Former Arkansas coach Nutt replaces Orgeron at Ole Miss

The 50-year-old Nutt said Monday he left Arkansas to help mend a split among fans after off-the-field problems were compounded by a difficult season. The Razorbacks started the year ranked and were expected to contend for the SEC West title.

Arkansas lost its first three SEC games and dropped out of the poll in September, fueling fan discontent over last year's transfer of quarterback Mitch Mustain and the loss of offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who left for Tulsa.

Calls to Nutt's agent, Jimmy Sexton, were not immediately returned.

Arkansas officials said they would not comment until after Wednesday's formal announcement.

Nutt takes over a program that's won four or fewer games a season since 2003's 10-win effort under David Cutcliffe. The Rebels won a share of the SEC West that season with Eli Manning at quarterback.

Since the Rebels are 14-32. Boone fired Cutcliffe in 2004 for not recruiting well enough. He had hoped Orgeron, who helped build two national title teams at Southern California as Pete Carroll's recruiting coordinator, would bring the kind of energy needed to compete in the tough SEC.

Orgeron finished 10-25 and was routinely the target of fan discontent.

Boone and Chancellor Robert Khayat endorsed Orgeron midway through the season, but decided to go in a new direction after the Rebels lost five of six to end the year.

The Rebels have been looking for a coach who can produce championships since Johnny Vaught retired in 1970. Vaught won three national titles and six SEC championships between 1947-63.

The school has fired six of the eight coaches who have come since and a seventh, Steve Sloan, likely would have been fired after five losing seasons had he not left for Duke.

The last three coaches have been assistants in their first job as leading man. Orgeron, Cutcliffe and Tommy Tuberville went 73-69 over the last 13 years.

Only Tuberville left on his own, taking the job at Auburn in 1998.