Mickey Joseph was back in familiar surroundings.
The well-traveled college assistant who worked at Grambling State at one of many coaching stops in his 25-year career returned to the school as the football program’s 15th head coach.
“It’s great to be back. It’s great to be back,” Joseph said Monday during the introductory press conference.”I want to thank you guys for believing in me. I want to thank the (search) committee for believing in me and everybody that’s here today.
I stand for you today that I’m here to win on the field and off the field.”
Joseph, who served as Nebraska’s interim head coach in 2022, led the Huskers to a 3-6 record during his tenure.
He was arrested and charged with one felony count of assault by strangulation last December relating to an alleged domestic violence incident with his wife. He was placed on administrative leave by Nebraska. Those charges were later dropped. Joseph did not coach during the 2023 football season.
Before his time at Nebraska, Joseph made significant contributions to LSU’s football program, where he was part of the 2019 national championship staff.
His coaching career spans nearly three decades, including previous HBCU coaching stints at Grambling State, Alcorn State, and Langston University.
As a player, Joseph was a standout quarterback at Nebraska, where he was part of a team that won two Big Eight titles and appeared in multiple bowl games.
He will be taking over the reins from former GSU head coach Hue Jackson, who coached the Tigers to an 8-14 record over two seasons before the school fired him on November 28.
Athletic Director Trayveon Scott indicated that Joseph was the right candidate for the job after an “exhaustive and thorough” national search because of his detailed vision for the program and quarter century of experience.
“Number one, he’s detailed in his vision in all aspects of the program,” said Scott. “He’s spent the past 25 years preparing for today.”
Joseph, an assistant at Grambling during the Broderick Fobbs regime, will try to turn around a program that hasn’t won the SWAC West Division title or a conference championship since 2017.
The first order of business, said Joseph, involves ingratiating himself with the administration and Grambling community and then using long-held recruiting relationships in Louisiana to fortify the roster. He has yet to decide who will be on his coaching staff or whether current Grambling assistants will be part of it.
“We’re going to touch every high school in the state of Louisiana,” he said. “I think right here in the state — pound for pound — is the best state for its high school football. We’re going to draw a five-hour radius around Grambling, and we’re going to stay in state to recruit these kids.”
Joseph said the recruiting profile would capture players who have stated NFL aspirations, and the program –despite being an HBCU — shouldn’t shy away from going after those athletes.
Since Grambling is somewhat behind in recruiting during the active period, Joseph preached patience with the process even though early National Signing Day is a little under two months away. He said that good players — whether coming out of high school or in the transfer portal — will still be available.
Though he likes the current makeup of the Grambling roster, Joseph said that roughly 15 percent of the roster will come from the transfer portal, and the other 85 percent will be high school athletes. He said this formula should put Grambling back on a competitive level.
“It’s time to get to work,” he said. “They need to fear Grambling. And that’s what we plan to do.”
