ASHLAND – Charlie Hall will welcome two highly-decorated coaches to the Southern Oregon University football staff, the head coach announced Wednesday, with Jerome Souers taking over as the defensive coordinator and Tim Davis on the offensive line.

Souers was the head coach for 21 seasons at Northern Arizona University – where Hall served as offensive coordinator from 2001-05 – and finished his tenure in 2018 as the Big Sky's all-time leader in conference wins. Davis was most recently the offensive line coach at NAU from 2015-18 after stints at a handful of NCAA FBS programs, having coached in 16 bowl games and presided over offensive lines that played in front of two Heisman Trophy winners.

Souers and Davis will start officially on Friday. They'll replace James Gravelle, who was SOU's defensive coordinator for four seasons, and Kyle Otineru, who coached the offensive line for three.

"We are so grateful to have these coaches in our program," Hall said. "Their collective experience is such an amazing asset. All of our players will benefit from the technical expertise and confidence they will share."

Souers compiled a 123-114 career record at NAU, making him the winningest coach in school history. He was a 2003 finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, presented to the top head coach at the NCAA Division I-AA level, after leading the Lumberjacks to their first Big Sky championship in 25 years and an appearance in the national quarterfinal round. In total, the Lumberjacks made five postseason appearances under Souers' direction and went 85-77 in Big Sky play.

Prior to NAU, Souers coached at University of Montana for 12 seasons and was the defensive coordinator for the last eight of those. The Grizzlies posted winning records every year during his stay, earned seven playoff berths, advanced to two national title games and won a championship in 1995. During the title run, Souers' defense became the first in NCAA history to register back-to-back playoff shutouts.

Souers began his coaching career at his alma mater, North Eugene High, while attending University of Oregon, from which he graduated with a degree in physical education in 1983. He also made stops at Western Washington University and Portland State University.

"The fact that Coach Souers wants to be a part of SOU speaks volumes about his love for the game and how much he cares about being a positive influence in the lives of student-athletes at any level," Hall said.

The previous decade saw Davis coach offensive lines, successively, at University of Minnesota, University of Utah, University of Florida, Southern Methodist University and NAU. While he coached tight ends at University of Wisconsin from 1997-2001, the Badgers played in two Rose Bowl games, and while he coached the offensive line at University of Southern California from 2002-04, the Trojans won two national championships as Davis oversaw units that protected Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart.

Davis served as an offensive line assistant for the Miami Dolphins from 2005-06 before taking over as University of Alabama's director of player personnel in 2008, when the Crimson Tide secured the nation's top recruiting class. In 2011 at Utah, his line produced a pair of All-Pac-12 tackles that helped running back John White break the school's single-season rushing record.

Davis also played at Utah, where he launched his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 1981. In 1986, he earned a master's degree in higher education Wisconsin while coaching as a graduate assistant, and later returned to Utah from 1990-96.