Southern University has announced that Terrence Graves has been fired as head coach of Southern University. The move is shocking, as it comes hours after Graves appeared on the SWAC Coaches Call and addressed the conversation around his possible termination.
“We’ve talked. We always have conversations every week,” Graves he said during the call. “And as I said, right now, I’m the head football coach at Southern. It’s business as usual. I’m doing a conference call. When I get off here, I’m headed to do the coaches show. We’ll have meetings tonight. We have practice tonight like we do every Monday night. So it’s business as usual. Until something changes, then I’m just going to still do what I do.”
Despite Grave's confidnece that he'd continue to lead the Jaguars, the program released a statement on its social media account confimring his dismissal.
“I want to thank Coach Graves for the energy, determination, and for leading the team to a Western Division championship. Graves connection to Southern University runs deep — he will always be a Jaguar,” said Prairie View A&M Athletic Director Roman Banks. “This was a difficult decision, but the results on the field were not acceptable. After evaluating every aspect of the football program. I believe it is in the best interests of Southern football student-athletes, our fans and our university.”
On Saturday, Southern University looked out of sorts on offense against Prairie View A&M. Quarterback Ashton Strother, starting in place of Cameron McCoy, finished the game throwing for only 81 yards with one interception. Running back Trey Holly received as many carries as the quarterback passed the ball, ultimately tallying 99 rushing yards but failing to register a touchdown.
The performance caused Banks to address the media, vaguely referencing Graves and the coaching position. It appeared that Banks was ready to make a move, even discussing his thought process around the potential move.
“Let me open up and say this is that, obviously, this is not the way we thought the season would be going at this point,” Banks said in comments obtained by WBRZ. “We had a pretty good season last year and we thought that was something that we was going to build on. And obviously preseason rankings don't mean much, but obviously we thought we had some players in the room that can make a difference. And so truly, it's real disappointing.”
Banks added, “My job is to evaluate the process. You know, [does] Coach Graves stay another day? You don't make decisions after a ball game. You sit down and you talk about it because then in the room for the student athletes who give you the best chance to win the rest of your games, and are you comfortable with somebody in the room that can do that?”
Graves was hired as Southern University's head coach in December 2023, replacing former head coach Eric Dooley. Graves served as interim coach after Dooley's departure and also served as assistant head coach, special teams coordinator, and linebackers coach. Ironically, Southern fired Dooley following a loss to Prairie View A&M midseason in 2023 after slipping to 5-5 and not beating a team over .500 that Fall.
Now, co-offensive coordinator Fred McNair will take the reigns of the program as interim coach. Over his seven-year career, McNair has led his teams to a 48-33 record. His Alcorn State squads were particularly dominant in 2018 and 2019, earning consecutive trips to the Celebration Bowl although they lost to the North Carolina A&T Aggies. Overall, McNair's Braves have claimed four SWAC East titles. In his final season with the Braves in 2023, Alcorn State achieved a 7-4 overall record and went 6-2 in the SWAC. The team also boasted six All-SWAC selections, ranking third in the conference.
McNair was in line for the Texas Southern head coaching job that ultimately went to Cris Dishman. He departed Alcorn State to take the job, but he ultimately was out of the running. He then joined Southern University's staff under head coach Terrenace Graves. Now, he's receiving a promotion and calling plays on the offense in what could be a huge change for the Jaguar offense.
