The news came as no real surprise, but Will Hall is out at Southern Miss. Relieved of his duties after dropping to 1-6 on the season, whoever takes over for Hall with the Golden Eagles has their work cut out for them.
Let’s discuss the realistic candidates to replace Hall at Southern Miss.
Replacement Candidates for Will Hall At Southern Miss
Bill Clark (retired, former UAB Head Coach)
Former UAB head coach Bill Clark took a program in shambles and rebuilt it once already in the Deep South. The only real question around this potential fit is: Would Clark return just to do it again?
If the Golden Eagles are truly looking for someone to bring them out of the bottom of the Sun Belt, Clark is absolutely the man to do so. Or at least entertain with a phone call. Or bring in as an advisor. Something.
Clark was the head coach at Jacksonville State for a season before taking over at UAB in 2014, leading the Blazers to six straight winning seasons and two Conference USA West Division titles, as well as a CUSA Championship in 2019.
He retired, citing back issues, following the 2021 season, undergoing spinal fusion surgery in the immediate aftermath. Is he healthy enough to return to the sidelines now? Would he want to? These are minuscule questions to get to the bottom of, because he makes too much sense here.
Brent Vigen (Montana State Head Coach)
If Brent Vigen can recruit the type of players he has at Montana State, imagine what he could do at Southern Miss. A proven and documented winner, Vigen has stayed put in Big Sky country since his .. well .. since his birth, but there’s no reason a relatively large pay day couldn’t entice him to move south.
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With a career record of 39-9 at head coach, including a perfect 8-0 record so far in 2024, Vigen would immediately upgrade the sidelines in Hattiesburg. He’s had no trouble recruiting nationwide with scholarship limits and funding restrictions, so if USM can open their checkbooks and increase NIL, Vigen would be the man to bring them into the next stratosphere.
Dirk Koetter (Boise State Offensive Coordinator)
Though Dirk Koetter has a ton of wear on his tires, someone with his pedigree and someone who could bring in the staff and professionalism he’d bring with him would be a welcome site to USM fans. Koetter is also a Mountain West/Big Sky guy by birth, but his coaching ties have brought him around the country.
Koetter is a document offensive guru and would immediately change the culture around campus. Though he’d be 66 by the time next season rolled around, Koetter has shown he’s still got plenty of time left on the sidelines out at Boise State, leading the Broncos to all-new offensive highs in the process the past few seasons.
Todd Monkey (Baltimore Ravens Offensive Coordinator)
Okay, you may think this one is a little bit far-fetched, but if Todd Monken wants another shot at being a head coach — where better than to simply come home? Monken was formerly the Southern Miss head coach from 2013-2015 before he left for the NFL in 2016.
It took him some time, but he turned the USM program around from an 0-12 team to a 9-5, CUSA West division title in three years. He also got a taste of the new era of football during his last stint with the Georgia Bulldogs from 2020-22, routinely pulling out all the stops for transfers just as he did recruits.
Monken has turned the Baltimore Ravens into one of the top offenses in the NFL, and there’s no reason he couldn’t do so at Southern Miss once again.
Bryant Haines (Indiana Defensive Coordinator)
Bryant Haines has been with Curt Cignetti for longer than he hasn’t at this point, but at some point, even your star pupil is going to have to be cast out on his own. If Haines wants to become a head coach, he’ll have to break away from the nest, so to speak, and where better than a defense that needs a ton of help but has been known to recruit and breed linebackers, Haines’ specialty.
Haines has done incredible work with his defensive players over the past few years, none more impressive than what he’s done at Indiana this year and with the JMU Dukes prior. He’s turned no-star and two-star recruits into top-tier defensive players, earning All-Conference honors left and right.
He’s an elevator of talent and would make for one big splash if USM could pluck him from Cignetti.
Brennan Marion (UNLV Offensive Coordinator)
Look, Brennan Marion will be tied to every FBS opening until he finally lands that head coaching gig because he’s just that good. No head coaching replacement candidates in 2024 will be complete without his name, and it’s all for good reason.
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A native of Texas, Marion can recruit the most fertile grounds in the country with ease. His go-go offense is one of the best schemes and is absolutely one of the hardest to defend in college football.
Marion is a former player, he relates to the new-age NIL athletes, and he’s a leader of men. He’ll be a head coach before too long, it’s just now a matter of where. Is it Hattiesburg?
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