8 candidates Southern Miss must consider before hiring a new football coach
As the search to hire a new Southern Miss football coach enters the final two weeks of November, the list of candidates hasn’t come into full focus, but it has at least become a little more clear.
USM athletic director Jeremy McClain has done a good job of keeping candidates’ names close to the vest.
It helps when many interviews are done via Zoom, without the usual fanfare of tracking flight numbers.
But there are coaches who have generated sufficient buzz to back up the idea that their candidacy for the job hasn’t faded.
McClain’s initial goal of making the hire in late November may be pushed back to early December with more games being postponed because of COVID-19.
McClain told the Sun Herald on Tuesday that he’s still open to adding new candidates to the field, and that he’s considering candidates who have backgrounds on both offense and defense.
“I don’t think we’ve shut the door on anybody,” he said.
Here are some candidates that are still worthy of consideration:
Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina head coach
If McClain can somehow pull off the hiring of Chadwell, it would be quite the coup. Chadwell has the Chanticleers 7-0 with a No. 15 ranking.
He was also the head coach in 2012 at Delta State, where McClain hired him during his time there as athletic director.
USM’s chances of landing Chadwell aren’t looking great at the moment. The more games he wins, the more likely he’ll be a candidate at places like South Carolina or potentially Vanderbilt.
You’ll notice a trend of Delta State ties among the rest of the potential candidates.
Pete Golding, Alabama defensive coordinator
Golding has long been labeled a future head coach, and Southern Miss would seem to be a good jumping off point for the Hammond, Louisiana, native.
The 36-year old makes $1.1 million a year as the Alabama defensive coordinator, and it’s unlikely USM can top that.
However, McClain plans to bump up the pay for the next head coach from $500,000 to potentially $800,000 or more and now may be the time for Golding to take his shot at being a head coach.
Golding, who coached defensive backs at USM in 2014-15, was also at Delta State when McClain was athletic director there, working as defensive coordinator in 2010-11.
Will Hall, Tulane offensive coordinator
Hall’s position as a candidate has been obvious from the outset.
The Amory, Mississippi, native has the necessary experience to take on the task of rebuilding the Southern Miss program — working at various schools around the region, including Memphis and Louisiana-Lafayette.
The 40-year old was a winning Div. II head coach at West Alabama and West Georgia with a record of 56-20.
Rhett Lashlee, Miami offensive coordinator
Like Chadwell, it would be a challenge to pull in Lashlee, who is in the middle of a 7-1 season with the Hurricanes. The 37-year old’s recent success with SMU and Miami will make him a top candidate for plenty of job openings.
As a Gus Malzahn protege dating back to their time together at Springdale (Ark.) High School, he would bring a potent offense with him.
Ron Roberts, Baylor defensive coordinator
I’m still kicking myself for not including Roberts on my original list of potential USM candidates.
McClain has mentioned that he would like to have a hire in place that has head coaching experience and the 53-year-old Roberts has a record of 89-45 with six conference championships as a coach on the Div. II and FCS levels. He was the head coach at Div. II Delta State from 2007-11 and led the Statesmen to a national runner-up finish in 2010. As the head coach at FCS Southeastern Louisiana from 2012-17, he reached the playoffs twice.
Chadwell replaced Roberts as head coach at Delta State.
Golding and the next man on this list both worked for Roberts at Delta State.
Karl Scott, Alabama cornerbacks coach
Another former Delta State staffer as a graduate assistant in 2007, Scott has worked as a defensive coordinator at Southeastern Louisiana and briefly at Louisiana-Lafayette. He has also coached defensive backs at Texas Tech and Louisiana Tech.
The Houston native has the invaluable experience of working under Nick Saban and a long line of good defensive coaches.
Kane Wommack, Indiana defensive coordinator
The ex-Southern Miss player and son of former USM defensive coordinator Dave Wommack has generated as much speculation as any candidate in recent weeks. With the Hoosiers 4-0 and ranked No. 9 in the nation, Wommack’s candidacy has been bolstered in recent weeks.
Indiana is coming off a 24-0 win at Michigan State entering Saturday’s game at No. 3 Ohio State.
Wommack is only 33, but he has the resumé for the job, and it’s probably only a matter of time before he gets his opportunity as a head coach.
John Wozniak, Oklahoma State running backs coach
While he doesn’t have head coaching experience, the former USM staff member should be able to put together a staff that fits what Southern Miss needs. The Golden Eagles need to replicate the rebuild that took place under his former boss in Hattiesburg, Todd Monken.
Knowledge of the challenge ahead could work to Wozniak’s favor with USM on its second interim head coach, Tim Billings, after Jay Hopson resigned as head coach in September. Scotty Walden, USM’s original interim coach, stepped down to take the job at Austin Peay.
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
