Southern Miss, it’s time for a change

Letter to the Editor written by Dallas Medlin, a senior history licensure major.

Tradition. It is a big thing at Southern Miss, and it always has been. Since the freshman class at our great school has been alive, Southern Miss has always produced winning seasons. Just last year, I watched my beloved Golden Eagles beat the No. 3 team in the nation, inducing Hattiesburg into a frenzy of Southern Miss pride that I thought would never be shaken, but somewhere down the road it has taken a bleak turn. Allow me to paint the picture for you.

Out of the 18 fans who show up to the games of this dismal season, some show up wearing paper bags reminiscent of the Saints in the days of Aaron Brooks. A head coach that watches from the sidelines, emotionless and lacking fire and passion, remains stagnant in a win-less season. A Facebook group resembling an angry mob with torches and pitchforks wanting to fire anyone having anything to do with the football program has become the breeding ground for negative thought and energy. Lastly, we have an administration that does not listen or raise an eyebrow at the wishes and concerns of the foundation of Southern Miss football: the fan base. Mix all of these ingredients together and you have a recipe for disaster. We are talking about a catastrophic storm that sucks the life from a once proud and honorable football program.

At what cost should we continue losing? An 0-12 season all for the sake of rebuilding? Give me a break. The worst part is that the players have nothing to do with this. The indecisive coaches set a sub-par level of expectations. Take a look around the college football world. Take a look at what happened to Penn State in the off-season. They still managed to have a winning season so far, and you want to know why? They did not make excuses. Pathetic excuses warrant pathetic results. When programs face a hardship, you move forward, you do not settle for mediocre, or in our case, being the worst team in college football. For some reason, our administration and sports staff has become okay with our program being the furthest from the top that it has ever been. I would like to say that there is hope on the horizon.

We must not waver as Golden Eagle football fans. We must continue to hold our administration accountable. Just because some would like to see Ellis Johnson gone does not mean they are fair-weather fans. They are holding their program accountable. They are being the truest of fans. We must continue to voice our concerns in a respectable manner so that our school will realize Golden Eagle Nation is not okay with losing to “Anyone. Anywhere. Anytime.” Most importantly, we must support our players. If any team has been scrutinized the most, it is this one. It is like a family in which the parents are being separated. Even though one parent is being asked to leave because they did very bad things, such as ruining a perfectly fine football program, the other parent (enter Golden Eagle Nation) will take care of the children (enter football players). We are the family that is Southern Miss. We protect what is ours, and when someone fails at doing their job, we hold them accountable instead of making excuses.

We are Southern Miss. We want change.