Southern Miss G o l d e n E a g l e s Head Coach Jeff Bower es, the growing legacy of Jeff Bower for Southern ning-season streak is the second-longest for a Southern Miss football continues to become even more and Miss football coach, second only to Thad “Pie” Vann’s more impressive. school-record 17-straight winning seasons. The GMAC Bower enters his 29th overall year with the Bowl marked the fifth in a row, a school record, and Southern Miss program, first as a record-setting ninth overall bowl in the last 10 seasons. quarterback, then as a successful assistant coach, The season also produced 12 All-Conference USA and for the past 16 seasons as head coach. Bower selections – including four selected to the first team – has played a role second to none in the school’s ath- and Freshman All-America honorees Damion Fletcher letic history, and it has been appropriate that Bower and Gerald McRath. The Golden Eagles had a total of has been at the helm of the program at his alma four players tabbed to All-American teams, as George mater when it was a founding member of Batiste earned third-team honors from Conference USA, and now during a time when it is CollegeFootballNews.com and Travis Cooley notched enjoying unprecedented success. honorable mention from SI.com. The 2006 edition saw his team win the final four Bower continues to be one of the marquee games of the regular season that enabled them to cap- coaches in Conference USA, and Southern Miss Conference USA Coach of the Decade ture the C-USA East Division championship, before remains one of the top-tier programs in the league. rolling over Ohio, 28-7, in the GMAC Bowl for the In fact, Bower’s and Southern Miss’ success in C- Jeff Bower team’s third straight bowl victory. Southern Miss ended USA has set standards other coaches in the league Head Coach the campaign with a 9-5 mark – the team’s first nine- seek to emulate. When the Conference USA Team of 17th Season win season since 2003 and the 10th year in the past 11 the Decade was announced, the Golden Eagles land- (112-77-1) that the Golden Eagles have won at least seven games ed eight on the respective offensive and defensive in a season. The winning record marked the 13th- squads, and Bower took home the highest honor by he names that get bandied about when the talk straight winning season in Bower’s tenure. The win- being named the C-USA Coach of the Decade. Tturns to Southern Miss football generally include the likes of quarterbacks Brett Favre or Reggie 2007 GMAC Bowl Champions Collier, or maybe running backs Sammy Winder and Derrick Nix, or even look to the great names of the “Nasty Bunch” defense that have included Michael Boley, Rod Davis and Adalius Thomas. They might even mention Ray Gay, arguably the best punter to ever lace up the spikes. Those names are some of the best to ever be a part of the Black and Gold. There is one man, though, who has spent most of his collegiate playing and coaching career in Hattiesburg, and been a part of this program for almost a third of its 90-year history. During this sea- son, he will have coached more games than any other Golden Eagle football coach, and his stability on the sidelines have enabled the Southern Miss program to reach new heights. His name is Jeff Bower, and he is truly “the face” of this Golden Eagle program. As a player, assistant coach and for the last 16 years as the head coach, Jeff Bower has come to mean as much to the success of Golden Eagle foot- ball as that of Bear Bryant to Alabama, Joe Paterno to Penn State and Bobby Bowden to Florida State. Guided by his competitive fire, his loyalty and dedication and his tremendous character and work ethic, Bower’s teams have put a quality product on the football field year-in and year-out, ready to step up to any challenge. It’s been through that guidance that the Golden Eagles have joined elite company in all of college football – a group that boasts 13- straight winning seasons and nine bowl appearances in the last 10 years. And with each season that pass- 38 2007 Southern Miss Football Southern Miss G o l d e n E a g l e s Head Coach Jeff Bower excelling at whatever Jeff Bower Year-By-Year sport he was playing at the time. He was a part Year School Position Record of state championship 1968 Roswell High Player State Champs in Football teams in football, base- 1969 Roswell High Player ball and basketball, but it