MOBILE, Ala. — When South Alabama plays No. 23 Mississippi State on Saturday in Starkville, Miss., the Jaguars will line up against an offense run by Les Koenning, the first offensive coordinator in South Alabama football history.
One of Jones’ First Hires
After Joey Jones was hired to build South Alabama’s new football program, his first hires were his two coordinators. Jones brought in former Prattville High School head coach Bill Clark as defensive coordinator and hired Koenning as offensive coordinator exactly two weeks after his own hiring.
Koenning worked with Jones on the South Alabama campus in the program’s earliest days, before the Jaguars’ first signing class and before the football fieldhouse was built.
Move to Starkville
Koenning’s stay at South Alabama was short. Sylvester Croom resigned as Mississippi State’s head coach after five seasons, and the Bulldogs hired Dan Mullen, then the offensive coordinator at Florida under Urban Meyer.
In December 2008, Mullen hired Koenning away from South Alabama to serve as Mississippi State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. It was Koenning’s second stint with the Bulldogs. He had been a receivers coach at Mississippi State in the late 1980s, a tenure that ended after the 1990 season, when Jackie Sherrill took over as head coach.
Jones hired Greg Gregory as offensive coordinator before the Jaguars’ first spring practice in 2009.
Jones Sees No Advantage
Although Jones knows Koenning and his approach to play-calling, he said he does not expect that familiarity to help South Alabama on Saturday.
“I don’t think it will help because a lot of what he is doing now with coach Mullen they have tweaked some things more toward the Florida philosophy. I wouldn’t think there would be anything we could take from that,” Jones said. “They are doing things differently than when he was here.”
Three-Game Series With the Bulldogs
Saturday’s game opens a three-game series between the schools. Mississippi State is scheduled to visit Mobile on Sept. 13, 2014, which would be the first game against a Southeastern Conference opponent played in Mobile by the Jaguars. South Alabama is scheduled to return to Starkville on Sept. 10, 2016.
More SEC Opponents Ahead
South Alabama has four other SEC programs on its future schedules. The Jaguars are scheduled to play at Tennessee in Knoxville next season, at Georgia in 2014, at LSU in 2016 and at Ole Miss in 2017.
