University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Blake Anderson Begins Assembling Football Staff for 2026 Season
12/30/2025 3:00:00 PM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss football coach Blake Anderson has announced the appointment of nine staff members for the 2026 season, including five that were a part of the Golden Eagles 2025 New Orleans Bowl squad.
New addition, Kyle Cefalo, joins the staff as assistant head coach as well as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Joe Bolden, who served as special teams coordinator/nickels coach in 2025, has been promoted to defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, while Taveze Calhoun will remain as cornerbacks coach and Sean Coughlin as offensive line coach. Anderson also announced the hiring of Jerone Steckel as defensive line coach, while Michael Gibbs was promoted to tight ends coach.
In off the field roles, the Golden Eagles also see the return of both Reed Stringer as General Manager and Gary Camp as Chief of Staff. Barney Farrar also will remain on staff in the role of Director of Mississippi Recruitment.
Cefalo joins the Southern Miss personnel after spending the last season at California, serving as wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator. In his lone season at Cal, the Bears ranked No. 17 in the country in passing yards at 275.8 yards per game and Jacob De Jesus ranked second in the nation in both receiving yards (1,029) and catches per game (8.31). The Bears finished the season 7-6 and an appearance in the Hawai'i Bowl.
Cefalo also has made stops at Arkansas State, Maryland and Utah State. During his time as an offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach, Cefalo has been part of six teams that have been ranked in the top 25 nationally in both total offense and passing offense.
Three of his teams have been ranked in the top 10 in the country in passing offense, including the No. 2-rated squad in passing offense when he was the wide receivers coach and special teams co-coordinator at Arkansas State in 2020. During his tenure as offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach at Utah State, Cefalo directed a unit this past season that produced 467.7 yards per game – which ranks seventh in the nation and second in the Mountain West Conference.
He coached two Associated Press Second Team All-Americans and Biletnikoff Award semifinalists at Arkansas State – Omar Bayless in 2019 and Jonathan Adams Jr. in 2020. Adams was also the 2020 Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year. Utah State's Deven Thompkins was also a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist, Third Team All-American and First Team All-Mountain West performer in 2021. He finished second in the country with 1,704 receiving yards and currently plays for the Carolina Panthers. Jalen Royals was a Third Team All-American under Cefalo's guidance in 2023 for the Aggies, when he ranked second nationally with 15 touchdown catches. Royals was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2025.
Cefalo began his coaching career at Arkansas State in 2013 and spent three seasons there as a graduate assistant – the first of which he worked under then-Red Wolves head coach Bryan Harsin. Cefalo was also a grad assistant at Maryland in 2016 before returning to Arkansas State as inside wide receivers coach in 2017.
He moved on to Utah State in 2021 as the Aggies' wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator before becoming the program's co-offensive coordinator in 2023. In 2024, he took over sole offensive coordinator duties for Utah State. During his coaching tenure, Cefalo has been involved in 11 bowl games and three conference championships.
Cefalo played wide receiver for the University of Colorado from 2009-13.
Bolden was hired as the school's Special Teams Coordinator/Nickels Coach at Southern Miss in January of 2025. In his first year with the program, Bolden oversaw a special teams squad which did not allow a blocked kick or punt the entire season, while his squad blocked a pair of kicks during the year. The Golden Eagles also finished third in the Sun Belt in both kickoff returns (22.50) and punt returns (11.47). Southern Miss did not miss an extra point, making all 46 attempts. The Golden Eagle defense also forced 29 turnovers, which included 23 interceptions on the year.
Bolden arrived at Southern Miss after working two seasons at Tulsa, coaching the JACKS position and serving as special teams coordinator. He added the responsibility of co-defensive run game coordinator during his second season. Bolden came to Tulsa following one season as the special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach at Nevada. In his one year, the Wolfpack ranked No. 36 nationally for blocked kicks and No. 40 for kick return defense in 2022.
Before his stint at Nevada, Bolden spent two seasons (2020-21) at Ohio State as a defensive quality control coach. In those two years, the Buckeyes played in the CFP championship game and the Rose Bowl.
Bolden began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Michigan, in 2016, before a brief stop at Florida Atlantic. He spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Washington State. In 2019, Bolden served as the special teams quality control analyst at Southern Cal.
He was a four-year letterwinner (2012-15) and three-year starter at Michigan, where he finished his career with 270 tackles and 18.5 tackles for loss from his linebacker position. He captained the 2015 Wolverine team as a senior and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors as well. Bolden led the Wolverines with 83 tackles his senior season.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Bolden graduated from Michigan in 2015 with a degree in sports management. Bolden and his wife, Kristy, have four children: Bodie, Blakely, Blaire and Barrett.
