Southern Miss fires football coach Will Hall amid a disappointing fourth season

Southern Miss has fired football coach Will Hall, school officials announced Sunday.

Hall was 14-30 in four seasons with the Golden Eagles, including 1-6 this year. Associate head coach Reed Stringer will serve as interim coach for the remainder of the season.

“We are grateful to Will and his family for their commitment to Southern Miss over the last four years,” said Jeremy McClain, Southern Miss athletic director. “Will has put his heart and soul into this program and the training of these young men. Unfortunately, the results on the field did not meet our shared goals and expectations.”

Hall, 44, grew up in Mississippi and was a star quarterback at North Alabama, where he won the Harlon Hill Trophy as Division II player of the year in 2003. He had success as a head coach at West Alabama and West Georgia at the D2 level and was a highly regarded offensive coordinator at Louisiana and Tulane before being hired by Southern Miss prior to the 2021 season.

Hall's second team finished 7-6 and won the Lending Tree Bowl, but slipped to 3-9 in 2023. The Golden Eagles only defeated FCS Southeastern Louisiana this season and lost every other game by double digits.

“Our immediate focus is on two things: first, supporting our student-athletes through the remainder of the season and second, conducting a comprehensive national search to identify the next leader for Southern Miss Football,” McClain said. “This is a proud program with an outstanding history and premier job in college football. We will find the next frontrunner to usher us into a new era of championship success.”

Hall became the second FBS head coach fired Sunday after East Carolina fired sixth-year coach Mike Houston. Prior to Sunday, there had been no FBS coaching changes during the season, although Utah State fired Blake Anderson in July for off-field reasons and Fresno State's Jeff Tedford retired later that same month for health reasons.

Southern Miss travels to James Madison on Saturday.