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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Marshall‘s Charles Huff, who was coaching through the final season of his contract, is closing in a new Sun Belt destination, with sources telling ESPN that Huff expected to be hired as Southern Miss‘ next coach.
The sides are expected to come together Sunday and formalize the deal, sources said.
Marshall won the Sun Belt conference title Saturday night, blowing out Louisiana in Lafayette 31-3. That completed a dominant season in league play, as Marshall finished 8-1 against Sun Belt teams.
Southern Miss, meanwhile, went 1-11 this season, didn’t win a game in the Sun Belt and fired coach Will Hall in late October.
Huff’s move to Southern Miss isn’t a surprise. With Huff in the final year of his deal, he had been involved in multiple searches as Marshall won the Sun Belt East and went on to claim the league title.
Prior to this season, Huff turned down the opportunity to extend his contract at Marshall because of steep buyout terms and coached through the deal, essentially betting on himself. He has led the Thundering Herd to high-profile wins at Notre Dame and over Virginia Tech over the past three seasons.
Once jobs like Temple and Kennesaw State went off the board and Southern Miss’ search went quiet, the sides were aligned to link up. Southern Miss is set to bring in a coach with a 32-20 overall record and four bowl appearances in four seasons.
Southern Miss last made four consecutive bowl games under Larry Fedora in a run that ended in 2010. The Golden Eagles have been bowl eligible just once in five years.
Huff brings a wide background of experience, as he has worked as an assistant for Nick Saban, James Franklin, Dan Mullen and P.J. Fleck.
NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson is Marshall’s top target to replace Huff, according to ESPN’s Chris Low.