Ole Miss AD Carter Explains Decision To Fire Luke

OXFORD, Miss. (WCBI) — Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter hopes to “inject new energy and life into the program.”

The recently named athletic director speaking with the media a day after the university decided to fire head football coach Matt Luke.

In three seasons, Luke went 15-21 as head coach, with a conference record of 6-18.

“While we can see some progress in certain areas and have been competitive in most games this year, it just felt like the apathy around the program and the lack of support were going to be hard to overcome,” Carter said.

“Going into next year with the schedule built the way that it is, it didn’t feel like that even if we got to five or six or seven wins that it would be enough to get people back and over that hump.”

Carter said he will primarily handle the coaching search, with the help of advisors, similar to the coaching search that landed men’s basketball coach Kermit Davis.

“When we were with Kermit [Davis], he was the last person that we interviewed, and we knew within five or ten minutes that it was different,” Carter said, “That’s what I’m looking for here. I want to sit down with somebody and see it in their eyes and see what their vision is, how excited they are for our opportunity.”

In the meantime, Carter said defensive coordinator Mike MacIntyre has been named interim head coach.