After firing Barry Odom following four seasons in Columbia, Missouri is looking for a new head football coach. You can find our full hot board here; however, we will also bring you a more in-depth look at each candidates by profiling one every day during the search.
Current position: Memphis head coach
Age: 38
Head coaching experience: four years
Contract: $2.66 million base salary, runs through 2023
Buyout: $500,000
Four years ago, the last time Missouri hired a head football coach, the Tigers turned to candidate who had cut his teeth at Memphis. Could the administration look to Memphis again this time around?
Perhaps, but let’s be clear: Mike Norvell would in no way be a Barry Odom retread. Norvell has been Memphis’ head coach for the past four seasons and has led the Tigers to the American Athletic Conference championship game three years in a row. He also comes from an offensive background. Prior to Memphis, Norvell served as the offensive coordinator at Arizona State under head coach Todd Graham for four seasons.
Norvell played college football at Central Arkansas and worked his way up the coaching ranks from a graduate assistant position there, to the wide receivers coach at Tulsa, to the co-offensive coordinator at Pittsburgh to his roles as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arizona State. He succeeded Justin Fuente as the head coach at Memphis when Fuente left for Virginia Tech following the 2015 season.
Memphis currently sits at 11-1 and is ranked No. 16 in the latest AP Top 25. The Tigers clinched the AAC west division for the third year in a row by beating Cincinnati on Friday and will face the Bearcats again next weekend with a potential trip to a New Year’s Six bowl on the line.
Norvell’s Memphis teams have developed a reputation for lighting up the scoreboard. The Tigers ranked fourth nationally in total offense in both 2017 and 2018. This season, they rank 10th. They’ve ranked second, seventh and eighth in scoring the past three years. This year, Memphis is averaging 41.5 points per game. It has moved the ball both on the ground and through the air, averaging 196.4 rushing yards and 287.1 passing yards per game.
Norvell’s teams have also enjoyed special teams success. The Tigers lead the nation with eight kickoff return touchdowns across the past three seasons. They’ve returned two punts for touchdowns during that span as well.
Defense has been the one weakness for Memphis during Norvell’s tenure, although the Tigers have improved in that regard each of the past two seasons. In 2017, Memphis ranked No. 117 in total defense and No. 102 in scoring defense, allowing 466 yards and 32.5 points per game. This season, the Tigers are giving up 366 yards and 24.4 points per game, both of which rank 48th.
Memphis has compensated Norvell well for his success, but his buyout has remained low, which is one reason he might be the most attractive Group of Five coach on the market this year. Norvell makes $2.66 million per year, second-most among Group of Five coaches behind only Houston’s Dana Holgorsen, and is under contract through 2023. But his buyout remains just $500,000, which would surely be appealing to Missouri.
One potential downside for athletics director Jim Sterk is that Norvell’s high level of success combined with his low buyout will almost surely attract other schools looking for a new coach as well. Norvell has already been floated as a candidate for the vacancies at both Arkansas and Florida State. Any other Power Five school with an opening is likely to inquire as well. The national consensus seems to be that Norvell, who has resisted leaving Memphis for a larger school the past couple years, is likely to finally move on this offseason, but less clear is where Missouri would stand in the pecking order if Norvell has his choice of destination.
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