- Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk is a candidate for the head football coach position at Southern University.
- Faulk is currently the running backs coach at Colorado under head coach Deion Sanders.
- If hired, Faulk would join a trend of former NFL stars with limited coaching experience leading HBCU football programs.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk is on track to become the new head football coach at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with a news conference to announce his hiring set for Monday, Dec. 1.
A university official confirmed to USA TODAY Sports Wednesday that Faulk was a candidate for the job and that a news conference was being scheduled for Monday. The same university official said late Wednesday the parties are in final negotiations, though nothing has been signed as of yet. A local TV station in Baton Rouge, WAFB, confirmed the hiring, citing an unnamed source.
Faulk, 52, currently is the running backs coach at Colorado under head coach Deion Sanders. He was in his first year as a college coach after not having coached previously. The Buffaloes are 3-8 and conclude the season Saturday at Kansas State.
Faulk has personal ties to Louisiana. He is from New Orleans and attended high school there before moving on to play at San Diego State.
His hiring would be the latest in the line of Deion Sanders-style hires at Historically Black Colleges and Universities — former pro football stars with limited or no coaching experience who are given a chance and also bring attention to their new jobs because of their NFL fame. Sanders was hired at Jackson State in 2020 before moving to Colorado in December 2022.
The list includes:
∎ Former NFL running back Eddie George was hired at Tennessee State in 2021 before moving to Bowling Green earlier this year. His team is 4-8 this season. His record at Tennessee State was 24-22.
∎ Former NFL receiver DeSean Jackson, who was hired at Delaware State last year. His team is 8-4 this season.
∎ Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick, who was hired at Norfolk State last year. His team is 1-11 this season.
∎ Former NFL safety Ed Reed, who was hired at Bethune-Cookman in late December 2022 before parting ways with the school shortly afterward.
Sanders is 16-20 at Colorado in three seasons after compiling a 27-6 record at Jackson State.
Southern has been looking to replace coach Terrence Graves, who was fired in October after a 1-6 start to the season.
Faulk played for the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams in an NFL career that stretched from 1994 to 2005.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com