SWAC Football: Southern University hires a new head coach – sort of

SWAC football’s Southern University Jaguars hired a new head coach, well, sort of. The Jaguars have hired James Rollins, safeties coach and special teams coordinator, as its interim head coach. The hire comes on the heels of former head coach Dawson Odoms’ departure and hiring at Norfolk State.

Rollins has no head coaching experience but has plenty of experience as a position coach and coordinator. Including last season, Rollins comes to the Bluff with 24 years of coaching experience.

Rollins’s coaching career started at McNeese State, his alma mater, as a defensive backs coach. Before coming to Southern, Rollins spent four years at Texas-San Antonio, also coaching the secondary and defensive coordinator.

Rollins’s longest tenure was at Tulane, where he spent nine years.

Not quite who you expected?

The Rollins hire is the finish of a roller coaster-like series of rumors and events after Odoms left. First, Alabama A&M head coach Connell Maynor was rumored to have flown to Baton Rouge to interview for the job. Instead, Maynor signed an extension with the Bulldogs Thursday.

New Orleans high school legend and NFL Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk were listed as candidates, and there was mutual interest. However, promoting in-house keeps continuity within the program and will help keep this recruiting class together.

Though Marshall Faulk could have been “splashy” as a hire, there is some resentment about former pros who did not go to HBCUs with no coaching experience taking these jobs over those who served at an HBCU as a coach or coordinator.

Southern has a good team returning this fall with the possibility of quarterback Ladarious Skelton returning next season and junior SWAC defensive player of the year Jordan Lewis coming back as well.

The big questions are, “why the interim tag?” Is Southern extending their search for a permanent head coach? Is Rollins auditioning this fall to see if he can handle the job long-term?

Time will tell.