Jan. 25, 2012

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss head football coach Hugh Freeze boasts great experience in his support staff, particularly with the addition of John Miller as Assistant Athletics Director for Football Operations.

Miller comes to Ole Miss after 12 years at Southern Miss, including the final seven as operations director. Prior to that, he worked as an assistant with the recruiting department and also spent time assisting with the defensive backs.

The Golden Eagles received a bowl invitation in all but one of Miller’s seasons in Hattiesburg, including each of the final 10 years. The 2011 squad finished top-20 in the national polls and captured the C-USA Championship.

Before entering the football profession, Miller was in the United States Army, where he worked in the criminal investigation division. He received two Army Commendations, a National Defense Award for Desert Storm and a Cold War Era Award for Desert Storm.

After serving for four years in the Army, Miller worked as an assistant coach at Clinton (Miss.) High School under David Bradberry.

Another recent addition to the Rebel support staff is John  Thompson as senior assistant strength and conditioning coach. He spent six years as assistant football coach and the director of strength and conditioning at Lambuth, including 2008 and 2009 with Freeze as head football coach.

A 2006 graduate of Lambuth, Thompson’s most recent stop was as defensive line assistant coach for McNeese State in 2011.  He also previously served as assistant head football coach and defensive coordinator at Munford (Tenn.) High School.

Thompson played three years of collegiate football at Louisiana-Monroe, earning second team All-Sun Belt Conference honors.  He played his final year at Lambuth where he was named All-American and set the school's single season sack record.  He was invited to the Cleveland Browns mini-camp in 2005.