Memphis started the new year by officially announcing Charles Huff’s first staff. While most of the names were already known, the University made it official just a day before the transfer portal opens.
Six of the assistant coaches who were announced followed Huff from Southern Miss, including all the coaches on the defensive side of the ball. Jason Semore will take over as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, while Eric Mathies and Dominique Bowman take over as defensive line coach and defensive backs coach, respectively.
The continuity on the defensive side of the ball should be a positive sign, and it could lead to a handful of players joining the Tigers from last year’s Southern Miss team.
A handful of Southern Miss’ defensive players have entered the portal, including leading tackler Chris Jones. Jones finished the season ranked inside the top 10 nationally in total tackles, and he will receive a lot of interest from Power Four schools.
On the offensive side of the ball, Huff brought Telly Lockette and Aaron Dobson from Hattiesburg to coach the running backs and the wide receivers, but outside of those two coaches, the offense features coaches from different schools.
Kevin Decker takes over as offensive coordinator after spending three seasons at Old Dominion, where he averaged more than 460 yards per game this year. Andy Kwon joins the Tigers after spending a season as the offensive line coach at UCLA.
Kwon has coached at several different schools and spent a season with Huff on the Alabama coaching staff.
David Weeks takes over as the co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach. Weeks spent the last two seasons with Decker at Old Dominion, and he spend a season at Tennessee prior to joining the Monarch's staff.
Tim Conner will serve as the special teams coordinator after spending a season at Cincinnati. Conner has also spent time on staff at Louisville, Georgia Tech and Temple.
Huff replaced all the coaches from Ryan Silverfield’s staff, but he retained three staffers from the support staff, including Assistant Director of Player Personnel Baker Parrish.
Memphis will have a general manager and an assistant general manager in 2026. Corey Phillips will serve as the GM after multiple Power Four stops, including Colorado, LSU and Vanderbilt. Phillips has served as a director of player personnel, but this will be his first job as a general manager.
Reed Grable, who helped Huff reconstruct the Golden Eagles’ offense, will serve as the assistant general manager.
Full list:
Kevin Decker - Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Jason Semore - Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Tim Conner - Special Teams Coordinator
Telly Lockette - Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs
Andy Kwon - Offensive Line
Aaron Dobson - Wide Receivers
Eric Mathies - Defensive Line
Dominique Bowman - Defensive Backs/Safeties
Sharrod Everett - Chief of Staff/Chief Operating Officer
Corey Phillips - General Manager
Reed Grable - Assistant General Manager
Aaron Estes - Head Football Athletic Trainer
Ben Ashford - Director of Football Athletic Performance
Drew White - Assistant Director of Athletic Performance
Keishaun Creel - Assistant Director of Athletic Performance
Natalie Grill - Director of Football Nutrition
Kate Roll - Director of Football Administration
Jack Jacoby - Director of Player Personnel
Baker Parrish - Assistant Director of Player Personnel
Mat Rumshock - Director of Football Technology
Akiliyah Sumlin - Director of Recruiting