Tulane Names Will Hall Its New Football Coach
Tulane athletics announced Monday the hiring of current passing coordinator and wide receives coach Will Hall as its new head football coach. The team was told first by athletic director David Harris.
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Hall, a highly accomplished head coach with 70 collegiate wins that produced seven winning seasons, will be introduced officially on Tuesday at 11 a.m. in the Jill H. and Avram A. Glazer Family Club, on the second floor of Yulman Stadium (2900 Ben Weiner Drive). The event is open to the general public and will be livestreamed via the ESPN+ and the Green Wave's YouTube channel. Doors to the event will open at 10:30 a.m.
Hall rejoined Tulane in 2025 after serving as the program's Offensive Coordinator from 2019-2020, helping the Green Wave set offensive records and elevate the team's profile nationally. His offense in 2025 was a multi-threat unit, with four receivers catching 30 or more passes, led by Shazz Preston's four touchdowns, and quarterback Jake Retzlaff throwing for nearly 3,000 yards and 14 touchdowns.
"We are thrilled to select Will Hall to be our head coach," said Harris. "His character, integrity, and leadership qualities are evident both on and off the field. With extensive head coaching experience and a proven track record of success at every level, Will embodies the qualities we value in our program. We believe he is the right person to lead Tulane Football into its next chapter."
Prior to his current stint at Tulane, Hall spent three-plus seasons as head coach at the University of Southern Mississippi, guiding the Golden Eagles through transitions in conference affiliation and a 38-24 victory in the 2022 Lending Tree Bowl over Rice. Earlier that season, Hall's squad came into Yulman Stadium and knocked off the Cotton Bowl-bound Green Wave 27-24 in a year where Southern Miss faced three 10-win opponents.
"I'm truly honored to accept this opportunity to serve as Tulane's head football coach," said Hall. "Tulane has been a special place for me. I've felt the unique spirit of Tulane and the strength of its culture. I'm excited to lead this program with a deep respect for its history, its people, and the city of New Orleans. Together, we'll build on our success and continue to embody the resilience, pride, and excellence that make Tulane and this community so extraordinary."
A native of Amory, Mississippi, Hall made an immediate impact on the Tulane offense during his offensive coordinator stint, helping the Green Wave rewrite its offensive record books. The Green Wave finished the 2019 season ranked 11th in the nation in rushing offense (243.2), 22nd in total offense (449.3) and 30th in scoring offense (33.1). Tulane rushed for more than 200 yards in nine games and 300 or more four times. The Tulane offense set the program record in rushing yards at 3,162 yards in 2019 and ranked second in program history in rushing yards per game (243.2), rushing touchdowns (33) and rushing first downs (166).
"We are thrilled to welcome Coach Hall as head coach of the champion Green Wave football program," said Tulane University President Michael A. Fitts. "He takes the helm at Tulane at a time when we are experiencing unprecedented upward trajectory in every measure of university success, including the academic achievement of our students, the impact of our research and clinical care, the historic physical expansion of our campuses, and of course, athletics."
In 2020, the Green Wave enjoyed more success offensively as it finished No. 17 nationally in rushing offense (217.1), 19th in first downs (258) and 22nd in scoring offense (34.7).
"Tulane is among the top universities in the country, in everything from academics to athletics," said Patrick Norton, Tulane University senior vice president and chief operating officer. "Our student-athletes excel both in the classroom and across the 17 sports in which they compete, and we are excited to see where Coach Hall takes the football program next."
Hall joined the Green Wave coaching staff after he spent the 2018 campaign as the Associate Head Coach/Tight Ends Coach at the University of Memphis where he helped guide the Tigers to the American Athletic Conference Championship game for the second straight season and helped the Tigers to their fifth straight bowl appearance.
During his lone season at Memphis, Hall helped guide the Tigers to a school record 42 rushing touchdowns during the regular season. In addition, Memphis finished the regular season with 3,311 rushing yards, setting a new school record. Memphis' offense ranked in the nation's top 10 in rushing (No. 5, 275.9), scoring offense (No. 6, 43.8) and total offense (No. 6, 530.3) under Hall's assistance.
Hall joined the Memphis staff in January 2018 after spending the 2017 season as the offensive coordinator for the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns, where six offensive players received all-conference honors. The Cajuns ranked among the best in the nation in red zone offense and turnovers lost with just 16.
In his one season as offensive coordinator at Louisiana, the Ragin' Cajuns compiled the Sun Belt Conference's third-best rushing offense with 2,204 yards and 27 rushing touchdowns. The Louisiana offense tied for the second-fewest turnovers in the Sun Belt during the 2017 season. The Cajuns were also efficient in the red zone, leading the Sun Belt by scoring on 92.9-percent of their red zone chances.
In his three-year head coaching stint at West Georgia (UWG), Hall led the Wolves to a 31-9 record, the first Gulf South Conference (GSC) title since 2000 and a pair of NCAA Division II semifinal appearances. His first two seasons at UWG produced a pair of 12-win seasons before he finished 7-4 in 2016. Hall was twice named GSC Coach of the Year and was the Super Region 2 Coach of the Year.
From 2011-13 as the head coach at West Alabama, his teams won two league titles and twice earned spots in the NCAA Division II Playoffs.
Prior to his six seasons at West Alabama, Hall enjoyed successful stints on the coaching staffs at Arkansas-Monticello, Southwest Baptist, Henderson State and Presbyterian. Hall's achievements in the coaching profession are a carryover from his illustrious career on the playing field at North Alabama.
Hall played for his father, Bobby Hall, at Amory High School leading the Panthers to the 1998 Mississippi High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Class 3A state title. From 1999-2000, he attended Northwest Mississippi Community College, where he was a two-time National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American. In 2000, Hall set a NJCAA record for total offense in a season (4,075 yards) and added an NJCAA single-game record with nine touchdown passes.
Hall then moved to North Alabama, where he was a quarterback for the Lions from 2002-03. He won the Harlan Hill Trophy in 2003, emblematic of being America's top player in NCAA Division II. In 2003, Hall, who threw for 3,531 yards and 30 touchdowns, led the Lions to a 13-1 record and an NCAA Division II semifinals appearance.
In 2004, Hall signed a contract to play for the Tupelo FireAnts of the National Indoor Football League. Playing once again for his father, who was the head coach for the team, Hall passed for 2,046 yards and 44 touchdowns while rushing for 13 scores in the 14-game season.
A 2003 graduate of North Alabama, Hall, and wife Rebecca, have two sons – Tripp and Pete.
Tulane, the 11 seed in this year's College Football Playoff field, is 11-2 this season and will face sixth-seeded Ole Miss in the bracket's first round on Saturday, December 20 at 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be played in Oxford, Mississippi and will air on TNT/HBO Max.
Portions Courtesy Tulane Athletics
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.