University of Memphis Athletics
Joe Lee Dunn Relieved of Duties Monday
Sep 18, 2006 | Football
Sept. 18, 2006
MEMPHIS, TENN. - University of Memphis head football coach Tommy West announced today at his weekly press luncheon that defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn had been relieved of his coaching duties with the Tigers. Dunn had served as defensive coordinator since the spring of 2003.
"I want to thank Coach Dunn for the contributions he made in the three years that he was here," West stated. "I think he was a big part of our success but I have a responsibility to my boss (Athletic Director R.C. Johnson) and our team to do what I feel is the right thing. I like Joe Lee as a person. This is a business decision by me. I didn't feel that at this time we were moving forward on the defensive side of the ball. When I feel that way and I can't be positive about what we are doing, then I've got to make changes. Again, I appreciate what Joe Lee did while he was here. This decision was based on a confidence issue about our system."
Dunn, who had served as defensive coordinator for the Tigers from 1989-91 under Chuck Stobart, returned to Memphis after serving in the same capacity at Ole Miss, Arkansas, and Mississippi State in the late 1990s.
"I will take over our defense right now and will remain in that role until the end of this season," said West. "Obviously this is not a good situation, but we do have two weeks before we play our next game. That's not enough time to put in a defensive system, but it is enough time to put in a defensive plan for that game.
"This is not a decision based on the East Carolina game," West added. "This is a decision based on philosophies and kind of how we have been playing for awhile."
