Southern Miss Names Jay Hopson New Head Football Coach

Alcorn State head coach Jay Hopson is expected to be named the next coach at Southern Mississippi, according to a report. Hopson replaces Todd Monken, who left last week after three seasons to become the offensive coordinator for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Hopson was presented to the public at a press conference this afternoon.

Southern Miss athletic director Bill McGillis announced the hiring Saturday night on Twitter.

This will be the third stint with the Golden Eagles for Hopson, who spent a six total seasons in Hattiesburg as defensive backs coach from 2001-03 and defensive coordinator from 2005-07. As Alcorn State’s head coach, he held a 32-17 record across four seasons. He and the rest of the USM staff will be challenged to keep this year’s group of commits together for National Signing Day on Wednesday.

He has also coached with Delta State, Marshall University and one season at Ole Miss, where he played defensive back from 1988-91.

He coached linebackers at MI and spent two years as defensive coordinator at Memphis before taking the Alcorn State job. In his last two, he lead the Braves to back-to-back SWAC Championships. He was the first white head coach in SWAC history. The Golden Eagles won the Conference USA Western Division before losing to Western Kentucky in the league title game. Quarterback Nick Mullens, the 2015 C-USA Offensive Player of the Year, also will return for USM.