Southern Miss Director of Athletics Jeremy McClain held a press conference Monday, one day after the school announced it was parting ways with head football coach Will Hall. McClain addressed the timetable for a new hire, the engagement with a search firm, and more.
Hall was let go Sunday following Saturday’s 41-28 loss to Arkansas State, which dropped the Golden Eagles to 1-6 and ended Hall’s three-and-a-half year tenure with a 14-30 record. “(Will Hall) has poured himself into this program for the last four years each and every day,” McClain said.
“He’s been great for the young men in that locker room and everyone in this building has benefited from him being here. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get it turned on the field. We couldn’t get over the hump.” Assistant head coach and general manager Reed Stringer will take over as interim head coach. Now in his seventh year on staff, Stringer assuming temporary lead duties allows the staff to operate as-is without any restructuring of roles.
In the meantime, McClain will move forward with a national search for a new head coach and will utilize a search firm to assist in the process. McClain provided a timeline for the search based on multiple factors the new landscape of college football brings. “This is going to be a search that is going to take us right up until the end of November,” McClain said.
“You guys all know the dates that are important to us as we think about early signing period in December and the (transfer) portal opens on Dec. 9.” The timetable will run five to six weeks, according to McClain and the majority of the work will be done in the final two weeks. The search firm will assist in bringing forward names to consider, but McClain said all decision making will be made in-house. “There’s a lot of work on the back end,” McClain said. “There’s a lot of background checks and due diligence that they can help us do that we might not have all the time to do.”
The firm will help process potential matches and vet names for the school to look at. McClain talked about the importance of finding someone who can navigate the evolving world of college football. “I think the job has changed in the last five years,” McClain said. “I think you have to have someone who can manage the portal and NIL. You’ve got to hire the right people. You’ve got to be able to do more things now than you’ve ever had to. When you think about that, you definitely want someone who has experience doing those things or has the capacity to do those things. It could be either one. I certainly that think that’s going to be a large part of the focus for us.
” The X’s and O’s are important, McClain said, but the ability to manage a program is imperative. Also on the list of important factors for the AD are local ties. Each one of McClain’s hires at USM has had some tie to the school or the state of Mississippi. McClain said it would help to have someone who knows the area and has built-in relationships within the region, though it would not be the most important factor in hiring a new coach. From the other side of the fence, he doesn’t believe he’ll have to pitch the job itself to anybody.
“This is a really, really good football job and I believe that with every fiber of my being,” McClain said. “This is a place where you can win, where you can win at a high level. We’re in a great football league and this is going to be a job that is heavily sought after.” Southern Miss has five games remaining this season, beginning with Saturday’s game at James Madison.
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