Southern Miss coach Will Hall will return for a fourth season as the school's head coach, a source told ESPN.
Hall is 13-23 through three years, including 3-8 entering Saturday's home game against Troy (9-2). Southern Miss won the Lending Tree Bowl last year and finished the 2022 season at 7-6, the lone winning season in Hall's three seasons at the helm.
Southern Miss officials have made the decision for Hall to return for the 2024 season collectively, a source told ESPN, and the decision has been conveyed to Hall as part of ongoing conversations about the program.
Although there are some program changes expected, Hall will return next year because of an administrative confidence in the culture he has built there and in the recruiting battles he's been winning.
"We don't think that we are that far away," a source told ESPN. "Even if the record isn't where we want it to be, we don't think we are that far away from getting there."
There are signs of progress for the Golden Eagles, including the promise of freshman quarterback Ethan Crawford, the potential starter Saturday against Troy. Crawford, who is from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has shown some early flashes for Southern Miss.
The program also snapped a seven-game losing streak with back-to-back league wins earlier this month, topping Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana in consecutive games. Last week, Southern Miss fell 41-20 at Mississippi State.
Hall is an experienced head coach, as he had successful stints at West Alabama (2011-13) and West Georgia (2014-16), where he went a combined 56-20 as a head coach and had four combined postseason appearances.
He came to Southern Miss after a successful 2019-20 stint as Tulane's offensive coordinator. He's a native of Amory, Mississippi, and played there for his father, Bobby Hall, a legendary high school coach in the state.