On what was a cold, dreary Monday afternoon, hundreds of Southern Miss fans weathered the conditions and packed out a room inside the Trent Lott Center in Hattiesburg to hear from the university’s new head football coach, Blake Anderson.
It wasn’t as much an introduction per se, considering Anderson just wrapped up the first regular season of his second stint as the team’s offensive coordinator, as it was a chance for Anderson to begin laying out what the future of Golden Eagle football might look like under him.
Coming back to campus under now-Memphis head coach Charles Huff and helping engineer what was one of college football’s statistically best turnarounds in 2025 – quickly jumping to 7-5 after a disastrous 1-11 campaign in 2024 – Anderson said the key to his tenure as Southern Miss’ 24th head coach will be working off the foundation this year’s team has built and continues to build with a bowl game on the horizon.
“Taking the torch from what [Huff] did, which was phenomenal to do what we did in this first year under all the circumstances of college ball and just trying to continue to build on that, and that’s what I’m going to do,” Anderson said. “What I promise you is we will not waste the opportunity. I do not take for granted standing here.”
Athletic director Jeremy McClain could have gone several directions with what was his second coaching search in as many years. Names were floated around like Kennesaw State’s Jerry Mack, Indiana coordinators Bryant Haines and Mike Shanahan, former Auburn offensive coordinator Derrick Nix, and even fired Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze.
However, McClain said he engaged with multiple candidates and put a search firm on “standby” before deciding five days after Huff agreed to a contract with Memphis that Anderson was the right fit for the job.
“It was really helpful to see Blake amongst our players, our people, and the Southern Miss faithful this year,” McClain explained. “We felt we had a really qualified person in the building to move forward.”
While Anderson was right down the hall, proximity and recent success within weren’t the only reasons McClain went with him. Before returning to Southern Miss, where he was offensive coordinator from 2008-11, Anderson was a successful head coach at Arkansas State (2014-20) and Utah State (2021-23). He has a 74-54 head coaching record to his name, including nine bowl appearances and three conference titles.
“He’s beyond ready to do this,” McClain said.
Anderson will undoubtedly have more responsibilities when it comes to team management and navigating the ups and downs of the recruiting trail and NIL. He said he’s ready for all that, too. But according to him, first thing’s first and that’s winning next Tuesday’s New Orleans Bowl against Western Kentucky.
“It’s a big challenge for us,” he said. “We need to try to find a way to win a bowl game with this group, finish strong, win eight games, and focus on what we’re going to do next year.”
As for next year and the team’s staff, Anderson did note that he already has an offensive coordinator and strength coach secured but did not disclose who.