Reed Stringer is no stranger to coaching changes at Southern Miss.
In fact Will Hall's firing is Stringer's fourth go-around of dealing with a coaching change, but it's now his first time as the interim coach.
"Everybody that touches this team has responded the right way," said Stringer, who has served as the assistant head coach and general manager. "We are just going to keep working and keep trying to be a better football team and make something these last five games that the administration and university can be proud of."
On Sunday night, Stringer was asked to take over as the interim coach by Jeremy McClain. In the two hours between, a staff meeting was held, followed by a team meeting, during which Hall delivered one last message to the team.
"I've been a part of four of these transition of coaches," said Stringer, who has been coaching Division I since 2003. "I've never had the interim role, but I've been a part of it. There are some things that I've seen in the past to do and some things that I've seen in the past of what not to do. We are just going to stick together.
"Our new motto for the rest of the year is 'Do your job.' Don't worry about anybody else's job. You do yours. If you do your job well, then you can lay your head on the pillow and sleep well."
Stringer said not to expect major changes, but the team did hold a 40-minute practice on Monday, with the first practice on Tuesday.
"We are beating ourselves right now," Stringer said. "We are not playing the type of football that we can play. A lot of that is because we are not taking care of us.
"The first thing I told them was that I knew it was a tough day, but you can't be mad. Don't be mad at the administration. Don't be mad at the coaches. Don't be mad at each other. We haven't been playing good football, and that's on everybody."
Stringer said his main goal is to hand over a stabilized program for the next coach.
"I think this job is a really good job," Stringer said. "Whoever has the chance to come in and take this job is taking over this program is where it needs to be academically. The freshmen and sophomores are really talented. I'm going to hold these guys together. I'm going to hold this staff together. I'm going to get it to where the next person that comes in and let them choose how they want to go forward. That's ultimately my job to make sure that the team is intact. That we are playing hard and that all the intangibles are working together, so when McClain and them go out to find the right fit that they take over something that we can be proud to pass over to them."
Follow @AndrewAbadie on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook for Southern Miss coverage.
