Source: Ellis Johnson to be Named Southern Mississippi Coach

Per Tyler Cleveland of the Hattiesburg American newspaper, Ellis Johnson will be named the head football coach at the University of Southern Mississippi, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations said late Monday night.
A press conference to announce Johnson could be held as early as today on the Southern Miss campus.
Johnson, who will replace Larry Fedora, comes to Southern Miss from South Carolina, where he has served as defensive coordinator since 2008, and is considered one of the finest defensive minds in the country.
Johnson interviewed last week in Atlanta with the Southern Miss football coaching search committee, and interviewed again Monday afternoon in Hattiesburg with Southern Miss president Martha Saunders.
No contract has been signed, but Johnson and the university had reached an agreement in principle with only the details remaining to be ironed out.
Johnson's coaching career spans 27 seasons, and has featured multiple stops in Mississippi.
The Winnsboro, S.C., native served as defensive coordinator under former Southern Miss coach Curley Hallman in 1988 and 1989 and under Sylvester Croom at Mississippi State from 2004-2007.
He left Starkville to join Steve Spurrier's staff at South Carolina after helping the Bulldogs finish 8-5 and reach the Liberty Bowl in 2007. During his tenure in Columbia, S.C., defenses at South Carolina have consistently ranked in the top 20 in the nation. In 2010, the Gamecocks' 12th-ranked rushing defense helped secure the school's first SEC East title. This past season, 2011, Johnson guided USC's defense to the 4th overall rated defense, 268.92 total yards, in FBS.
Fedora announced two weeks ago his intentions to go to North Carolina after coaching the Golden Eagles in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24 in Honolulu.