Steckel joins the Southern Miss staff after serving as the defensive line coach for South Alabama last season. Steckel spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons at Eastern Michigan coaching the program's defensive line. Steckel helped guide the Eagles to six wins and a bowl appearance in 2023.
Prior to joining the staff at Eastern Michigan, Steckel spent four years at Southeast Missouri State as the defensive line coach. He helped the Redhawks finish 9-3 overall and 5-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play during the 2022 campaign. The Redhawks advanced to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs for the third time in five years and posted their fourth nine-win season in program history. In 2020 and 2021, Steckel coached his first All-OVC performer in Bryson Donnell. A first-team selection, Donnell made five starts on the defensive line and was SEMO's fourth-leading tackler with 41 stops. He added three tackles for loss, a sack and four quarterback hurries. Donnell also blocked a kick, forced a fumble and had one fumble recovery.
Steckel earned his first full-time coaching opportunity in 2018 as the defensive line coach at Missouri State. That Missouri State team tallied 24 sacks in a single season and picked up wins against No. 9 Illinois State and No. 20 Northern Arizona. The 2018 season at Missouri State was Steckel's second stint with the Bears as he was a defensive quality control coach with the program from 2015-17. Between stops in Missouri, Steckel spent the 2017 football season at Central Michigan as a graduate assistant.
Steckel was selected for one of the National Football League's Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowship Coaching positions in the summer of 2020. He worked with the Los Angeles Rams during OTAs and Training Camp.
Steckel's first coaching position in college football was at Division II Adams State where he was a graduate assistant. That opportunity came after he concluded his playing career at his alma mater, Eastern Illinois. Steckel spent two seasons with the Panthers after starting his playing career at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa. At Eastern Illinois, Steckel helped the Panthers win the 2012 OVC Championship, and was roommates with former NFL quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
At EIU, Steckel earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology and sports studies in 2014. He and his wife, Katlyn, have two sons, Tatum and Kyler.
Stringer, an interim head coach for the Golden Eagles in 2024, returns after spending a year as General Manager at Louisiana. Stringer returns following a second stint in Lafayette - and his first as General Manager with the program - after spending the previous seven years at Southern Miss.
Stringer spent his final four seasons as assistant head coach/general manager and seventh year overall with the Golden Eagle football program, where he assisted with the daily needs of the football program.
Before coming to Southern Miss, Stringer spent the previous seven seasons (2011-17) as assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach at Louisiana. At UL, Stringer developed and mentored one of the most consistent and high achieving units on the Ragin Cajun squad with five different tight ends earning all-conference honors in seven years.
Known for being a great evaluator and a relentless recruiter, Stringer's recruiting efforts led the way in Louisiana posting four consecutive nine-win seasons for the first time in school history. The Ragin' Cajun recruiting classes consistently finished at the top of the Sun Belt conference and among the group of 5 institutions.
Stringer, the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Recruiter of the Year by Scout.com, was also recognized in 2009 as one of the SEC's "Top 10 Recruiters" by Rivals.com for his contributions to Mississippi State's nationally-ranked class which produced 12 players who signed NFL contracts and included Cincinnati Red's centerfielder Billy Hamilton, Thorpe Award winner Jonathan Banks, and the Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Fletcher Cox.
Before spending the 2010 season on Dabo Swinney's staff at Clemson, Stringer spent seven seasons at Mississippi State in a variety of roles. At 25, he became the youngest full-time coach in the SEC when he was promoted to tight ends coach on Sylvester Croom's staff in 2005 and added special teams duties to his resume in 2007. He was also the Director of Recruiting for Dan Mullen's 2009 staff.
He earned a bachelor's degree in business management from Delta State in 2001 and completed a master's in business administration from DSU in 2003. A four-year letterman on the Statesmen's offensive line, he helped DSU claim the 2000 NCAA Division II national championship. Stringer concluded his career with a string of 35 consecutive starting assignments at offensive left tackle. In addition to the 2000 national title, he was also instrumental in helping Delta State win the 1998 and 2000 Gulf South Conference championships.
Stringer will assist in recruiting and scouting, as well as handle duties with revenue sharing with the program.
Stringer is married to the former Emily Howell and they have three sons, Smith, Banks, and John Reed.
Camp returns to the Southern Miss staff after working in private business. Camp originally served as Director of Football Operations from 2008-11 under then head coach Larry Fedora. He earned his bachelor's degree from Baylor, where he played on the football team and lettered in 1988 and 1989.
His previous collegiate experience includes working as a graduate assistant at Middle Tennessee for two years, where he earned his Master's Degree. He also worked a season as offensive line and strength and conditioning coach, as well as recruiting coordinator at Sewanee. Camp and wife, Staci, have four children, Haley, Cade, Ransom and Cooper.
