University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Nix Takes Coaching Position With Atlanta Falcons
1/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 15, 2007
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss Head Football Coach Jeff Bower has announced that Running Backs Coach Derrick Nix has left the Golden Eagle Football Program to become the Assistant Running Backs Coach with the Atlanta Falcons.
"Derrick has done an excellent job for the Golden Eagle Football program," Bower said. "He was an outstanding running back who always portrayed the values of Southern Miss football and displayed great leadership not only on the field but off the field. As an assistant coach, he did a great job of working with the players and providing leadership as well. I hate to lose good football coaches, but wish him the best with his new position and throughout his career. We'll start the search right away, and even though we are losing a quality coach, I feel confident that we'll attract another outstanding coach to fill the position."
Nix, one of the best-known players to ever wear a Southern Miss uniform, began his coaching career in 2003 as the defensive graduate assistant, before moving to the tight end position in 2004 and the running backs in 2005.
This past season under Nix's direction, his running backs ran for 2,378 yards and scored 23 touchdowns, the first time the Golden Eagles ran for over 2,000 yards since 1987. True freshman Damion Fletcher, who earned first-team All-Conference USA honors and Freshman All-American honors from five different organizations, ran for 1,388 yards and scored 11 touchdowns, the second most yards in a season in the school's history. He set the freshman rushing record at Southern Miss and for Conference USA as well. He also was named a finalist for the Conerly Trophy, signifying the top player in the state of Mississippi.
Nix was a record-setting running back throughout his Southern Miss playing days. He was so successful that he was named to the Golden Eagle Team of the Century that was announced in 2000 and recently became one of only five players in the history of the football program to become a member of the Southern Miss Legends Club.
His name is prominent in the Southern Miss record book, including becoming the first Golden Eagle player ever to rush for 1,000 yards in each of his freshman and sophomore seasons and the only Southern Miss and Conference USA player ever to rush for 1,000 yards or more in three seasons, finishing just 12 yards short of becoming the all-time leading rusher at Southern Miss and 53 yards short of the C-USA record, despite an injury shortened career that required him to have a kidney transplant in June 2003.
A sprained ankle, along with the kidney problem, forced Nix, a three-time All-Conference USA selection, to sit out a year and a half, before returning to fashion a successful senior season.
Nix, a 2002 Southern Miss graduate with a bachelor's degree in sport administration, is working toward a master's degree in the same field. His older brother, Tyrone, a member of the Southern Miss coaching staff from 1995-2003, was a four-year standout linebacker for Southern Miss and is now the defensive coordinator at South Carolina.
He is the son of Preston and Mary Nix of Attalla, Ala.
