Miss. State may be closer to replacing coach

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Jackie Sherrill will go into retirement with his worst Egg Bowl loss ever, but his team may be closer to knowing its next coach.

Eli Manning threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns in Ole Miss' 31-0 victory Thursday night in the 100th meeting between the Magnolia state rivals.

The Rebels (9-3, 7-1) remained in the SEC West title race and can earn its first trip to the SEC championship game if No. 3 LSU loses to Arkansas on Friday in Baton Rouge.

But for Sherrill and the Bulldogs (2-10, 1-7), the season ended with their sixth straight lopsided loss. Since the 60-year-old coach announced his retirement on Oct. 17, the Bulldogs have been outscored 267-57.

He received a long, loud standing ovation from the Bulldogs fans when he was introduced before the game.

Sherrill completed 13 seasons at Mississippi State 75-75-2, but was just 8-27 in the final three. He won over Bulldogs fans by becoming the first Mississippi State coach in decades to consistently beat Ole Miss, doing it seven times in his first 11 seasons.

In the end, he couldn't even do that.

The loss ended an eventul 24 hours in the school's search for a new coach.

First, a Memphis television station, citing unidentified sources, reported Wednesday night that Green Bay Packers assistant coach Sylvester Croom would be hired by Mississippi State.

Croom released a statement through the Packers after Thursday's game in Detroit.

"It is inappropriate for me to comment about that at this time," he said.

Then on Thursday, LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher withdrew from consideration for the position. He released a statement through the LSU athletic department saying he canceled an interview with Mississippi State athletic director Larry Templeton that was scheduled for Saturday.

Fisher appeared to be the leading candidate for the job, drawing the most speculation in recent weeks.

"It's obviously very flattering to have your name mentioned for a head coaching position in the Southeastern Conference," Fisher said. "On the other hand, I'm very happy here at LSU and as a result I have decided to pull my name from consideration for the head coaching position at Mississippi State."