The final weekend of the college football season is here but the coaching carousel is already in full swing across the country. And the coming days should see things spin a bit more as programs make some tough, or not so tough, decisions about the future of their respective programs. As has become a tradition around Happy Valley, coaching opportunities could attract a name or two from the current staff working under [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag]. But one former assistant of Franklin’s has already moved on toa. head coaching opportunity and enjoyed some success. And now, he could be on the move to a better opportunity.
[autotag]Charles Huff[/autotag], a former Franklin assistant at Vanderbilt and Penn State, is coming off his fourth season as head coach at Marshall, and the lack of a renewed contract has led to speculation he could be on the move this offseason. With a record of 30-20 since taking over the Thundering Herd, Huff has Marshall in a position to play for the Sun Belt Conference championship (Marshall clinches a spot with a win this weekend at James Madison). Yet, the school has not found a way to extend the relationship with Huff beyond this season.
And Southern Mississippi is a program reported to have significant interest in bringing Huff to guide their program. Huff leaving Marshall on his own terms is indeed a possibility, although he has remained loyal to the job since he came to Marshall. Huff has been asked about various coaching rumors about his next step by reminding media he has stayed at Marshall when other jobs at power conference programs came along, like Virginia Tech and Michigan State.
But this year could potentially be different as his profile is continuing to gain stock. And if he can guide Marshall to a Sun Belt Conference title, it stands to reason the interest in Huff at a number of programs will only go up. Going to a conference opponent would be seen by some as a lateral move, but if Southern Miss is more devoted to financially supporting its program than Marshall is, it is a move that could make sense.
If Huff stays at Marshall, it certainly wouldn’t be a terrible decision as Marshall is a good quality mid-major program. And if he somehow sticks around until 2026, he could lead Marshall into Beaver Stadium to face Penn State. But given his track record, it may be difficult to see a successful Huff sticking around that long before getting an opportunity too good to pass up.
The North Carolina job is open, after all, and two former Franklin assistants have already taken ACC head coaching jobs at Virginia Tech (Brent Pry) and Duke (Manny Diaz).
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