Southern Miss head coach Will Hall is fired from the head coaching job, effective immediately.

Assistant Head Coach/General Manager Reed Stringer will serve as the Golden Eagles’ interim head coach for the remainder of the 2024 season.

“We are grateful to Will and his family for their dedication to Southern Miss over the past four years,” Director of Athletics Jeremy McClain said. “Will poured his heart and soul into this program and into shaping these young men. Unfortunately, the results on the field didn’t align with our shared goals and expectations.”

Hall will receive nearly $860,000. per the buyout clause of his contract, which is the remainder of his contract. Payments may be made in installments rather than as a lump sum.

This decision follows a 44-28 homecoming loss to Arkansas State, and four years of frustration and disappointment riddled with injuries and set backs.

“Our immediate focus is twofold: first, supporting our student-athletes throughout the remainder of the season, and second, conducting a comprehensive national search to identify the next leader for Southern Miss football,” McClain said. “This is a proud program with an outstanding history and a premier job in college football. We will find the next leader to usher us into a new era of championship success.”

Hall, in his fourth season as head coach, compiled a 14-30 record during his tenure. Although he led Southern Miss to a bowl victory in 2022, Athletic Director Jeremy McClain decided it was time for a change in leadership.

Hall was hired in December 2020 and immediately began focusing on recruiting to rebuild the Southern Miss program.

His inaugural season in 2021 was marked by adversity. The Golden Eagles lost several quarterbacks to injury early in the season, forcing Hall to implement an unconventional “Superback” offense, where a running back led the offense from a shotgun formation. Southern Miss won two games this way and finished 3-9.

In Hall’s second season, the team saw marked improvement. Southern Miss returned to a bowl game for the first time since 2019 and secured its first bowl victory since 2016 by defeating Rice in the LendingTree Bowl. The Golden Eagles’ defense was particularly strong, ranking No. 2 nationally in tackles for loss (8.3 per game), No. 3 in fourth-down conversions allowed (.231), No. 4 in sacks (3.38 per game) and defensive touchdowns (4), and No. 7 in interceptions (17).

Expectations were high for the 2023 season with many starters returning on both sides of the ball. However, after a season-opening win against Alcorn State, the Golden Eagles dropped their next seven games, including a 55-3 loss to archrival South Alabama, the worst conference defeat in school history. Southern Miss finished the 2023 season with a 3-9 record, marking Hall’s second season with that result.

There was debate over whether to retain Hall for the 2024 season, but the administration ultimately decided to give him another chance.

“We don’t think we’re that far away,” ESPN reported McClain saying. “Even if the record isn’t where we want it to be, we believe we’re close to turning the corner.”

During the offseason, Hall made significant changes, including hiring Chip Long and Clay Bignell as offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively, and securing the Sun Belt’s top recruiting class along with key transfers. Despite these efforts, success eluded the Golden Eagles in 2024.

Hall expressed confidence in his team at Sun Belt Media Days, stating, “We have everything in place to win.”

However, the team struggled, losing its opener to Kentucky, underperforming against Southeastern Louisiana, and suffering a blowout loss at home to USF before the devastating defeat to Jacksonville State.

Hall finished his tenure 10-30 against FBS teams.

Southern Miss will begin its search for a new head coach immediately.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.