State Champs in Baseball was his football heroics 1970-71 Roswell High Player State Champs in Football, Baseball and Basketball that would foreshadow Georgia Class AAA Back of the year/Georgia All-Star where his success would 1971 Georgia Player 11-1 be the greatest. A prep 1972 Southern Miss Player/Redshirt 3-7-1 1973 Southern Miss Player 6-4-1 All-American at Roswell AP All-South (HM) High, Bower guided his 1974 Southern Miss Player 6-5 team to a pair of state 1975 Southern Miss Player 8-3 Team Captain/MVP championships in football 1976 Southern Miss Graduate Assistant 3-8 and also was a starter on 1977 Southern Miss Graduate Assistant 6-6 two state championship 1978 Southern Miss QBs and WRs 7-4 1979 Southern Miss QBs and WRs 6-4-1 teams in baseball and in 1980 Southern Miss QBs and WRs 9-3 basketball. Following his Independence Bowl Champions senior season, Bower 1981 Southern Miss QBs and WRs 9-2-1 Tangerine Bowl was named the Class 1982 SMU Quarterbacks 11-0-1 AAA Georgia Back of the Cotton Bowl Champions Year, and he also played 1983 SMU Quarterbacks 10-2 Sun Bowl in the Georgia High 1984 SMU Quarterbacks 10-2 School All Star Game. Aloha Bowl Champions Bower originally 1985 SMU Quarterbacks 6-5 1986 SMU Quarterbacks 6-5 signed with the University 1987 Wake Forest Quarterbacks 7-4 of Georgia out of high 1988 Southern Miss Asst. HC/OC/QB 10-2 school, but soon after Independence Bowl Champions The Bower Family: 1989 Southern Miss Asst. HC/OC/QB 5-6 Debbie, Jeff and Stephanie made the decision to 1990 Oklahoma State OC/QB 4-7 transfer after his first year Southern Miss Head Coach 0-1 Under Bower, the Golden Eagles have posted an with the program. Pondering several options, Bower All-American Bowl 1991 Southern Miss Head Coach 4-7 impressive 112-77-1 record, making him the second- felt that the best opportunity was at Southern Miss, 1992 Southern Miss Head Coach 7-4 winningest coach in school history. In the C-USA era, playing for Head Coach P.W. Underwood. It was that 1993 Southern Miss Head Coach 2-8-1 his teams have posted a 58-19 league record, ranking opportunity which prompted the Georgia native to 1994 Southern Miss Head Coach 6-5 1995 Southern Miss Head Coach 6-5 among the top 10 list nationally for conference victo- head west and become a main cog for successful 1996 Southern Miss Head Coach 8-3 ries over the same period. He is the dean of confer- Golden Eagle teams of the early 1970s. Conference USA Champions ence coaches, with his teams winning four Conference After sitting out a redshirt season in 1972, Bower 1997 Southern Miss Head Coach 9-3 Conference USA Champions USA championships (1996, 1997, 1999, 2003). took over as the Eagles' starting quarterback in 1973 Conference USA Coach of the Year Following the team’s perfect league season in 2003, and guided the team to a successful 6-4-1 mark. In AXA Liberty Bowl Champs Bower was selected as the Conference USA Coach of his first season, he threw for 1,495 yards, while 1998 Southern Miss Head Coach 7-5 Humanitarian Bowl the Year for an unprecedented third time, adding to his completing 116-of-199 passes. Nine of his throws 1999 Southern Miss Head Coach 9-3 awards in 1997 and 1999. His 190 games coached also found their way to the end zone for touchdowns. Conference USA Champs make him only the second USM coach ever to coach His .583 passing percentage during the 1973 sea- Conference USA Coach of the Year AXA Liberty Bowl Champs more than 100 games, with Vann (200 games) being son stood as a single season record at Southern 2000 Southern Miss Head Coach 8-4 the other. In 2005, Bower also joined Vann as just the Miss for 23 years — falling by the side in 1996 at GMAC Bowl Champions second head coach to win 100 games at Southern the hands of Lee Roberts. In addition, Bower finished 2001 Southern Miss Head Coach 6-5 2002 Southern Miss Head Coach 7-6 Miss, after he won his 100th career game on Oct. 21, that season ranked 26th nationally in passing, and Houston Bowl with a 38-28 victory at UAB, becoming the 20th active he was an Associated Press All-South honorable- 2003 Southern Miss Head Coach 9-4 coach to earn his 100th career victory. mention selection. Conference USA Champions Conference USA Coach of the Year Bower also has compiled that enviable record, Perhaps his best performance as an Eagle came AXA Liberty Bowl while playing only 76 of those 190 games at home.