Norvell Announces First Memphis Football Staff

MEMPHIS – Football head coach Mike Norvell announced Monday that he has filled 10 positions on his first Memphis staff, including three previously-announced hires. His staff and positional assignments are as follows.

Defensive Coordinator/Safeties: Chris Ball
Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach: Chip Long
Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs: Darrell Dickey
Wide Receivers: David Johnson
Inside Linebackers/Recruiting Coordinator: Dan Lanning
Special Teams Coordinator/Outside Linebackers: Joe Lorig
Defensive Line: Paul Randolph
Offensive Line: Ryan Silverfield
Cornerbacks: Marcus Woodson
Strength and Conditioning: Josh Storms

"When beginning to put together our first staff, I was looking for great teachers of the game and to assemble a group of men that I would want to coach my child," Norvell said. "When you see the experience, the diversity, the passion and love for the game this coaching staff embodies, I believe we have assembled one of the best groups in the country. These coaches all love pouring their hearts in to the young men they coach, and not just in what they do on the football field, but in every aspect – whether it's success academically, socially, and creating relationships that are going to last for the next 15 or 20 years of their lives. We are bringing together a coaching staff that is truly going to embrace the family mentality. I'm excited about this group. I'm excited about the experience they're bringing and I'm excited about the schemes and aggressive style we are going to have on both sides of the football and on special teams. This staff is the perfect fit, at the perfect place, and at the perfect time to help the Memphis football program take the Next Step!"

Brief bios on each of the hires are below with links to full bios in bold.

Chris Ball: Chris Ball will come to Memphis as the program's defensive coordinator. After spending the past four seasons at Arizona State, including the last three as the co-defensive coordinator, Ball brings an abundance of experience with him to the Tiger roster after stops at Arizona State, Washington State, Pitt and Alabama. He has served as assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and as the safeties coach in his previous stops and has guided a number of former college defensive players in to the NFL.

"One of the key hires on this staff was the Defensive Coordinator position and I could not be more thrilled to bring Chris Ball to lead our defense," Norvell said. "He has an unbelievable track record; he has coached some of the most explosive defenses in the country in the PAC 12 and the SEC. Chris has been the co-defensive coordinator at Arizona State the last four years, where he was a part of one of the most impactful defenses in the country in takeaways and creating negative plays. Chris is going to coach our safeties, where, over the last four years, Arizona State led the league in all-conference performers. He's originally from Missouri and coached at the University of Alabama for four years, so he's very tied to this region from a recruiting aspect. He is a tremendous teacher and a coach who sets himself apart because of the close knit relationships he carries with his players. We are very excited about the addition of Chris, his wife Tandi and their three children to the Tiger Family."

Chip Long: Chip Long joins the Memphis staff after four seasons at Arizona State. There, he helped ASU to back-to-back 10-win seasons and a PAC-12 South championship. The Sun Devil offense averaged 37 points per game during his stint (2012-15). He has also coached at Illinois and Arkansas and in three different times in his career, he has worked with an offense that ranked in the Top 10 in the country in scoring offense. In six of his ten seasons as a college coach, Long has been a part of a Top 20 scoring offense.

"Chip Long is without a doubt one of the brightest young offensive minds in the country. Coach Long and I have coached together for the last four years at Arizona State, where Chip was our recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach," Norvell said. "He's going to direct an aggressive attack style offense which will showcase our playmakers in every aspect of the game. He has been nationally-recognized over the last four years as one of the top recruiters in the country. Coach Long is originally from Birmingham, Alabama and has great ties to the region. He has coached in the SEC, Big East, Big Ten, as well as the PAC 12, and is going to be a very dynamic addition to our staff. We are extremely excited about Chip and his wife, Karissa, joining us at the University of Memphis."

Joe Lorig: Joe Lorig brings 20 years of collegiate coaching experience to Memphis and will serve as the program's special teams coordinator and will also coach the outside linebackers. His career has included eight seasons as a defensive coordinator and two as a special teams coordinator. At Utah State, he worked with a 2015 senior class that won 36 games during their playing career, the second-most wins by a senior class. He has also coached freshman place kicker Zane Gonzalez to Freshman All-American honors in 2013 and helped punter Josh Huber lead the Pac-12 and rank second in the nation in yards per punt (47.1) in 2012.

"I am extremely excited about the addition of Joe Lorig to our staff," Norvell said. "Joe brings a great deal of experience as a coach, spending the majority of his career as either a special teams or defensive coordinator. His passion and enthusiasm will show up in the way we attack each special teams unit. Coach Lorig brings recruiting ties from all over the nation and will help bring the best and the brightest to the University of Memphis. He is a relentless recruiter and a great teacher of young men. We are honored to have Joe and Becky and their three children joining the Tiger Family."

