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FAMU football's next opponent, Southern, fires coach Terrence Graves ahead of SWAC matchup
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- FAMU football's next opponent, Southern, fires coach Terrence Graves ahead of SWAC matchup
Florida A&M football may have to shift its gameplan for its next outing this Saturday, Oct. 25.
The Rattlers' Week 9 opponent, the Southern Jaguars, fired head coach Terrence Graves after two seasons at the helm on Monday, Oct. 20.
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Graves had a 10-11 record as the Baton Rouge-based HBCU's head football coach, including a 1-6 start to the 2025 season.
That's following the Jaguars reaching the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game a season ago.
Southern Jaguars' head coach Terrence Graves yells during the SWAC Championship game against the Jackson State Tigers in Jackson, Miss., on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024.
The Jaguars are on a five-game losing streak after most recently losing their homecoming game 24-3 to Prairie View A&M and are near the bottom of SWAC statistics offensively and defensively.
"This was a difficult decision, but the results on the field were not acceptable," Southern Director of Athletics Roman Banks said in a released statement.
"After evaluating every aspect of the football program, I believe it is in the best interests of Southern football student-athletes, our fans, and our university."
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Southern co-offensive coordinator Fred McNair has been named the interim head coach. He will speak to local media on Tuesday, Oct. 21.
The now former Jaguars coach spoke on the SWAC football coaches' Zoom media session on Monday around 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time, where he said, "As of right now, I am the head football coach at Southern. Business as usual."
Hours later, Graves was terminated after 21 games.
Graves' dismissal comes just five days before Southern hosts FAMU for a SWAC game at Baton Rouge's A.W. Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge.
Fresh off a 33-28 homecoming triumph over Alcorn State , the Rattlers (2-4, 1-1 in SWAC) look to get their second consecutive victory of the season when they travel to play the Southern Jaguars.
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Kickoff is at 5 p.m. and will be televised on SWAC TV.
Florida A&M (2-4, 1-1 in SWAC) at Southern (1-6, 0-3 in SWAC)
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When: Saturday, Oct. 25 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time
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Where: A.W. Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
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TV/Radio: SWAC TV, 96.1 JAMZ
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee .
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Southern Jaguars fire Terrence Graves days before FAMU football matchup
