Rebels set to hire SMU’s Alex Brown in personnel/recruiting role; Lane Kiffin continues to assemble a staff as masterfully as he assembles portal talent

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin continues to assemble coaching talent as masterfully as he attracts football talent via the transfer portal. According to Matt Zenitz, and from sources confirmed by The Rebel Walk, Coach Kiffin is expected to hire SMU’s Alex Brown who has served the Mustangs’ general manager and senior director of scouting and player personnel.

Ole Miss is expected to hire SMU’s Alex Brown in a high-ranking personnel and recruiting role, sources tell @247Sports.

Brown, who has been at SMU as general manager and senior director of scouting and player personnel, has been a key part in the roster construction that… pic.twitter.com/JRBzRMQnyX

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) March 15, 2024

Brown was initially hired by SMU in January, 2022 as the director of scouting before later promoted to the general manager and director of player personnel.

He will join Ole Miss general manager Billy Glasscock who took over following the departure of Austin Thomas to LSU. 

Prior to joining the SMU staff, where he helped build a roster that improved to 11 wins in 2023, Brown spent three seasons at Rice, where he served as the director of football recruiting as well as the Owls’ NFL liaison. 

Before joining Rice, Brown was on the recruiting staff for four seasons at the University of Houston where he was a recruiting coordinator after serving a stint as the Cougars’ assistant director of player personnel and pro liaison.

Brown also has experience in the scouting industry. He spent four year as the head central scout for Optimum Scouting where he scouted the Big 12, SEC, Southland, Missouri Valley, MIAA, Lone Star Conference and all D3/NAIA schools in the state of Texas. In his position, he graded NFL Draft prospects via film study, play charting, statistical analysis and live evaluations.

Brown, who graduated cum laude from UT Arlington in 2014 with a BBA in economics, also served stints with NFL Network, USA Football and Bleacher Report.

Evelyn Van Pelt

Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.