MOBILE, Ala. — The University of South Alabama on Saturday named Indiana defensive coordinator Kane Wommack its head football coach, bringing back a former Jaguars assistant to lead the program.
Wommack, 33, becomes the third head coach in South Alabama football history, a program that began play in 2009. He is the youngest head coach at the Football Bowl Subdivision level.
The hire comes five days after the university dismissed Steve Campbell following a 4-7 season.
A Competitive Search
According to reports, Wommack was selected over a field that included former FBS head coaches Jim McElwain and Butch Jones, as well as assistant coaches Charles Huff of Alabama and Tee Martin of Tennessee.
Wommack arrives as a nominee for the Broyles Award, which honors the top assistant coach in college football.
Success at Indiana
Wommack is in his third season at Indiana, where he has coached linebackers and has served as defensive coordinator since Dec. 27, 2018. When he took over the Hoosiers’ defense, he was the youngest defensive coordinator in the Power Five conferences.
In his first season as coordinator, Indiana finished in the top 50 nationally in scoring, total, rushing and passing defense. The Hoosiers ranked 12th in defensive touchdowns, tied for 27th in fumbles recovered, 34th in third-down conversion defense, 36th in total defense, 43rd in rushing defense, 45th in scoring defense, 46th in pass defense and 48th in pass efficiency defense.
In the 2020 season, Indiana’s defense ranks first nationally in interceptions with 17 and first in red zone defense at 57.9 percent. The Hoosiers are tied for 14th in sacks, 17th in pass efficiency defense, 20th in scoring defense, tied for 37th in rushing defense and 38th in both total defense and third-down defense.
Indiana is ranked No. 8 in this week’s Associated Press poll and No. 12 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Familiar Ground in Mobile
Wommack served as South Alabama’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2016 and 2017 under head coach Joey Jones. When hired, he was the youngest defensive coordinator in the FBS.
During his two seasons with the Jaguars, South Alabama ranked in the top 10 nationally in pass defense, allowing 174.6 yards per game. The Jaguars allowed 10 fewer points per game than the season before he arrived, ranking as the fifth-most improved scoring defense in the FBS.
South Alabama finished in the top five of the Sun Belt Conference in pass defense, pass efficiency defense, tackles for loss and third-down conversion defense. In 2017, the Jaguars ranked in the top 15 nationally in red zone defense and fumble recoveries, and the defense held seven of eight conference opponents to 22 or fewer points in regulation.
Safety Jeremy Reaves, now with the Washington Football Team of the NFL, was a two-time first-team All-Sun Belt selection and in 2017 became the school’s first Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year. Randy Allen, Bull Barge, Roman Buchanan, Kalen Jackson and Darrell Songy also earned all-conference honors during Wommack’s two seasons in Mobile.
Coaching Background
Wommack began his coaching career in 2010 as quarterbacks coach at Tennessee-Martin. In 2011, he was a graduate assistant working with the defensive line on Jack Crowe’s staff at Jacksonville State.
He spent 2012 and 2013 at Ole Miss as a graduate assistant on Hugh Freeze’s staff, working under his father, defensive coordinator Dave Wommack, and coaching the Husky position in the Rebels’ 4-2-5 defense.
Wommack was defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Eastern Illinois in 2014 and 2015. The Panthers ranked second in the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring defense and fourth in takeaways, with four defensive players earning All-OVC honors. In 2015, Eastern Illinois reached the first round of the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs and finished in the top 25 of the final national poll.
His father has coached since 1981 and has served as defensive coordinator at Southwest Missouri State, UNLV, Southern Miss, Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Arkansas State and Ole Miss.
Playing Career and Family
Wommack played fullback at Arkansas in 2005 and 2006, and the Razorbacks won the SEC West in his second season. He transferred to Southern Miss, where he played on three consecutive bowl teams, earned his degree in 2009 and then worked as a volunteer assistant.
Wommack and his wife, Melissa, have three sons: Asher, 6; Tatum, 4; and Jones, 1.
Quick Turnaround
Wommack will have little time to assemble a staff. The early signing period begins Dec. 16, and the new staff must evaluate the recruits who had committed to the Jaguars under Campbell’s staff.
