Why Auburn might not owe Ole Miss a buyout for hiring Derrick Nix as offensive coordinator

Auburn has landed a new offensive coordinator in former Ole Miss wide receiver's coach Derrick Nix, and it may have helped Nix save some money in the process.

Nix, who also will serve as the running backs coach on Hugh Freeze's staff, was hired away from Lane Kiffin and the Rebels in another coaching shake-up. Because Nix was hired into a play-calling position, he in theory will not owe Ole Miss the buyout stipulated in his contract.

Nix will take over the running backs coach job from Cadillac Williams, who was the interim head coach in 2022 and an associate head coach/RBs coach in 2023. Williams resigned last week in order to pursue other coaching opportunities.

Ole Miss, in a statement, called out that Nix will be serving as a play-caller for Auburn, despite the questions about whether Freeze will retain that duty. It reads: “Acknowledging the opportunity to become a first-time playcaller with full-time playcalling duties as Offensive Coordinator at Auburn University, we extend our sincere well-wishes to the Nix family in this new endeavor."

What was Derrick Nix's buyout?

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According to language in his contract with Ole Miss, Auburn/Nix would have had to pay the university:

• Twice the amount of his gross salary if the contract is terminated within 120 days of signing (N/A)

• His full gross salary the day of the termination after Day 121

That would be a salary of $625,000, thanks to an amendment made to Nix's original salary of $500,000. It would have gone up to $700,000 on Feb. 1.

Why does Auburn not have to pay Derrick Nix's buyout?

The idea of being a "play caller" is murky in the college football world, where coaches often wear many hats.

As Kiffin and Ole Miss explicitly said, Nix is accepting a role as a primary full-time play caller, which would nullify the buyout clause in his contract. Nix was absolved of the buyout if he accepted a job in the NFL, a head coaching job, or a job with "primary play-calling duties at an NCAA Division I institution."

Auburn made the announcement later on Wednesday.

On Jan. 9, Chris Low of ESPN said Freeze planned on calling his own plays, which comes into conflict with Ole Miss' statement.

Gamesmanship is the most likely answer to all of this, but that is still speculative. This situation, however, will work itself out as time goes on. All that's certain now is that Nix is now in Auburn as an offensive coordinator, and Ole Miss is looking to find a receiving coach to take over one of the top rooms in the country.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Why Auburn's Derrick Nix might not owe Ole Miss after taking new job