Look, when a college or pro sports team brings on a player or coach with a name that makes people giggle like they’re little children, it’s probably going to lead to a whole lot of jokes on Twitter. It happens every time Dee Virgin signs with a new NFL team and it certainly happened Thursday when the Missouri Tigers hired an assistant coach named Dickey Nutt.
Source: Missouri's Dennis Gates will hire Dickey Nutt as an assistant coach.
Nutt and Gates have worked together previously at both Cleveland State and Florida State.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 14, 2022
Nutt is a longtime coach in the college ranks, having been the head coach at Arkansas State between 1995 and 2008. He was also the head coach at South Missouri State from 2009 to 2015. Nutt was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year in 1998 and took Arkansas State to the NCAA Tournament in 1999 but didn’t find too much success at his second stop. Since then he mostly worked as an assistant for Florida State, Stetson, and Cleveland State.
Now, he’ll be an assistant coach at the University of Missouri, working under Dennis Gates, who was also his boss at Cleveland State.
And yes, he is the brother of college football coach Houston Nutt.
But all of that is secondary to the fact that his given name is Dickey Nutt. And there’s no way Twitter was going to let that slide. So much so that his name was trending with so many people making jokes, which, to be fair, is the best use of Twitter possible.
Dickey Nutt: The Total Package
Your welcome Jon hang on to that one https://t.co/DiE61vaUGm
— PFT Commenter (@PFTCommenter) April 14, 2022
[“batdance” voice] dickey nutt https://t.co/R1ZndZWkpN
— Bill Hanstock (@sundownmotel) April 14, 2022
There’s no way Dickey Nutt is a real person. https://t.co/RfXJHxfMbg
— Brandon Kiley (@BKSportsTalk) April 14, 2022
no. come on. there is not a guy named Dickey Nutt https://t.co/4DfDJUOuQh
— woke stifler (@Yelix) April 14, 2022
Open the NUTT GATES! https://t.co/UDle51UDHT
— Bunkie Perkins (@BunkiePerkins) April 14, 2022
“Dickey Nutt?? I’m looking for a DICKEY NUTT!” https://t.co/mhzKHJGISQ pic.twitter.com/vDSDaovDsy
— Reply Ry (@ref513) April 14, 2022
100% rooting for this guy. Really hoping it’s not a bust https://t.co/XJ5xXVdYei
— Andy Piccirillo (@andypic17) April 14, 2022
To be fair, plenty of people who have been following Nutt’s career also chimed in to say there’s more to him than a fun name.
Yes, there's the name. If you've been in the region awhile, you know it well. Deep, deep athletic and other prominent roots in the family. Many will be most familiar with brother Houston, former head football coach at Arkansas and Ole Miss, among other stops. #Mizzou #DickeyNutt https://t.co/1rFn30Mayy
— Pete Bland (@xblandx) April 14, 2022
The coach that led Arkansas State to the 1999 NCAA Tournament is heading to the SEC
Dickey Nutt resume has to be in a book, he’s been everywhere https://t.co/740LCaygVp
— Chris Hudgison (@ChrisHudgison) April 14, 2022
Dickey Nutt.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.