Charles Huff Cites NIL Support Among Reasons He Took Southern Miss Job

G5 Football Daily Staff | Feb 3, 2025

Dec 19, 2023; Frisco, TX, USA; Marshall Thundering Herd head coach Charles Huff looks on during the second quarter against the UTSA Roadrunners at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images / Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

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In one of the most substantial moves of the offseason, Charles Huff’s intraconference move from Marshall head coach to taking the head coach opening at Southern Miss raised eyebrows.

The 41-year-old Huff amassed a 32-20 record with four bowl appearances at the helm of the Thundering Herd and had enjoyed his finest season in Huntington, guiding the program to a 10-3 record and a Sun Belt title.

However, Huff left prior to Marshall’s bowl game, taking the job in Hattiesburg as he’ll look to rebuild the Golden Eagles, who have gone 14-30 over the last four seasons.

In a radio interview with WALU 99.3 in Laurel, Miss, Huff opened up on his decision to leave Marshall for Southern Miss.

“There really wasn’t an option to stay at Marshall,” Huff said of the end of his tenure with the Thundering Herd.

In the ever-evolving climate of college football, Huff noted that the financial support of the program in Hattiesburg played a factor in his joining the program, specifically the To The Top Collective.

"Southern Miss is a little ahead of the curve comparatively to the Sun Belt with the NIL and the To The Top Collective...The establishment of the To The Top collective, the generation of funds and support that they already had going there, there are a lot of teams in this conference, at this level, that are not there yet."

Huff will look to guide the Southern Miss program back to their first bowl game since 2019.

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