From combined reports

HATTIESBURG (AP) — A report from the Daily Oklahoman surfaced Monday evening saying Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Todd Monken has been hired as the new head football coach at Southern Miss, but USM athletic director Jeff Hammond said Monday night no deal had been reached.

The Oklahoma City newspaper credited an anonymous source in reporting the news.

If Monken gets the USM job, it would mean the Golden Eagles have hired an Oklahoma State offensive coordinator three of the last four times they have had a football coaching opening. Jeff Bower held the same job when USM hired him before the 1990 All-American Bowl, as did Larry Fedora when he replaced Bower in 2008.

Monken, 45, was also an assistant coach at Oklahoma State and LSU under Les Miles and with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars before returning to OSU as offensive coordinator under Mike Gundy two years ago. The Cowboys rank fourth in the country in scoring offense (44.7 points per game) and fifth in total offense (548.2 yards per game) heading into the Heart of Dallas Bowl Jan. 1 against Purdue.

USM recently fired head coach Ellis Johnson, who went 0-12 in his lone season in Hattiesburg.