Tag: Huff

Sep 21, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Marshall Thundering Herd head coach Charles Huff during the first quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Ex-Marshall leader Charles Huff introduced as Southern Miss coach

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Charles Huff posted 10 wins and earned a conference title this season for Marshall but will now venture into a major rebuilding project.

That’s because Huff was formally introduced as coach of Southern Miss on Thursday. The Golden Eagles went 1-11 this season and have won three or fewer games in four of the past five seasons.

“It wasn’t a, ‘OK, you’re looking at championship to worst team in the conference,’” Huff said at his unveiling in Hattiesburg, Miss. “It was, ‘Hey, you’re looking at a situation where holistically you feel you’re in a better situation, people, resources, opportunity, community buy-in, everything involved.’”

Huff, 41, went 32-20 with the Thundering Herd and won his last seven games with the school, including a 31-3 shellacking of Louisiana in the Sun Belt championship game last Saturday.

One day later, he agreed to a four-year deal worth $950,000 annually with Southern Miss. Earlier this season, Huff’s Marshall team crushed the host Golden Eagles 37-3.

Southern Miss fired Will Hall after seven games (1-6) and Reed Stringer (0-5) finished out the season on an interim basis.

Marshall will face Army in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 28. Associate head coach Telly Lockette will lead the squad in the bowl game.

The Thundering Herd hired North Carolina State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson as their new head coach.

–Field Level Media

Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Bryce Huff (0) against the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Eagles pass rusher Bryce Huff out after wrist procedure

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Eagles edge rusher Bryce Huff is out for an undetermined recovery period because of a procedure scheduled for Thursday on his injured left wrist.

Head coach Nick Sirianni said Huff should be able to return before the end of the regular season.

He’s been bothered by a wrist issue since Nov. 3, hurt during pregame warmups ahead of Philadelphia’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He tried to play but was limited to six snaps.

“I can’t say enough of how he battled through all those different things. I really admire the way he battled through and played with that cast on,” Sirianni said Wednesday.

Huff signed a $51 million deal to join the Eagles in free agency after a career-best 10 sacks with the New York Jets in 2023.

The Eagles (8-2) haven’t lost since September and have 28 sacks this season with 2.5 from Huff and stronger contributions from his competition at the position. Josh Sweat leads the team with 6.0 sacks and Nolan Smith has 3.5.

Rookie Jalyx Hunt played a season-high 25 snaps at Dallas. He was the 94th pick in the 2024 draft and could be in line for a larger role while Huff recovers.

“We really like our room,” Sirianni said of divvying out Huff’s reps. “They’ve been playing at a really high level. We obviously drafted Jalyx because we liked his skill set. He’s been doing a lot of good things on special teams.”

–Field Level Media

Sep 9, 2023; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Elko looks on before the game against the Lafayette Leopards at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Take 5: Ranking Michigan State’s top options to replace Mel Tucker

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Chaos is in full swing in East Lansing, Mich., before the calendar hits October.

Michigan State is a double-digit underdog at Iowa on Saturday after officially firing coach Mel Tucker this week. While Tucker was on administrative leave, the Spartans lost their first two games against Power 5 schools this season by a combined score of 72-16.

If there’s a silver lining — and you have to look deep with Tucker planning to file a wrongful termination lawsuit — it’s that athletic director Alan Haller can get a head start on finding his replacement.

Here are five candidates the Spartans might put at the top of their wish list:

5. Charles Huff (Marshall head coach)
Huff made national headlines when the Thundering Herd upset Notre Dame last season when the Irish were ranked No. 8. He has a 19-10 record at Marshall in his third season, but also boasts ties to Nick Saban, having served as Alabama’s running backs coach from 2019-20. Just 40 years old, Huff spent four seasons on James Franklin’s staff at Penn State and is considered an up-and-coming coach who is likely to land a Power 5 gig sooner than later.

