Jason Rollins will be the next head coach at Southern, sources told FootballScoop on Thursday. The news was first reported by Steve Schneider of WAFB in Baton Rouge.
Rollins is currently on staff as the Jaguars' special teams coordinator and safeties coach. Rollins has been on staff for one season; he was UTSA's defensive coordinator and safeties coach before for four seasons before that.
The move fills the vacancy created when Dawson Odums left to become the head coach at Norfolk State earlier this month. Odums went 63-32 in nine seasons leading the Jaguars, including an 8-4 mark in 2019 and a 5-1 record this spring.
Though the program reportedly discussed the job with Marshall Faulk, the Rollins promotion makes sense given: a) Odums left the Jaguars in a good place, and b) the 2021 season opener is barely more than four months away, Sept. 4 at Troy.
A McNeese State graduate, Rollins spent nine seasons in New Orleans as Tulane's defensive backs coach. He developed three All-Americans and four future NFL players for the Green Wave, while also serving as special teams coordinator and co-defensive coordinator for one season apiece. Rollins coached two different stints at his alma mater, the most recent (2005-06) as co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach, and also deposited a stint at Northwestern State. He also spent three seasons in the Texas high school ranks.
Additionally, sources tell FootballScoop that offensive coordinator Zach Grossi is expected to be retained in the same role. He also recently completed his first year in Baton Rouge after spending 2019 at Hampton and the five years prior with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Jags averaged 37.6 points per game this season.
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