On Saturday night, Charles Huff won the Sun Belt Conference championship with Marshall. By Sunday morning, he was in charge of a conference rival.

Southern Miss announced Sunday that it has hired Huff as its next football head coach. Huff had reportedly been the leading candidate for the job for the past week, but it was not official until after Marshall finished its season.

Huff will be formally introduced as USM’s coach at a press conference Thursday at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg.

“As we started this search, we were focused on finding a dynamic leader who could get our program back to competing for championships,” Southern Miss Director of Athletics Jeremy McClain said in a statement announcing the hire. “Charles Huff has proven that he is a winner who can build a championship culture within the Sun Belt.”

Huff has been the coach at Marshall for the past four seasons. He compiled a 32-20 record capped with a 31-3 blowout win against Louisiana-Lafayette in the Sun Belt championship game on Saturday.

Huff’s tenure included road wins against Notre Dame in 2022 and Virginia Tech in 2023. He led the Thundering Herd to a bowl game in all four seasons. They will face American Athletic Conference champion Army in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Dec. 28.

Huff’s other coaching stops during a 20-year career have included Mississippi State in 2018 and Alabama in 2019-20. He was the associate head coach and running backs coach at both schools.

Huff’s job in Hattiesburg will be to turn around a Southern Miss program that went 4-20 over the past two seasons under Will Hall. Southern Miss has had one winning season in the past five.

“My family and I could not be any happier to begin our journey in Hattiesburg as we look to continue the rich and storied history of Southern Miss football,” Huff said in a statement. “Our goal will be to build a program that can compete at the highest level and have our fan base enjoy the ability to return to bowl games on a consistent basis.”

Marshall moved quickly to fill its head coaching vacancy. It announced Sunday afternoon that it has hired Tony Gibson, the defensive coordinator at North Carolina State, as Huff’s successor.

Associate head coach Telly Lockette will serve as Marshall’s interim head coach for its bowl game against Army.

“Now that it has been released, Coach Huff’s decision to take the position at Southern Miss was not unexpected,” Marshall Director of Athletics Christian Spears said in a statement. “We are grateful that Coach Huff and his representatives had been transparent throughout his interview process. We are happy for him and his family and sincerely appreciate all he did to augment our football foundation to a championship level here at Marshall.”