New addition, Kyle Cefalo, joins the staff as assistant head coach as well as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Joe Bolden, who served as special teams coordinator/nickels coach in 2025, has been promoted to defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, while Taveze Calhoun will remain as cornerbacks coach and Sean Coughlin as offensive line coach. Anderson also announced the hiring of Jerone Steckel as defensive line coach, while Michael Gibbs was promoted to tight ends coach.
In off the field roles, the Golden Eagles also see the return of both Reed Stringer as General Manager and Gary Camp as Chief of Staff. Barney Farrar also will remain on staff in the role of Director of Mississippi Recruitment.
Cefalo joins the Southern Miss personnel after spending the last season at California, serving as wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator. In his lone season at Cal, the Bears ranked No. 17 in the country in passing yards at 275.8 yards per game and Jacob De Jesus ranked second in the nation in both receiving yards (1,029) and catches per game (8.31). The Bears finished the season 7-6 and an appearance in the Hawai'i Bowl.
Cefalo also has made stops at Arkansas State, Maryland and Utah State. During his time as an offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach, Cefalo has been part of six teams that have been ranked in the top 25 nationally in both total offense and passing offense.
Three of his teams have been ranked in the top 10 in the country in passing offense, including the No. 2-rated squad in passing offense when he was the wide receivers coach and special teams co-coordinator at Arkansas State in 2020. During his tenure as offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach at Utah State, Cefalo directed a unit this past season that produced 467.7 yards per game – which ranks seventh in the nation and second in the Mountain West Conference.
He coached two Associated Press Second Team All-Americans and Biletnikoff Award semifinalists at Arkansas State – Omar Bayless in 2019 and Jonathan Adams Jr. in 2020. Adams was also the 2020 Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year. Utah State's Deven Thompkins was also a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist, Third Team All-American and First Team All-Mountain West performer in 2021. He finished second in the country with 1,704 receiving yards and currently plays for the Carolina Panthers. Jalen Royals was a Third Team All-American under Cefalo's guidance in 2023 for the Aggies, when he ranked second nationally with 15 touchdown catches. Royals was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2025.
Cefalo began his coaching career at Arkansas State in 2013 and spent three seasons there as a graduate assistant – the first of which he worked under then-Red Wolves head coach Bryan Harsin. Cefalo was also a grad assistant at Maryland in 2016 before returning to Arkansas State as inside wide receivers coach in 2017.
He moved on to Utah State in 2021 as the Aggies' wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator before becoming the program's co-offensive coordinator in 2023. In 2024, he took over sole offensive coordinator duties for Utah State. During his coaching tenure, Cefalo has been involved in 11 bowl games and three conference championships.
Cefalo played wide receiver for the University of Colorado from 2009-13.
Bolden was hired as the school's Special Teams Coordinator/Nickels Coach at Southern Miss in January of 2025. In his first year with the program, Bolden oversaw a special teams squad which did not allow a blocked kick or punt the entire season, while his squad blocked a pair of kicks during the year. The Golden Eagles also finished third in the Sun Belt in both kickoff returns (22.50) and punt returns (11.47). Southern Miss did not miss an extra point, making all 46 attempts. The Golden Eagle defense also forced 29 turnovers, which included 23 interceptions on the year.
Bolden arrived at Southern Miss after working two seasons at Tulsa, coaching the JACKS position and serving as special teams coordinator. He added the responsibility of co-defensive run game coordinator during his second season. Bolden came to Tulsa following one season as the special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach at Nevada. In his one year, the Wolfpack ranked No. 36 nationally for blocked kicks and No. 40 for kick return defense in 2022.
Before his stint at Nevada, Bolden spent two seasons (2020-21) at Ohio State as a defensive quality control coach. In those two years, the Buckeyes played in the CFP championship game and the Rose Bowl.
Bolden began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Michigan, in 2016, before a brief stop at Florida Atlantic. He spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Washington State. In 2019, Bolden served as the special teams quality control analyst at Southern Cal.
He was a four-year letterwinner (2012-15) and three-year starter at Michigan, where he finished his career with 270 tackles and 18.5 tackles for loss from his linebacker position. He captained the 2015 Wolverine team as a senior and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors as well. Bolden led the Wolverines with 83 tackles his senior season.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Bolden graduated from Michigan in 2015 with a degree in sports management. Bolden and his wife, Kristy, have four children: Bodie, Blakely, Blaire and Barrett.
