Ellis Johnson, South Carolina’s associate head coach for defense, is expected to be named the next head coach at Southern Mississippi just two weeks before the Gamecocks’ bowl game against Nebraska, multiple media outlets reported late Monday evening.
USC confirmed that Johnson was at the Gamecocks’ 10:15 a.m. practice, but defensive backs coach Lorenzo Ward told the media that he was not at the 4 p.m. practice because he was in Hattiesburg, Miss. for a second interview with the Golden Eagles. After practice on Sunday, coach Steve Spurrier said he expected Johnson to coach the bowl game, whether he received the position at USM or not.
Ward did not believe that Johnson taking the position at Southern Miss would be a distraction to the team.
“We have some experienced young men and we’re not talking about playing in the middle of the season,” Ward told reporters after Monday’s afternoon practice. “We’re talking about playing another ballgame and winning number 11, which would be the 13th game we’ll play. Whether he gets the job or doesn’t, whether he coaches the bowl game, we’re going to keep going forward and we’ll get the job done and improve as a defense.”
Johnson led the USC defense to a No. 4 national ranking in total defense, allowing just 268.9 yards per game this season. He is the second USC coach to take a position elsewhere, as former running backs coach Jay Graham took the same position at Tennessee on Dec. 6.
Johnson, who’d been a defensive coordinator at USM for two seasons, interviewed for the position in Atlanta on Dec. 15. He and USM offensive coordinator Blake Anderson were considered to be the top candidates for the position. Johnson’s only head coaching experience came at his alma mater, The Citadel, where he was 12-21 from 2001-2003.
Johnson was a candidate for the head coaching position at Southern Miss in 2008, when he was still a defensive coordinator at Mississippi State. USM opted to go with Larry Fedora, who’s recently filled the head coaching vacancy at UNC. After not getting the job, Johnson would ultimately wind up as the associate head coach for defense at USC.
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