Southern Miss interim football coach Scotty Walden resigns for new job
Southern Miss interim football coach Scotty Walden has stepped down to accept the head coaching job at Austin Peay, USM announced on Tuesday.
Walden will leave immediately and assistant head coach Tim Billings will take over the program on an interim basis, giving the Golden Eagles their third head coach of the 2020 season. Jay Hopson resigned following the season-opening loss to South Alabama.
USM athletic director Jeremy McClain told the Sun Herald recently that he plans to hire a full-time head coach by late November.
Hopson was Conference USA’s worst paid coach with a $500,000 salary, but McClain said that he plans to significantly improve the budget for the next coaching staff, putting that total in the top five in the conference.
“My plan is that we’re resourced in a way where we can be in the top half in the conference. I’ll say the top five in Conference USA (for the staff budget),” McClain said. “That doesn’t mean just the head coach’s salary. That’s just one piece. You also have the assistant coaches’ budget and you want to make sure you’re resourced in the right way.
“It will depend on who we hire just like any job. It’ll be dictated by the market, but we’re going to put ourselves in the right position. As a whole from the resourcing standpoint, we want to make sure we’re in the top part of the conference.”
The top seven coaches in the 14-team Conference USA make individually from $775,000 for Old Dominion coach Ricky Rahne to $1.85 million for Seth Littrell at North Texas.
The Golden Eagles were 1-3 under Walden, beating North Texas 41-31 on Oct. 3.
It’s been a chaotic season for Walden and the Golden Eagles with two games postponed because of COVID-19 — a home game against FAU and a road contest at UTEP. Walden, who is a former head coach at Div. III East Texas Baptist, didn’t make the trip to Saturday’s 56-35 loss at Liberty after he tested positive for the coronavirus a week ago.
The 30-year-old Walden was the youngest head coach in all of FBS and he is regarded as an up-and-coming offensive mind. He served as the co-offensive coordinator prior to his promotion to interim head coach.
“We are excited for Scotty and his family as they begin this new journey and we wish them nothing but the best,” McClain said in a statement. “As we adjust, I have asked Tim Billings to take over the interim head coach role and I have full confidence in his ability to successfully lead our team for the rest of the season.”
USM is 1-4 overall after Saturday’s loss to Liberty. Southern Miss is scheduled to host Rice at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Austin Peay played a three-game slate this fall, all losses. The Governors have a seven-game schedule on tap for the spring, starting with a home game against Tennessee Tech on Feb. 21.
Billings, who was in charge for Saturday’s game at Liberty, has experience as a head coach after serving in the role for six seasons at Southeast Missouri State from 2000-05, compiling a record of 25-42. He was named the Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2002 following an 8-4 season. He also worked as an assistant at Missouri, Oklahoma, Marshall, Wake Forest and Memphis.
This story was originally published October 27, 2020 at 11:05 AM.
