Given that he was hired less than 48 hours after his successor resigned, it’s self-evident that Major Applewhite rose pretty quickly to the top of the candidate lists for South Alabama’s head football coach opening.

Applewhite was hired on Thursday to replace Kane Wommack, who left Tuesday to become defensive coordinator at Alabama. The 45-year-old Applewhite was Wommack’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the last three seasons, in which the Jaguars went 22-16.

South Alabama athletics director Joel Erdmann conducted what wound up as a lightning quick search, and found Wommack’s replacement just down the hall. He said Thursday that Applewhite was the “absolute best match” for the Jaguars’ program.

“After having an evaluation of where we are, who we are, where we think we’re going and where we want to go, stepping back and evaluating Major from not just how we’ve known Major the last three years, but the full amount of Major from his experiences growing up to his playing experiences to his coaching experiences,” Erdmann said, “whether as an assistant, a coordinator or a head coach, the people he has learned from, the people he uses as mentors and as advisors, and then diving deep into who he is as a human being, it became very clear that he was the absolute best match for our program, right now today, and in the coming years.”

It’s the second head-coaching opportunity for Applewhite, the former star quarterback at Texas in the late 1990s. He was previously head coach at Houston, a two-year tenure that ended with a 15-11 record when he was fired largely for failing to live up to the lofty standard set by predecessor Tom Herman.

This time, Applewhite takes over for the most-successful head coach in the Jaguars’ short history. Wommack posted the first 10-win season of South Alabama’s FBS era in 2022 and ended 2023 with the program’s first bowl victory.

Applewhite was obviously a large part of that success, running an offense that set numerous school records for points and yards. South Alabama scored 50 points three times — including the 59-10 rout of Eastern Michigan in the 68 Ventures Bowl.

“We’ve known Major as an offensive coordinator and we’ve known him as a coach,” Erdmann said. “When you really have to pause and eliminate all the external noise and distractions, and in an undistracted and focused way really talk about what are your beliefs? Why do you do this? What drives you every day? And how does that impact student-athletes and a team and others? That’s what really shoved it over the edge for me. I was 100 percent at peace and excited for what I know about Major Applewhite now.”

Erdmann said there was a large amount of interest in the decision despite the compressed time frame, with the late signing period just three weeks away, the transfer portal re-opened after Wommack’s departure (and one star player entered the portal on Thursday) and spring practice likely to take place in less than two months. Erdmann said he was forced move at a “fast pace” to get a new coach hired in the interest of continuity with the Jaguars’ players, who were dealt a body blow when their head coach left to become an assistant in their own state.

News broke late Wednesday that Applewhite would be the new South Alabama coach, and Erdmann informed the Jaguars team of the decision in a meeting early Thursday. He said the room was filled with excitement and Applewhite was given a “standing ovation” by the South Alabama players.

“I’d like to recognize the maturity of our team,” Erdmann said. “They have been through a whirlwind here the past 72 hours and have been tolerant of the ambiguity and the uncertainty and rose above any type of fray. Quite honestly, I encouraged and I received feedback from a good number of them about what their thoughts are. I think it is key to recognize how they handled the situation and how solid the young men are that we have in that locker room.”

As for the quietly intense Applewhite, Erdmann said his new head coach met the decision with a combination of humility and excitement. Applewhite is set to make his first public comments during an introductory press conference at Hancock Whitney Stadium at 11 a.m. Friday.

Then it’s off to work recruiting, hiring a coaching staff and trying to keep the current roster together.

“We have a job to do and now it begins,” Erdmann said.