Former Utah State and Arkansas State head coach Blake Anderson was named Southern Miss’ next offensive coordinator. The Pine Belt News first reported that Anderson was being considered for the job on Friday.
The school announced his hiring on Wednesday afternoon.
Anderson was Southern Miss’ offensive coordinator from 2008 to 2011 during former head coach Larry Fedora’s tenure.
Anderson comes to Southern Miss after facing controversy from his previous head coaching job at Utah State that led to him being terminated with cause in July.
Anderson was fired for allegedly violating Title IX reporting requirements regarding a football player’s off-campus arrest for domestic violence in the spring of 2023. However, as of late November, Anderson is countersuing the school and is seeking $15 million in damages. Anderson argues that he followed the school’s protocol and believes that he was scapegoated due to the school’s ongoing issues with the Department of Justice according to a story by the Salt Lake Tribune.
An investigation by the Kansas City law firm Husch Blackwell found that Anderson talked directly to the alleged victim about what she reported happened - rather than immediately reporting it to the proper USU officials. USU fired Anderson for violations of his contract. The school’s deputy athletic director, director of player development, and executive associate athletic director for internal affairs were all terminated without any reason given.
The Department of Justice has been investigating Utah State’s football program, the school’s fraternities and sororities, and the piano program in 2017 for sexual misconduct and harassment. In August, the school was handed a notice of substantial non-compliance.
Anderson went 23-17 during his three-year tenure at Utah State, leading the school to a Mountain West title and bowl eligibility each year. He had four years remaining on his contract.
Anderson was considered one of the hottest names in the coaching ranks after his first stint at USM. He followed Fedora to North Carolina, where he helped set 35 school records before taking his first head coaching job at Arkansas State. Anderson won two Sun Belt championships and led the program to bowl eligibility in six out of seven years. He finished with an overall record of 51-37 and a 38-18 mark in the Sun Belt.
During his time at Arkansas State, Anderson's wife, Wendy, died after a public battle with an aggressive form of breast cancer in 2019. Further tragedy struck Anderson after his move to Utah State. In February of 2022, Anderson’s son, Cason, died by suicide at the age of 21.
As of now, the Golden Eagles coaching staff is expected to include Aaron Dobson as the wide receivers coach, Julian Miller as the defensive line coach, and Dominique Brown as the defensive backs coach.
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