Help Wanted: Coach Dooley Relieved after disappointing second season

This past week, Southern University officially announced the firing of their head coach, Eric Dooley, one week away from the infamous Bayou Classic after only serving two seasons with the Jags. This was in response to their latest loss against PVAMU, losing 27-21, officially knocking Southern out of contention for the SWAC Championship after both, Alcorn and PVAMU won their games this Saturday (November 18th, 2023), punching their ticket to the SWAC Championship. Athletic Director Roman Banks provided a statement on the firing. “Whenever you break a relationship with a coach, it’s always tough because we come in with open arms and welcome everybody in…me and Coach Dooley met yesterday morning, and we both agreed that this is the best time to go our separate ways.” He also mentioned that they both had different philosophies going forward with Southern Football. Last year, Coach Dooley had led the Jags to the SWAC Championship, boasting a 7-5 record. He would then lose to Jackson State in the championship 43-24. After a promising first season, Coach Dooley would start his second season 0-2, dropping games against Alabama State (10-14) and Jackson State (14-27), respectively. Fans would point to Southern’s offensive woes to blame for the losses, as Southern would only place 6th in the conference in points per game (22.8 ppg). Southern would continue their disappointing season under coach Eric Dooley, as they would not win a single game against a team over .500 this year, excluding the upcoming Bayou Classic. With Dooley now out of the picture for the foreseeable future, The Southern Athletics Department and fans hope to move in a new direction with the program and be the standard of SWAC football once again. As of now, assistant head coach Terrance Graves has been named interim head coach for the upcoming Bayou Classic. Coach Graves commented on the importance of the 50th Bayou Classic this year saying, “This is the state championship. This is for bragging rights. This is for it all.” When asked how he felt being in this position to coach for Southern, Coach Graves stated, “It’s a Blessing…The feeling is indescribable.” Acting head coach and Southern legend, Sean Wallace spoke on having the team ready to play this upcoming week. “We already sent the message that we are only playing with those who want to play…it’s a message we sent throughout the year. As for the upcoming coaching search, Athletic Director Roman Banks mentioned it will be a “focused search” and that he has some people he is potentially thinking about. Dooley had two years remaining on his contract, paying him $310,000 annually. Southern plays Grambling State on Saturday (November 25th, 2023), with both teams going into the game 5-5 for the 50th.