HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Less than a week after Southern Miss won its first Conference USA title since 2003, the program is looking for a new football coach.
North Carolina said Thursday that it will hire Larry Fedora away from the Golden Eagles as its new head coach, pending final approval by the school's trustees Friday morning. UNC has scheduled a news conference in Chapel Hill that afternoon.
"It's a situation I'm extremely excited about," Fedora said. "The University of North Carolina has a national brand and I think they're hungry to win championships."
In a statement, North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham said interim coach Everett Withers would coach the Tar Heels in the Independence Bowl.
Fedora met with Southern Miss players and coaches on Thursday where he revealed he was leaving for North Carolina, but will coach the 22nd-ranked Golden Eagles in the Dec. 24 Hawaii Bowl against Nevada.
"We want to see this thing through," Fedora said. "We want to finish this thing. This could be only team in 100 years of football that wins 12 games. We want to get that 12th win."
Fedora, 49, has a 33-19 record in four years with the Golden Eagles.
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AP Sports Writer Aaron Beard in Chapel Hill, N.C. contributed to this story.