Photo by: Matthew Smith
The Ties That Bind
Sep 18, 2018 | Football
Tigers football welcomes five new assistants in 2018.
Note: This feature first appeared in the Sept. 1 Tigers Football GameDay program when Memphis hosted Mercer.
For a college football coach, dealing with the turnover of personnel is part of the job description. Each year veteran players must be replaced, mostly after exhausting their eligibility.
Third-year Memphis coach Mike Norvell is no different. He spent the offseason seeking replacements for several standout players, including quarterback Riley Ferguson, receiver Anthony Miller and linebacker Genard Avery.
But his primary challenge after last year's 10-win season – only the third in school history – had nothing to do with replacing top-tier talent. It had to do with replacing top-tier assistant coaches, all of whom landed in the Southeastern Conference.
Norvell adeptly handled the task. He hired five new assistants (four replacements, one new position), making the transition somewhat smoother by selecting a group that was familiar with one another or the program itself.
In TJ Rushing, Scott Symons, Desmond Lindsey, Anthony Jones and Will Hall, the Tigers welcome a fivesome whose duties, among other responsibilities, will be keeping the program on an unprecedented run. Memphis has appeared in a record four straight bowls, a memorable American Athletic Conference title game in 2017 and gone 22-4 at home since 2014.
Although Rushing, Symons, Lindsey, Jones and Hall will be making their debuts tonight, there should be a comfort level at kickoff, beginning with the relationship between Hall, the team's associate head coach, and Lindsey, the wide receivers coach.
Hall, who also works with the tight ends, spent six seasons at West Alabama, serving as offensive coordinator from 2008 to 2010 and head coach from 2011 to 2013. Lindsey spent the same six seasons at West Alabama, the final three as Hall's assistant head coach, and joined Hall when became head coach at West Georgia in 2014.
Lindsey, also part of the Arkansas Monticello staff with Hall in 2007, rejoins Hall after spending the past two seasons at Southern Miss.
"How close are we?" Lindsey said. "My kids call him uncle and his kids call me uncle."
He said the greatest benefit of joining a staff that includes Hall – besides how close their families are – is how much Hall knows Lindsey and what makes him function at the highest level.Â
"There may be a day I'm having a bad day and he understands how to keep me on an even keel," Lindsey said.
Hall, a native of Amory, Miss., was a head coach from 2008 to 2016 and spent last season as offensive coordinator at Louisiana Lafayette. Accepting the Memphis offer was an easy decision, allowing him the opportunity to reunite with Lindsey and work with Norvell.
"I was looking for an opportunity to get to this level, but I wanted it to be with someone I trusted, someone I felt very comfortable with and with somebody I (shared) the same values," Hall said. "I've known him forever. We both came up in the small college ranks (and) I knew he had great integrity.
"Getting back here and recruiting Mississippi, where I'm from, was a great fit, too. So it's been a blessing."
Hall said there won't be a need to fix anything offensively. The Tigers were among the nation's most prolific offenses in 2017.
"I came here to help in any way I can," he said. "And hopefully I can add to it."
Norvell's familiarity with Hall dates back to their playing days, when Hall was a decorated quarterback at North Alabama (in 2002 and 2003) and Norvell was a two-time all-conference receiver at Central Arkansas.
"Will Hall and I played college football against one another," Norvell said. "I've gotten to watch his career and all the success he has enjoyed (as a player and coach)."
At North Alabama, Hall won the Harlon Hill Trophy, given annually to the nation's top player in NCAA Division II. As a coach, he routinely took teams to the Division II playoffs.
Rushing, who will coach defensive backs, may be even more familiar with Norvell. He spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons at Arizona State, where Norvell served as an assistant from 2012 to 2015.
The respect between the two is mutual, Rushing earning his from Norvell for a career that included being a two-time All-PAC-10 selection at Stanford and stints in the NFL as a defensive back at Indianapolis and Detroit.
"I remember when TJ finished his NFL career and came to Arizona State as a (graduate assistant)," Norvell said. "That was my first introduction to him. I always thought he would be a spectacular coach. He's got a great future in this business."
Rushing speaks as highly of Norvell. He had heard how Norvell "was running a great program" and he wanted to be a part of it.
"The ability to not only meet expectations, but to exceed them so rapidly, I knew there were great ball coaches here and they could get it rolling," Rushing said. "Coach Norvell and (defensive coordinator) Chris Ball have built a great culture.
"The players have bought into it. They want to be great. They are taking coaching. They are willing to do what the coaches are asking of them. That means the coaches here have gained their trust."
And Rushing enters the Tigers' program with a level of trust stemming from his familiarity with several members of the staff. Ball also was at Arizona State in 2012 and 2013.
"It's always interesting when you are changing jobs and moving," Rushing said. "There are so many unknowns. So, you'd like to have some sense of security, some sense of peace. So knowing what I was getting into – knowing some of the coaches on the staff – gave me great peace."
Symons, who will work with inside linebackers, also coached with Lindsey and Hall at West Georgia. Jones, who will coach running backs, had been a Memphis-area high school coach at Westwood and Cordova since 2010. He was a frequent guest the past few seasons at Tigers practices. Norvell noticed.