Paul Randolph: Paul Randolph is joining Norvell's staff as the defensive line coach. He has been on staff together with Norvell at Arizona State, Pitt and Tulsa and spent three seasons as Arizona State's associate head coach, co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach before spending the 2015 season as an associate athletic director for championship life. In 2013, Randolph's defense helped the Sun Devils force a turnover in 29 consecutive games and score 37 points. The ASU defense ranked fifth in the nation in three-and-outs (5.71/game) and lineman Will Sutton was named a winner of the Morris Trophy and became the Sun Devils' first All-American since 2007. In Randolph's first season in Tempe (2012), Arizona State's defense scored 33.1 percent of the team's points (165 of 499).
"I'm extremely excited about the addition of Paul Randolph to our staff. He's been a part of some of the most dynamic defensive line play in the PAC-12 and SEC over the last decade. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of the attack style defensive front," Norvell said. "He's originally from Georgia and played college football at UT Martin, giving him great ties to the area and he will be a wonderful asset as a recruiter for the program. His wife Mia grew up here in Memphis, so we are glad to be bringing the Randolph's back home."

Ryan Silverfield: Ryan Silverfield will bring over 18 years of experience to the Memphis roster, including eight the last 10 seasons in the NFL. At Memphis, Silverfield will serve as the offensive line coach on Norvell's staff. After spending last year at Arizona State as a Senior Offensive Analyst, Silverfield spent part of this football season on the staff with the Detroit Lions. His previous NFL experience came as a member of the staff with the Minnesota Vikings, where he helped the team reach the playoffs in three of his six seasons, including the NFC Championship game, as a member of the offensive line coaching staff. Silverfield also brings some American Athletic Conference knowledge with him to Memphis, having served on George O'Leary's staff at UCF in 2006 and 2007, helping the 2007 Knights squad to a Conference USA Championship.

"We have hit a home run with the hiring of Ryan Silverfield," Norvell said. "Ryan is a guy who has spent eight of the last 10 years in the National Football League coaching the offensive line and is a tremendous teacher of fundamentals. One of the most impressive characteristics about Coach Silverfield is the relationships with his players, not just improving them fundamentally and technique-wise, but also assisting them to succeed in every area of life. He is originally from Jacksonville, Florida, and has previously coached at the high school and college level in the state. He also understands the importance of what it takes for our guys to prepare themselves for the NFL. Ryan and his wife Mariana are a tremendous addition to our staff."

Marcus Woodson: Marcus Woodson will join the Tigers as the program's cornerback's coach. Woodson has some deep Mid-South ties, a Mississippi native who played at Ole Miss before beginning his coaching career at Millsaps. After five seasons at Charleston Southern, where he helped CSU to a 10-3 record in 2013 and a No. 22 ranking the final FCS Coaches' Poll, he moved to Fresno State, where he has spent the last two seasons as a secondary coach. At FSU, he helped safety Derron Smith to All-Mountain West, first-team honors. Smith led FSU with 93 tackles, adding seven pass break-ups, and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2015 draft.

"Marcus is coming to us from Fresno State where he was recognized as one of the top recruiters in the Nation. He and his wife Chastity are originally from Mississippi and Marcus played his defensive back at Ole Miss. When I think about Coach Woodson I immediately think of relationships, from the way he coaches as well as the way he recruits. He understands the aggressive style of play that we're going to have in the defensive backfield coaching our corners. He will be a tremendous asset to our program and his recruiting ties to the state of Mississippi will assist us in bringing top prospects to Memphis."

Josh Storms: Josh Storms will take over as Memphis' Strength and Conditioning Coach after spending the last eight seasons at Arizona State as a member of the Sports Performance Staff. At ASU, Storms' focus was on football as the Sports Performance Assistant Head Coach and he developed student-athletes who advanced to a school-record five straight bowl games in his last five years in Tempe. Prior to his time in Tempe, Storms also spent two years as an assistant strength coach at UNLV and was a seasonal assistant strength coach with the Minnesota Vikings in 2001. A graduate of the University of South Dakota, Storms played tight end and completed his Master's degree at ASU in 2006. He is certified through both the CSCCa and the NSCA.

"One of the most important hires on this staff came with our Director of Strength and Conditioning position, because our training defines who we are as a program. I could not be more pleased to announce Josh Storms as our Director of S&C," Norvell said. "I've spent the last four years with Josh at Arizona State. He's not only dynamic in his training of our student athletes, preparing our guys in the physical training, but also in helping them excel in the mental aspect of training. Coach Storms is going to be spending as much time with our players as any of our position coaches will throughout a year. Not only are we going to push these guys to be the best they can be physically but also to grow them as individuals. The passion, detail, and discipline in Josh's coaching will be showcased in how our guys play on game day. Josh and his wife, Darcie, are both a wonderful addition to the staff."

University of Memphis Athletics

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