels have put together back-to-back eight win seasons and consecutive Cotton Bowl appearances under Nutt.

Buffalo coach and former Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill now is likely the leading candidate for the Kansas Jayhawks job.

"We appreciate the interest Kansas showed in our staff, but we are happy at Ole Miss and looking forward to the AT&T Cotton Bowl," Nutt said in a released statement.

That Nutt had interest in Kansas over Ole Miss seemed odd initially considering the prestige of both programs. The Rebels are in the competitive SEC West and will have a difficult time making up much ground on Alabama and LSU, but Kansas is a traditional basketball school that only had a reputation of being strong in the weaker Big 12 North later in Mark Mangino's tenure.

Nutt, who spent 10 years coaching Arkansas before coming over to Ole Miss, is 17-8 in two seasons leading the Rebels, which represents their two best back-to-back seasons since 1989-90. They are meeting No. 21 Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2 in Arlington, Texas, after finishing 8-4 during the regular season.

Nutt had just signed a contract extension with Ole Miss last year that pays him $2.5 million per year through 2012. That new deal came after rumors came out that Auburn might have been interested in Nutt.

"Under the leadership of Houston Nutt, the Ole Miss football program has had tremendous success," said athletic director Pete Boone. "We anticipate that success will continue for years to come, because of Houston Nutt's commitment to Ole Miss."