Southern Miss struggles taught Hall hard lessons about what doesn't work, and that experience that could translate into a smoother tenure at Tulane.
While programs don’t want to be known as stepping stones, it’s important to note that the head coaching position for the Tulane Green Wave has led to back-to-back successful former coaches landing Power Four jobs.
With former coach Jon Sumrall, who is now with the Florida Gators, it felt like that was always living on a bit of borrowed time.
Things feel a bit different with coach Will Hall, who also shared a connection to the program before assuming the head role like Sumrall.
There’s something to be said about people who previously worked for the Green Wave and saw how things didn’t work.
Hall’s experience is a bit more recent being the offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2020. That was when the program began to build its legs under coach Willie Fritz and get to the place it is today.
It’s a place that offers real opportunity and resources.
A lot of Sumrall’s comments at SEC Media Days down in Tampa, Fl., could ring true for Hall’s time here.
“If I had gone straight from Troy to one of these jobs, I would have skipped a step that I needed, selfishly, to know how to do this job well,” Sumrall said. “At Tulane, there were some more resources than Troy.”
Sumrall went on to say that he often had more cameras at Tulane media availability than some SEC schools do with the media that their College Football Playoff pursuit brought.
“There were some preparation things that I couldn’t have planned for myself that happened naturally because of my experience at Tulane.”
A lot of the conversation when Hall was hired was critical towards his time coaching the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.
Sumrall’s stint with the Troy Trojans was probably in a similar resource boat, and to his credit, he was a lot more successful.
But there’s a real culture and standard that a step up like Tulane offers.
Hall has gone on record to talk about his time at Southern Miss and how much he learned about what not to do.
As much as people don’t like to hear that, it’s arguably as valuable as learning what to do.
And there’s no argument about the power of resources.
Sometimes, lightning strikes in a bottle. Coaches can make do with little to no means to do so.
That same coach might be in a completely different ballpark with the proper amenities and opportunities for their players.
That’s what the Green Wave offers to coaches who have all the right traits.
As Tulane gears up for this upcoming season under Hall, he’ll certainly have to talk to the media more than he did with the Golden Eagles.
But he’ll be able to talk to them about NIL and facilities in a way that he wasn’t able to prior, and be able to coach without those extra restrictions and issues.
