COPPERAS COVE – A familiar face is returning to the five hills to lead the Bulldawgs.
Thursday, during a special meeting, the Copperas Cove ISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved the hiring of former Cove assistant Rodney Southern as the new Head Football Coach/Boys Athletic Director for the district.
“Cove is where I learned to coach at a high level and where I learned how to build a program from the ground up,” Southern said. “It is where I grew as a leader and molded me to get my first head coaching opportunity. There is a tremendous amount of history here and I was just a small part of that, but now want to have a bigger role in the future of the program. I am excited to be back in Copperas Cove and looking forward to building the program.”
Most recently, Southern spent 11 seasons as the Head Football Coach/Athletic Director at Huntsville High School. During that span, Southern led the Hornets to several playoff berths, including in his final four seasons. The Hornets made two trips to the Regional Final under Southern, in 2018 and 2023.
Southern’s Hornets produced multiple Division I athletes, including a 2024 NFL Draft selection. The year prior to Southern’s arrival in Huntsville, the Hornets went 2-8.
Prior to Huntsville, Southern coached against the Bulldawgs as Head Football Coach/Athletic Director at Belton, where he won a district title and made multiple playoff appearances across seven years as Head Football Coach, after taking over a program that went 0-10 the year prior to his arrival.
After working as the defensive coordinator for the Bulldawgs in the late 1990’s, Southern was named the Head Football Coach/Athletic Director at Marshall, in east Texas, where he guided the Mavericks to consecutive Class 4A state championship games in 2004 and 2005.
As an administrator, Southern has overseen improvements to benefit students everywhere he’s been. Most notably, while a Huntsville, Southern oversaw the construction and opening of a stadium on the HHS campus, after decades of playing at Sam Houston State. He also helped develop on-campus fields for baseball and softball after years of playing at the city park, which addressed a number of safety and cost concerns for the district.
“We are excited to have Coach Southern returning home to lead the Bulldawgs,” said Superintendent Dr. Brent Hawkins. “Coach Southern has a track record of excellence both as a coach and administrator. We are confident that, with the students and community support here in Copperas Cove, he will have the Bulldawgs back to their winning ways in short order.”
Southern is currently expected to start in his new role on Monday.
