COLUMN: Barring Turnaround, is Mike Bianco's Tenure Finished at Ole Miss?
When Jacob Gonzalez hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday, it seemed that maybe there was hope after all.
Ole Miss baseball once again found itself trailing to Mississippi State in a deciding game three of a series in Oxford prior to Gonzalez's game-tying shot, and perhaps the Rebels were going to be able to get the proverbial monkey off their back. Ole Miss has not won a baseball series over Mississippi State since 2015 when it swept the Bulldogs, but Saturday's match was suddenly a whole new ballgame.
That wound up not lasting, however, as State's Brad Cumbest hit a solo shot in extra innings to regain the lead for the visitors, one they did not relinquish in a 7-6 final score.
"There's nothing you can say," Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said after the game. "It hurts. They put it on the line today. We just came up a little short."
Carleigh Holt-The Grove Report
Carleigh Holt-The Grove Report
Carleigh Holt-The Grove Report
Such has been the story of the 2022 Ole Miss baseball season. A team that was highly-regarded as one of the favorites to reach the College World Series this summer, a feat done only once in Bianco's tenure at Ole Miss (2014), reached the No. 1 ranking in the country early in the year. Whether or not that position was deserved at the time is still up for debate, but even with all the early season hype that came with this Rebels team, they currently sit at 6-12 in conference play as the calendar nears May.
Barring some miraculous turnaround, this season has all the indicators of being Bianco's last in Oxford. The angst among the fan base around a program that is perceived to have gone stale is becoming loud enough that a decision could be made unless some change occurs before the end of the year.
To be fair, Mike Bianco has done a lot of positive things at Ole Miss since taking the job in 2001. He is the winningest coach in program history and has made the NCAA Tournament 17 times. While the Rebels have been, on paper, one of the most consistent programs in the country over that span, they have been unable to replicate that success in the postseason.
As previously mentioned, Ole Miss has been to Omaha once under Bianco's leadership, and that has been a point of emphasis among fans who have grown tired of the program's current trajectory. While SEC West rivals have made multiple trips to Omaha and won national championships, that feat has evaded the Rebels.
Carleigh Holt-The Grove Report
Carleigh Holt-The Grove Report
This problem isn't limited to the Rebels' struggles against Mississippi State. That certainly doesn't help the issue, but it's not the problem itself. For many fans, the problem is a lack of deep postseason runs and what feels like the same narrative year-in and year-out.
Unless something changes, Ole Miss could find itself plucking from the baseball coaching carousel this offseason, something it hasn't done in over 20 years. If it does, how successful will the returns be in satisfying a large portion of a fan base that is chomping at the bit for change?
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