Who should Southern Miss football hire? 6 options including Hugh Freeze

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Southern Miss football needs a new coach for the second straight season.

Charles Huff is leaving the Golden Eagles and was hired by Memphis coach, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported on Dec. 6.

Huff was hired by Southern Miss (7-5) from Marshall to replace Will Hall. He led Southern Miss to a six-win improvement in 2025, and the Golden Eagles would’ve been in the Sun Belt Championship game had they beaten Troy on Nov. 29.

Here are six potential candidates for Southern Miss to consider as Huff’s replacement.

Jerry Mack, Kennesaw State coach

Mack turned Kennesaw State from a 2-10 team to 9-3 and Conference USA champions in 2025, his first season on the job. The 45-year-old began his coaching career at Delta State as a graduate assistant in 2004 and has assistant coach experience in the SEC and NFL. Mack was also the coach of North Carolina Central from 2014-17, winning the MEAC three times with a 31-15 record.

Hugh Freeze, former Auburn coach

Freeze graduated from Southern Miss and is available after getting fired by Auburn. He has lots of head coaching experience from Arkansas State, Ole Miss, Liberty and Auburn. Freeze went 34-15 at Liberty, but had losing records at Ole Miss and Auburn.

Blake Anderson, Southern Miss offensive coordinator

If the Golden Eagles look to promote internally, Anderson could be the best option. He was hired by Huff this season, bringing the former Southern Miss offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2008-11 back. Anderson has 10 years of head coaching experience at Arkansas State from 2014-20 and Utah State from 2021-23. He was fired by Utah State in July 2024 after an investigation found he did not properly report an alleged sexual misconduct.

The Golden Eagles had the No. 5 offense in the Sun Belt this season, averaging 29.8 points per game.

Derrick Nix, Auburn offensive coordinator

Nix was on Freeze’s staff at Auburn and also has ties to Southern Miss. He played running back for the Golden Eagles from 1998-2002 and is an M-Club Hall of Fame inductee. Nix started his coaching career at Southern Miss too. He was an assistant at Ole Miss from 2008-2023 before being hired by Auburn.

TC Taylor, Jackson State coach

Taylor took over Jackson State when Deion Sanders left and has kept Jackson State at the top of the SWAC, and even accomplishing more than Sanders. The Tigers were 12-2 in 2024, winning the Celebration Bowl. They are 9-2 in 2025 and hosting the SWAC championship game against Prairie View A&M on Dec. 6.

MORE: How Columbia’s Tra Lewis won MHSAA 5A championship on last-second TD

Ed Orgeron, former LSU coach

Orgeron has said that he wants to get back into coaching after being fired by LSU in 2021, two seasons after he won the national championship. The 64-year-old has been a coach since 1984.

Orgeron visited Southern Miss before the 2025 season.

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Who should Southern Miss football hire? 6 options to replace Charles Huff

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos