(Photo credit: Troy Babbitt-Imagn Images)

Southern Mississippi named Blake Anderson its new coach on Thursday, just three days after promoting the offensive coordinator to interim head coach.

Charles Huff left the Golden Eagles for the Memphis job, creating the opening for Anderson to become head coach of his third different program. He previously was the head man at Arkansas State and Utah State.

'We are excited to announce Blake Anderson as the next leader of our football program,' Southern Miss athletic director Jeremy McClain said in a statement. 'He brings a wealth of experience and a 10-year run as a successful head coach, including multiple conference championships in the Sun Belt, a Mountain West conference championship, and nine bowl appearances.

'Blake is an exceptional leader, a great communicator, and has the respect of the players and the staff throughout the Duff Center. We look forward to supporting him at the highest level and continuing the positive momentum for our program.'

Anderson, 56, has a 74-54 overall record as a head coach. His Golden Eagles' debut will occur Dec. 23 against Western Kentucky in the New Orleans Bowl.

He went 51-37 at Arkansas State from 2014-2020 before moving on to Utah State and going 23-17 from 2021-23.

Anderson was fired by Utah State in July 2024 after personally attempting to investigate the circumstances of a player's arrest for domestic violence. The school said Anderson should have immediately reported the incident to the Office of Equity.

Anderson was initially placed on leave in early July before being dismissed two-plus-weeks later in the month.

Anderson joined the Southern Miss staff for the 2025 season and helped the squad go 7-5. A bowl victory would give the Golden Eagles their first eight-win season since 2017.

--Field Level Media