The Southern Miss football team has parted ways with offensive coordinator Chip Long amid a dismal 2024 campaign.
During the Sun Belt Conference football coaches’ press conferences on Monday interim Golden Eagle head football coach Reed Stringer confirmed that Long is no longer with the program, stating that his removal was “in the best interest of the team.”
Long’s ousting comes just three weeks after former Southern Miss frontman Will Hall was fired. Hall brought Long on to right the ship of an offense that had lost its top weapon — running back Frank Gore, Jr. — after an unimpressive 3-9 season.
The presence of the new playcaller had little meaningful impact as offensive woes have played a large part in the Golden Eagles’ struggles this year. Southern Miss currently holds a 1-8 record on the year, with the lone win coming in an underwhelming outing versus an FCS foe.
Southern Miss is averaging just over 16 points per game this year while the team’s opponents are posting an average of 34 points when playing the Golden Eagles. Long’s offense is responsible for a total of 2,616 total yards, four passing touchdowns, and 13 interceptions.
“Our kids are resilient. We have some players that are better than our 1-8 record and they realized we needed to make some changes,” Stringer said. “Until we stop having some self-inflicted wounds, we will not be able to win any football games.”
Ahead of his time in Hattiesburg, Long served as the offensive coordinator for Georgia Tech (2022), Tulane (2021), Notre Dame (2017-19), and Memphis (2016) while making stops at Louisville, Arkansas, Illinois, Arizona State, Tennessee, and Louisville in an offensive coaching position.
Stringer mentioned that he had an idea who would call plays, but did not make an official announcement as to who will fill Long’s shoes in the interim.
Southern Miss will hit the road and compete against Texas State at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday. The game will begin at 6 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
