Although the 2015 college football season didn’t end as well as most Memphis fans had hoped, the Tigers still finished with a 9-4 record marking the most successful two-year span in school history with 19 total wins.
At the start of the season, the Tigers picked up right where they had left off, after riding a seven-game win streak through the off-season as they started the season 8-0, for the first time since 1961.
Everything seemed to be going the Memphis’ way. And although they faced plenty of adversity, they were able to battle through it.
Junior quarterback Paxton Lynch developed from being a very solid play caller (threw for 3,031 yards, 22 touchdown passes and nine interceptions in 2014) into one of the best quarterbacks in the nation and potential top-10 NFL draft pick.
The offense became a power as it posted some of the best numbers throughout the country. A young defense that primarily struggled throughout the year was able to push its limits to make the big plays when they mattered most, including a stellar performance that ensured a victory over local rival and then-No. 13 ranked Ole Miss.
The Tigers saw their win streak rise to 15 straight wins. National news outlets were following Memphis like never before; one went as far as calling the Tigers “America’s College Football Team”. There was talk of the Tigers being selected as the Group of Five’s representative in the New Year’s Six bowls if they kept winning. Some even counted them as a legitimate dark horse playoff contender.
For Memphis fans, this journey was unlike anything they had experienced before. Sure Tiger Nation has followed its fair share of teams rise through national prominence in basketball, but never in football. Not like this. This was a football program that had hit rock bottom. A program that was producing a product so dreadful under former coach Larry Porter, some of its fans and boosters wanted it scrapped.
The Memphis football revival and rise to the top was a credit to the hard work of fourth-year coach Justin Fuente and athletic director Tom Bowen.
And yes, as the season went on and Memphis hit its toughest stretch (three consecutive games against ranked opponents, Navy, at Houston and at Temple) it stumbled. The Tigers dropped all three contests and ultimately dropped out of the spotlight, after being ranked No. 13 in the inaugural College Football Playoff Ranking.
Memphis responded by trouncing SMU 63-0, a game in which Lynch threw for seven touchdowns in the first half. But news broke just around halftime Fuente would replace Hokies legend Frank Beamer as Virginia Tech’s new head coach.
Uncertainty hit the fans, the administration and even the players on where Memphis football now stood. The Tigers moved quickly to find a replacement as they named Arizona State’s (ASU) offensive coordinator Mike Norvell its new football coach last month.
Memphis’ struggles in its first game without Fuente in 31-10 loss to Auburn in the Birmingham Bowl added more ambiguity to the state of the program as the team just didn’t look the same under interim coach Darrell Dickey.
Now the question stands whether or not Norvell, a 34-year-old first time head coach, can build on the momentum and foundation his predecessor put in place or if Memphis football will fall back into irrelevancy.
He certainly has the pedigree to continue taking this program to new heights, as he was at the helm of one of the most efficient offenses in the nation in each of his four seasons as offensive coordinator at ASU.
Norvell is also known to have a knack for recruiting as well. He spent his first few weeks as the Tigers’ coach out on the recruiting trail, where he brought four; three-star junior college transfers, including former University of Tennessee quarterback Riley Ferguson.
Besides recruiting, Norvell spent the majority of his first month with the Tigers assembling his new staff.
Norvell brought in Chris Ball—who spent the last four years at Arizona State, three of which he was co-defensive coordinator—as his defensive coordinator and safeties coach. He named Chip Long, former Arizona State recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach, offensive coordinator and tight ends coach.
Darrell Dickey was retained and took a role as assistant head coach and running backs coach. Former Tulane running backs and tight ends coach David Johnson will join Norvell’s staff as the wide receivers coach.
Danny Lanning will take the role as inside linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator after spending the last year as a graduate assistant coach with the outside linebackers for the National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide.
Joe Lorig will coach both the outside linebackers, as well as take the role as special teams coordinator. Lorig has 20 years of coaching experience and spent the last two season’s coaching Utah State’s safeties and linebackers.
Norvell said he believes with the staff he has in place, the Tigers will be able to build off of the recent success and take that next step.
“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,” Norvell said. “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.”
He also said he brought together a coaching staff that is going to embrace the “family” mentality.
“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,” Norvell added. “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.”
The highlight of Memphis' season was undoubtedly its 37-24 victory over then-No.13 Ole Miss in October.
