Rece Davis shares a surprising story about one coach’s dramatic career turn.
Rece Davis Names College Football Coach Whose Career ‘Went Sideways’ originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
After this year's SEC Media Days, Rece Davis and Pete Thamel took a nostalgic turn on their "College GameDay" podcast, reflecting on the unpredictable world of college football coaching, and one name in particular came up: Hudson "Curley" Hallman.
Hallman, who led Southern Miss from 1988 to 1990 before taking over at LSU in 1991, was a rising star at the time. He went 23-13 at Southern Miss, and also coached none other than Brett Favre. But his success didn’t translate to Baton Rouge, where he went just 16-28 over four seasons from 1991 to 1994.
“So after Curley Hallman’s tenure at LSU went sideways,” Davis said, “which virtually every LSU coach's tenure went sideways prior to the arrival of Nick Saban.”
Davis used Hallman’s story to underscore how tough LSU used to be on head coaches, even the talented ones.
“That’s what I’ve always said about Nick,” Davis continued. “After the accomplishments at Alabama, in terms of on-field accomplishments and championships and all of that, the second biggest thing he did in this sport was that he fixed LSU, which had been a coach's graveyard for the better part of half a century.”
Hallman’s fall from college football was especially sharp.
“Because Curley was a good coach,” Davis said. “Do you know what Curley Hallman’s next head coaching job was after it ended at LSU?… Muscle Shoals High School, where I think he cut the grass himself!”
Muscle Shoals High School, a small public secondary institution located in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, is also Davis’ alma mater.
It was a telling example of how quickly fortunes can shift in college football, even for a coach who once helped launch Favre’s career.
Hallman found work as a position coach in other programs, like his two-year tenure as a defensive backs coach at Alabama in 1996 and 1997. But in 2004, Hallman landed that head coaching position at Muscle Shoals.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