Steckel joins the Southern Miss staff after serving as the defensive line coach for South Alabama last season. Steckel spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons at Eastern Michigan coaching the program's defensive line. Steckel helped guide the Eagles to six wins and a bowl appearance in 2023.
Prior to joining the staff at Eastern Michigan, Steckel spent four years at Southeast Missouri State as the defensive line coach. He helped the Redhawks finish 9-3 overall and 5-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play during the 2022 campaign. The Redhawks advanced to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs for the third time in five years and posted their fourth nine-win season in program history. In 2020 and 2021, Steckel coached his first All-OVC performer in Bryson Donnell. A first-team selection, Donnell made five starts on the defensive line and was SEMO's fourth-leading tackler with 41 stops. He added three tackles for loss, a sack and four quarterback hurries. Donnell also blocked a kick, forced a fumble and had one fumble recovery.
Steckel earned his first full-time coaching opportunity in 2018 as the defensive line coach at Missouri State. That Missouri State team tallied 24 sacks in a single season and picked up wins against No. 9 Illinois State and No. 20 Northern Arizona. The 2018 season at Missouri State was Steckel's second stint with the Bears as he was a defensive quality control coach with the program from 2015-17. Between stops in Missouri, Steckel spent the 2017 football season at Central Michigan as a graduate assistant.
Steckel was selected for one of the National Football League's Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowship Coaching positions in the summer of 2020. He worked with the Los Angeles Rams during OTAs and Training Camp.
Steckel's first coaching position in college football was at Division II Adams State where he was a graduate assistant. That opportunity came after he concluded his playing career at his alma mater, Eastern Illinois. Steckel spent two seasons with the Panthers after starting his playing career at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa. At Eastern Illinois, Steckel helped the Panthers win the 2012 OVC Championship, and was roommates with former NFL quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
At EIU, Steckel earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology and sports studies in 2014. He and his wife, Katlyn, have two sons, Tatum and Kyler.
Stringer, an interim head coach for the Golden Eagles in 2024, returns after spending a year as General Manager at Louisiana. Stringer returns following a second stint in Lafayette - and his first as General Manager with the program - after spending the previous seven years at Southern Miss.
Stringer spent his final four seasons as assistant head coach/general manager and seventh year overall with the Golden Eagle football program, where he assisted with the daily needs of the football program.
Before coming to Southern Miss, Stringer spent the previous seven seasons (2011-17) as assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach at Louisiana. At UL, Stringer developed and mentored one of the most consistent and high achieving units on the Ragin Cajun squad with five different tight ends earning all-conference honors in seven years.
Known for being a great evaluator and a relentless recruiter, Stringer's recruiting efforts led the way in Louisiana posting four consecutive nine-win seasons for the first time in school history. The Ragin' Cajun recruiting classes consistently finished at the top of the Sun Belt conference and among the group of 5 institutions.
Stringer, the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Recruiter of the Year by Scout.com, was also recognized in 2009 as one of the SEC's "Top 10 Recruiters" by Rivals.com for his contributions to Mississippi State's nationally-ranked class which produced 12 players who signed NFL contracts and included Cincinnati Red's centerfielder Billy Hamilton, Thorpe Award winner Jonathan Banks, and the Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Fletcher Cox.
Before spending the 2010 season on Dabo Swinney's staff at Clemson, Stringer spent seven seasons at Mississippi State in a variety of roles. At 25, he became the youngest full-time coach in the SEC when he was promoted to tight ends coach on Sylvester Croom's staff in 2005 and added special teams duties to his resume in 2007. He was also the Director of Recruiting for Dan Mullen's 2009 staff.
He earned a bachelor's degree in business management from Delta State in 2001 and completed a master's in business administration from DSU in 2003. A four-year letterman on the Statesmen's offensive line, he helped DSU claim the 2000 NCAA Division II national championship. Stringer concluded his career with a string of 35 consecutive starting assignments at offensive left tackle. In addition to the 2000 national title, he was also instrumental in helping Delta State win the 1998 and 2000 Gulf South Conference championships.
Stringer will assist in recruiting and scouting, as well as handle duties with revenue sharing with the program.
Stringer is married to the former Emily Howell and they have three sons, Smith, Banks, and John Reed.
Camp returns to the Southern Miss staff after working in private business. Camp originally served as Director of Football Operations from 2008-11 under then head coach Larry Fedora. He earned his bachelor's degree from Baylor, where he played on the football team and lettered in 1988 and 1989.
His previous collegiate experience includes working as a graduate assistant at Middle Tennessee for two years, where he earned his Master's Degree. He also worked a season as offensive line and strength and conditioning coach, as well as recruiting coordinator at Sewanee. Camp and wife, Staci, have four children, Haley, Cade, Ransom and Cooper.
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