John David Baker left Ole Miss two years ago for his first venture as a solo play-caller and offensive coordinator.

The result from Baker’s two years running the offensive show at East Carolina? Plenty of enough results to bring Baker back to Oxford, Mississippi.

Multiple sources tell FootballScoop that Baker and brand-new, first-time Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding are working to finalize a deal to make Baker the Rebels’s next offensive coordinator.

The move also keeps the expanding symmetry within the Ole Miss football program. 

While Golding’s retention and elevation to head coach from his role as defensive coordinator keeps the Ole Miss defense streamlined, Baker’s return to the Rebels likewise gives the program its best chance to continue to offensive trajectory it enjoyed under both previous head coach Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.

A former standout-quarterback at Abilene Christian who briefly played professional football, Baker has engineered a rapid ascent in coaching. Four years after retiring from playing, he had his first Power Conference job on staff at USC; two years later he was at Ole Miss and three years later he began calling plays for the Pirates.

Baker’s expected exit from Blake Harell’s East Carolina program marks a tough blow for the Pirates, who also are losing a budding coaching star in defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge. He’s expected to join Brian Hartline’s inaugural staff at South Florida.

East Carolina is set to face Pittsburgh for its season-ending game in the Military Bowl.

Ole Miss is continuing its preparations for the program’s first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff after earning the No 6 seed in Sunday’s final 12-team CFP reveal. The Rebels are hosting American Conference Champion Tulane, the No. 11 seed.Â