Written by Justin Prince.
After nearly a month of searching, it appears that the Marshall University football program is getting close to making a decision on its new offensive coordinator.
Around the water cooler, and on the message boards, several rumors have circulated about who the new OC might be. One name keeps surfacing among them and that’s the name of current Southern Mississippi offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson.
Dawson has ties to the Mountain State having served as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for the Mountaineers under Dana Holgerson. Dawson was brought into the WVU program in 2011 to coach the team’s wide receivers after a successful stint as the OC at FCS program Stephen F. Austin. In 2012, Dawson was bumped up to offensive coordinator and in 2013 his position coach duties switched from receivers to quarterbacks.
Dawson would then leave Morgantown for Lexington following the 2014 season assuming the role of offensive coordinator for the Kentucky Wildcats. Dawson was fired after one season with Kentucky. The Wildcats offense saw a decrease in total yards per game and points per game under Dawson and finished the 2015 season 5-7.
Southern Miss then hired Dawson where he currently still serves as the team’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In 2017 the Golden Eagles finished 43rd in the country in total offense averaging more than 420 yards per game. They also averaged just a shade more than 29 points per game.
In comparison, the Thundering Herd offense finished the season 92nd in the country in total offense averaging 392 yards per game and scored 26.7 points per contest.
It’s unclear how many other candidates are on the Marshall short list along with Dawson for the offensive coordinator position, but sources at Southern Miss did confirm that Dawson visited Huntington this past Thursday, January 18.
