Southern Miss is hiring Tulane offensive coordinator Will Hall as its next head coach.
An official announcement is expected later Wednesday. Hall, 40, spent the past two seasons with the Green Wave after previous assistant coaching stops at Memphis and Louisiana. He served as head coach at both Division II West Georgia and West Alabama.
Southern Miss became first FBS school to make a coaching change this season, parting ways with Jay Hopson following an opening loss to South Alabama. Scotty Walden took over as interim coach before leaving for the top job at FCS Austin Peay, and Tim Billings has since led the Golden Eagles in the interim role.
Hall is the son of Bobby Hall, a Hall of Fame high school coach in Mississippi who won four state championships, one with his son as a player. Will Hall was a junior college All-America quarterback at Northwest Mississippi Community College and then went on to North Alabama, where he won Division II player of the year honors in 2003.
Southern Miss prioritized previous head-coaching experience for Hopson’s replacement. Baylor defensive coordinator Ron Roberts, the former head coach at Southeastern Louisiana and Delta State, and New York Giants assistant Bret Bielema, the former head coach at Arkansas and Wisconsin, also were strongly considered for the job. Other candidates included Indiana defensive coordinator Kane Wommack and Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee.