After a long stretch of losing seasons, South Alabama has enjoyed some success the past couple years.
The Jaguars were 7-6 overall with a 4-4 mark in the Sun Belt in 2023 and ended the season with the first bowl win in program history with a victory in the 68 Ventures Bowl. They were 10-3 overall and 7-1 in conference play the year before.
Major Applewhite, who was the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator, hoped to sustain the momentum of the program after he was promoted to head coach last offseason. The Jaguars went 7-6 with a 5-3 record against league opponents in 2024.
Here’s more about Applewhite and his resume.
What’s South Alabama Head Coach Major Applewhite’s Salary?
Major Applewhite signed a five-year deal that pays $825,000 per year in base salary. He made $825,000 in total pay in 2024, according to USA Today.
Major Applewhite’s Coaching History
| Years | Team | Position |
| 2024-present | South Alabama | HC |
| 2021-23 | South Alabama | OC |
| 2019-20 | Alabama | Analyst |
| 2017-18 | Houston | HC |
| 2015-16 | Houston | Assistant |
| 2008-13 | Texas | Assistant HC |
| 2007 | Alabama | Assistant |
| 2006 | Rice | Assistant |
| 2005 | Syracuse | Assistant |
| 2003-04 | Texas | GA |
What’s South Alabama Head Coach Major Applewhite’s Record?
Major Applewhite is 22-17 in the FBS as a head coach with a 1-3 mark in bowl games. He went 15-11 in three years at Houston.
How Old Is South Alabama Head Coach Major Applewhite?
Major Applewhite is 46 years old.
South Alabama Head Coach Major Applewhite’s Background
Applewhite has been with the Jaguars for four seasons.
In his first season at South Alabama, he coached current NFL wide receiver Jalen Tolbert, who was the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year as he totaled 1,474 yards and eight touchdowns on 82 receptions. In the past two years, 10 South Alabama offensive players have earned all-conference accolades.
This past year, the Jaguars were third in the Sun Belt in total offense (440.5 yards per game) and fourth in scoring offense (33.1 points per game). They were fourth in scoring offense (31.2 points per game) and total offense (423.5 yards per game) the previous year as well.
Applewhite was the head coach at Houston from 2017-18 after two years as an assistant there from 2015-16. He began his coaching career at Texas, where he was the Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year in 1998 and the conference’s Co-Offensive Player of the Year in 1999. He was a graduate assistant with the Longhorns from 2003-04.
After that, he was an assistant at Syracuse (2005), an offensive coordinator at Rice (2006), and an offensive coordinator at Alabama (2007). He was the assistant head coach at Texas from 2008-10 and then was a co-offensive coordinator there from 2011-13.
