Southern has fired football coach Terrence Graves and begun a national search to find his replacement, the university announced Monday.
The Jaguars fell to 1-6 to open the season with Saturday’s 24-3 homecoming loss to Prairie View A&M and to 0-3 in conference play and tied with Alcorn State at the bottom of the SWAC West.
Graves concludes his first head coaching tenure with a 10-11 record, including a winning 8-5 mark and SWAC title-game appearance in his only full season in 2024.
Co-offensive coordinator Fred McNair, who has previous head coaching experience at Alcorn State, will serve as the team’s interim coach moving forward.
“I want to thank Coach Graves for the energy, determination, and for leading the team to a Western Division championship,” Southern athletic director Roman Banks said in a statement reported by The Advocate. “Graves’ connection to Southern University runs deep — he will always be a Jaguar.
“This was a difficult decision, but the results on the field were not acceptable. After evaluating every aspect of the football program. I believe it is in the best interests of Southern football student-athletes, our fans and our university.”
The new coach will be the program’s fourth since Dawson Odums left following the 2020 season for the same role at Norfolk State.
Jason Rollins led the team to a 4-7 mark in 2021, and Eric Dooley was a combined 12-10 before Graves took over as interim Nov. 14, 2023, and led Southern to a 27-22 defeat of Grambling State in the 50th annual Bayou Classic rivalry game.
At just shy of two calendar years, Graves’ tenure falls just one game shy of Dooley for the longest since Odums’ departure.
