Southern Miss found a new play-caller in the aftermath of the football program parting ways with offensive coordinator Chip Long.
Interim head coach Reed Stringer confirmed to the media on Tuesday that quarterbacks coach Jack Walker has been given offensive play-calling duties. The update comes just one day after it was confirmed that Long is no longer a member of the Golden Eagles’ coaching staff.
“That was the best move — for us to make a change there and just give a different perspective there on how we’re doing things,” Stringer said. “I’m going to let Jack Walker call plays. He’s our quarterbacks coach. He’s the guy who talks to the quarterbacks. He calls plays to the quarterbacks during practice. I just felt like that’s what I wanted to do.”
Though Walker will be calling plays, the role of offensive coordinator will be filled by a committee of Southern Miss coaches, per Stringer.
Walker, a Madison Central alum, began his college football journey as a player at Georgia State before transferring to Northwest Mississippi Community College. As the Rangers’ signal caller, Walker led the Rangers to an 8-3 record and a MACJC North Division championship in 2019. He completed 147 passes for 2,279 yards and 20 touchdowns.
He then transferred to Southern Miss and was one of the Golden Eagles’ field generals for a season before transitioning into a coaching role as a graduate assistant for two years. Walker was promoted by former Golden Eagle head coach Will Hall as quarterbacks coach ahead of this season.
Hall was fired just over three weeks ago after a 1-6 start to the season. The team’s lone win came against FCS Southeastern Louisiana. Long, who came to Southern Miss after stints at Notre Dame, Memphis, and Georgia Tech, among other programs, was let go two games after Hall’s termination.
Southern Miss’ most recent outing was a 37-3 home loss to conference foe Marshall. The Golden Eagles (1-8, 0-5 Sun Belt) will continue a bleak campaign against Texas State on the road on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT.
