Odums goes from interim to head coach at Southern

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  -  When he arrived at Southern in the spring of 2011 to coach Stump Mitchell’s defensive line, Dawson Odums couldn’t have imagined becoming the face of the program less than two years later.

Yet there he was Tuesday morning, being introduced as Mitchell’s permanent replacement before a room of media and fans on the Southern University campus.

“I believe that God had a purpose for me,” Odums said. “He’s fulfilling it right now.”

Odums served as Southern’s interim head coach this past fall after Mitchell was fired two games into a 4-7 season. He had to wait out a three-week coaching search before learning he’d have the job full time.

After narrowing the search to Odums, Nevada assistant James Spady and Bethune-Cookman coach Brian Jenkins, Southern Athletic Director William Broussard recommended Odums to the SU System Board of Supervisors late last week.

Bethune announced Thursday it had agreed with Jenkins on a contract extension.

“Throughout the process, which was a national search and was transparent and robust in nature, we assembled a selection committee that looked for a number of different factors,” Broussard said. “At every level of the application process all the way down to the final interview, (Odums) showed quite clearly that he had all the necessary attributes to be successful.”

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