Southern Miss football is hiring Marshall's Charles Huff as its new coach, a source confirmed to the Hattiesburg American on Sunday.
Huff has been the Marshall coach for the last four seasons. He replaces Will Hall, who was fired by the Golden Eagles on Oct. 20 midway through his fourth season.
Here's what to know about Huff.
Huff walks away from Marshall off his best season.
The Thundering Herd (10-3) have won seven games in a row, including a 37-3 beatdown at Southern Miss on Nov. 9. It brought them to their first Sun Belt Conference championship game as the East Division's winner. Marshall crushed Louisiana 31-3 on the road on Saturday.
This wasn't an outlier season for Huff and Marshall, however. Huff had qualified for four bowl games in four seasons, including a 9-4 record in 2022.
Speculation began after the regular season ended that Huff was tied to the Southern Miss job, though he denied it when asked by reporters before the Sun Belt Championship game.
A big factor in Huff being available was that he was coaching on an expiring contract.
According to his contract obtained by USA TODAY, Huff's deal was set to expire on Jan. 31. Huff said at Sun Belt media days this summer that there were talks of an extension with him and Marshall. That never was completed.
Huff was paid $755,000 annually at Marshall, which was $69,000 less than what Hall made at Southern Miss.
Huff played college football at Hampton from 2001-05 and began his coaching career the next season at Tennessee State. He's been on the coaching staffs of Nick Saban at Alabama and James Franklin at Penn State.
Huff was hired as Penn State's running backs coach and special teams coordinator in 2014 and was there until 2017. He coached star running back Saquon Barkley at Penn State from 2015-17 until Barkley was the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Huff was an assistant at Mississippi State for one season in 2018 before joining Saban at Alabama as the associate and running backs head coach in 2019 and 2020.
Huff was an assistant on the offensive side of the ball as he climbed the coaching ladder. At Marshall, his defenses have been a strength of the team.
The Marshall defense has been top three in its conference in points allowed per game in three of his four seasons. Jason Semore has been the defensive coordinator for the last two seasons. Lance Guidry preceded him and has been Miami's defensive coordinator since 2023.
The Thundering Herd defense allowed 23.1 points per game, second-best in the Sun Belt. It boasted the Sun Belt Player of the Year in sophomore defensive lineman Mike Green, who was first in the country in tackles for loss (21) and second in sacks (16). Linebacker Jaden Yates and defensive back JJ Roberts were first-team All-Sun Belt selections, in addition to Green.
Marshall averaged 31.8 points per game, it's most since joining the Sun Belt in 2022. Quarterback Braylon Braxton, a transfer from Tulsa, was the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year and a second-team all-conference honoree.
MORE: Southern Miss football signing day updates: Recruiting rankings, best players in 2025 class
Marshall didn't recruit super well with Huff in terms of 247Sports Composite Rankings. Huff averaged a worse national ranking, 101.3, than Hall's 78 at Southern Miss.
Southern Miss signed better recruiting classes in 2023 and 2024. Marshall had a standout class in 2022 that was ranked 57th nationally and No. 1 in the Sun Belt.
In the transfer portal, Marshall and Southern Miss have been neck and neck. The Golden Eagles averaged a 73 ranking in the last three seasons, while Marshall was at 75.3.
Huff was able to win many more games with his recruiting and transfer classes than Southern Miss though.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.