Willie Fritz didn’t take a long time to replace Will Hall after he took the head coaching job at Southern Miss, hiring Hall’s college roommate and former Memphis and Notre Dame offensive coordinator Chip Long. Long served as an offensive analyst at the University of Tennessee this year after a three year stint in South Bend. While Long was the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame from 2017-2019, the Fighting Irish were 32-6 and Long was a finalist for the Broyles Award, which goes to the nation’s top assistant coach.
Long was pivotal in the development of star quarterback Ian Book at Notre Dame.