4. Sean Lewis (Colorado offensive coordinator)
The former Kent State head coach is only 37 years old and has received plenty of national attention while running Deion Sanders’ offense in Boulder. Though the Spartans have a reputation for preferring defensive-minded coaches, the game is changing with the transfer portal and several more powerhouse programs set to join the Big Ten next year. Lewis would bring recruiting credibility – especially in the transfer portal if the Spartans are seeking a quick turnaround.

3. Lance Leipold (Kansas head coach)
Leipold built a Division III powerhouse at Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he won six national titles, before moving on to Buffalo and winning two MAC Coach of the Year awards. The 59-year-old got his first crack with a Power 5 program at lowly Kansas, where he is in the midst of performing another remarkable turnaround with the Jayhawks off to a 4-0 start after the program’s first bowl game appearance last year since 2008. The Spartans would face a few significant hurdles if they choose to pursue Leipold — beginning with a buyout of more than $12 million. Leipold, whose contract runs through 2029, said this week that he has work left to do at Kansas.

2. Mike Tressel (Wisconsin defensive coordinator)
For an embattled program like MSU, a respected connection to the past could be very appealing. Tressel, the nephew of former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, was on the Spartans’ defensive staff for 14 years and took over as the interim head coach after Mark Dantonio’s retirement. He stayed on when Tucker was hired before leaving to join Luke Fickell’s staff with Cincinnati in 2021. Tressel followed him to Wisconsin this year.

1. Mike Elko (Duke head coach)
Elko is one of the hottest names in coaching circles as he continues to guide the Blue Devils to remarkable success after earning ACC Coach of the Year honors in his debut season in 2022. Duke is 13-4 under Elko after going a combined 10-25 in the three seasons before he arrived. Duke upset Clemson to open this season and Elko’s status will continue to rise if the Blue Devils can knock off Notre Dame, where he served as the Irish’s defensive coordinator in 2017, on Saturday. The quick success is a tribute to Elko’s ability to work the transfer portal, and Michigan State could find plenty of competition for the 46-year-old — if Elko is even open to leaving Raleigh after just two seasons.

There are numerous potential candidates for the Spartans to assess. Tops among them could be Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith and Washington State’s Jake Dickert, who both have their teams ranked in the top 25 for programs that face an uncertain future as the lone remaining members of the Pac-12 in 2024 as of now.

One coach who apparently won’t be under consideration for Haller is Kansas State’s Chris Klieman, who said in an interview with Sirius XM this week that he “will not be a candidate for that job” when asked about Michigan State.

–Field Level Media

Nov 7, 2020; Huntington, West Virginia, USA; The Marshall Thundering Herd logo is seen on a pylon in the end zone before a game against the Massachusetts Minutemen at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: Marshall to hire Alabama assistant Charles Huff as coach

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Marshall is in the process of hiring Alabama running backs coach Charles Huff as its new head coach, according to multiple reports.

Huff’s hiring is expected to be discussed and approved by the university’s board of governors on Monday. Huff also had the associate head coach label at Alabama and would become the 12th current Black head coach at the FBS level.

The 37-year-old Huff will replace Doc Holliday, who was let go after 11 seasons with the Thundering Herd.

Huff is the second Alabama assistant to land a head job in recent weeks. Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is the new coach at Texas.

The Crimson Tide averaged 48.5 points while going 13-0 this season. Alabama rolled to a 52-24 victory over Ohio State in the College Football Playoff title game earlier this week.

Huff just finished his second season with the Crimson Tide. Among his college assistant stops was Penn State (2014-17), where he was the position coach of All-American back Saquon Barkley. He also was the assistant running backs coach for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills in 2012.

Huff has drawn rave reviews for his recruiting throughout a college coaching career that began in 2006. He played college football at Hampton and was the team’s starting center in 2005.

Holliday compiled an 85-54 record after taking over the Huntington, W.Va., program in 2010, including a 6-2 record in bowl games and three straight 10-win seasons from 2013-15.

This season, the Thundering Herd went 7-3 and were ranked as high as No. 15. Holliday was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year for the second time.

–Field Level Media