OXFORD, Miss. – Jack Bicknell Jr. reached out to his new Ole Miss offensive linemen as soon as he was hired. It was as much for his benefit as theirs.
A coaching veteran of 31 seasons – the past seven in the NFL – Bicknell was fired from the Miami Dolphins after the 2015 season and sat out 2016. Ole Miss found itself looking for an offensive line coach at an odd time after Hugh Freeze was forced out and Matt Luke was promoted to interim coach July 20.
Luke and Bicknell had no previous connection.
“When they said they were going to elevate the offensive line coach I thought, ‘That might be an opportunity there,’ so I got on to see if I knew anybody on the staff,” Bicknell said.