Auburn football: New offensive coordinator Derrick Nix on why he left Ole Miss for Auburn
AUBURN − Auburn football named Derrick Nix the offensive coordinator and running backs coach back in January of this year. After spending the last 16 years at Ole Miss as a running backs, wide receivers and assistant head coach, he broke down Wednesday why this was right time for him to come to the Plains.
“I’m a believer, and this was a God-led decision. It was just the right time for me and my family,” Nix said. “In my mind I accomplished the things I wanted to do at Ole Miss, and if you know Hugh Freeze like I know him, he is a great recruiter too.”
“I’m in a position where I’m learning on the go. So to be with a guy like coach Freeze and a (quarterbacks coach) Kent Austin, who I have worked with before, I look at this situation as a place where I can develop and be the best version of myself.”
Replacing Cadillac Williams and current relationship with Lane Kiffin
Nix will be replacing former Auburn running backs coach Cadillac Williams, who resigned earlier this year after coaching at Auburn for the last five seasons.
Nix said he spoke with Williams, and the two wished each other well.
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“I understand that I can only be me. Williams was a heck of a football player and has done a great job as a coach in just a short time already,” Nix said. “Him and I have spoken since the change and we wished each other luck down the road.
In regard to Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, things are still cool between the former colleagues, Nix said. They crossed paths recently during spring break.
“I saw him when I went back down for spring break,” Nix said. “It was during a worship service, and we had a cordial conversation.”
Recruiting vision
Nix is widely regarded as one of the top recruiters in the SEC. During his time at Ole Miss, he helped land talent and coached future NFL players like Elijah Moore and Jonathan Mingo.
As for recruiting, Nix said it has been an adjustment versus how it was done at Ole Miss. Working with Kiffin meant for heavy recruiting inside of the transfer portal compared to Freeze being more heavily involved in going after high school prospects.
“Recruiting has been an adjustment and a welcome one for me here,” Nix said. “At Ole Miss we would still go after the top high school kids but understood if there was another guy in the portal that maybe their margin for error was a lot less and a little bit more mature we were at them.
“Looking at what coach Freeze and his staff did last year landing those top high school guys, they did a great job. So it’s two different philosophies but they both work.”
Nix’s vision for offense
Nix's main focus for the group this year is making Auburn a fundamentally efficient scoring machine. He wants to take care of the football and play with energy and effort all season long.
”Before we started spring practice, I saw a group of guys that are hungry and eager. They are coming in ready to work and just watching them lift, nobody complains,” Nix said. "So far through the first couple of weeks of practice, I just saw guys constantly working and doing things the way we want to do it right now.”
Nix wants Tigers fans to expect his offensive approach to be fast and fearless this season. He wants to emphasize taking care of the ball and getting victories on Saturdays.
”We are going to be fun to watch, and we are going to play physical," he said. "The 11 guys we have on the field are going to play extremely hard.”
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football offensive coordinator Derrick Nix: Why he left Ole Miss