"Every coach we hired there was some connection," Norvell said. "That was important to me. I think you see that paying off in how quickly they've come together and the continuity that we have… and how quickly these players have adapted to them."
For a college football coach, dealing with the turnover of personnel is part of the job description. Each year veteran players must be replaced, mostly after exhausting their eligibility.
Third-year Memphis coach Mike Norvell is no different. He spent the offseason seeking replacements for several standout players, including quarterback Riley Ferguson, receiver Anthony Miller and linebacker Genard Avery.
But his primary challenge after last year's 10-win season – only the third in school history – had nothing to do with replacing top-tier talent. It had to do with replacing top-tier assistant coaches, all of whom landed in the Southeastern Conference.
Norvell adeptly handled the task. He hired five new assistants (four replacements, one new position), making the transition somewhat smoother by selecting a group that was familiar with one another or the program itself.
In TJ Rushing, Scott Symons, Desmond Lindsey, Anthony Jones and Will Hall, the Tigers welcome a fivesome whose duties, among other responsibilities, will be keeping the program on an unprecedented run. Memphis has appeared in a record four straight bowls, a memorable American Athletic Conference title game in 2017 and gone 22-4 at home since 2014.
Although Rushing, Symons, Lindsey, Jones and Hall will be making their debuts tonight, there should be a comfort level at kickoff, beginning with the relationship between Hall, the team's associate head coach, and Lindsey, the wide receivers coach.
Hall, who also works with the tight ends, spent six seasons at West Alabama, serving as offensive coordinator from 2008 to 2010 and head coach from 2011 to 2013. Lindsey spent the same six seasons at West Alabama, the final three as Hall's assistant head coach, and joined Hall when became head coach at West Georgia in 2014.
Lindsey, also part of the Arkansas Monticello staff with Hall in 2007, rejoins Hall after spending the past two seasons at Southern Miss.
"How close are we?" Lindsey said. "My kids call him uncle and his kids call me uncle."
He said the greatest benefit of joining a staff that includes Hall – besides how close their families are – is how much Hall knows Lindsey and what makes him function at the highest level.Â
"There may be a day I'm having a bad day and he understands how to keep me on an even keel," Lindsey said.
Hall, a native of Amory, Miss., was a head coach from 2008 to 2016 and spent last season as offensive coordinator at Louisiana Lafayette. Accepting the Memphis offer was an easy decision, allowing him the opportunity to reunite with Lindsey and work with Norvell.
"I was looking for an opportunity to get to this level, but I wanted it to be with someone I trusted, someone I felt very comfortable with and with somebody I (shared) the same values," Hall said. "I've known him forever. We both came up in the small college ranks (and) I knew he had great integrity.
"Getting back here and recruiting Mississippi, where I'm from, was a great fit, too. So it's been a blessing."
Hall said there won't be a need to fix anything offensively. The Tigers were among the nation's most prolific offenses in 2017.
"I came here to help in any way I can," he said. "And hopefully I can add to it."
Norvell's familiarity with Hall dates back to their playing days, when Hall was a decorated quarterback at North Alabama (in 2002 and 2003) and Norvell was a two-time all-conference receiver at Central Arkansas.
"Will Hall and I played college football against one another," Norvell said. "I've gotten to watch his career and all the success he has enjoyed (as a player and coach)."
At North Alabama, Hall won the Harlon Hill Trophy, given annually to the nation's top player in NCAA Division II. As a coach, he routinely took teams to the Division II playoffs.
Rushing, who will coach defensive backs, may be even more familiar with Norvell. He spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons at Arizona State, where Norvell served as an assistant from 2012 to 2015.
The respect between the two is mutual, Rushing earning his from Norvell for a career that included being a two-time All-PAC-10 selection at Stanford and stints in the NFL as a defensive back at Indianapolis and Detroit.
"I remember when TJ finished his NFL career and came to Arizona State as a (graduate assistant)," Norvell said. "That was my first introduction to him. I always thought he would be a spectacular coach. He's got a great future in this business."
Rushing speaks as highly of Norvell. He had heard how Norvell "was running a great program" and he wanted to be a part of it.
"The ability to not only meet expectations, but to exceed them so rapidly, I knew there were great ball coaches here and they could get it rolling," Rushing said. "Coach Norvell and (defensive coordinator) Chris Ball have built a great culture.
"The players have bought into it. They want to be great. They are taking coaching. They are willing to do what the coaches are asking of them. That means the coaches here have gained their trust."
And Rushing enters the Tigers' program with a level of trust stemming from his familiarity with several members of the staff. Ball also was at Arizona State in 2012 and 2013.
"It's always interesting when you are changing jobs and moving," Rushing said. "There are so many unknowns. So, you'd like to have some sense of security, some sense of peace. So knowing what I was getting into – knowing some of the coaches on the staff – gave me great peace."
Symons, who will work with inside linebackers, also coached with Lindsey and Hall at West Georgia. Jones, who will coach running backs, had been a Memphis-area high school coach at Westwood and Cordova since 2010. He was a frequent guest the past few seasons at Tigers practices. Norvell noticed.
"Every coach we hired there was some connection," Norvell said. "That was important to me. I think you see that paying off in how quickly they've come together and the continuity that we have… and how quickly these players have adapted to them."
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