The University of Memphis football team is coming off of their most successful season since 1962. After a 10-3 regular season and their first bowl win in 10 years, the Tigers are going to experience a shake up in the coaching staff.
Coach Justin Fuente has promoted linebackers coach Galen Scott to defensive coordinator. Scott coached with Fuente at Illinois State from 2001-2006. He then joined the Memphis staff and remained as the linebackers coach when Fuente took over for former coach Larry Porter.
Under Scott, the linebackers accounted for 16 of 30 of the team’s sacks last season as well as the team’s two leading tacklers, Charles Harris and Tank Jakes.
Former Defensive Coordinator Barry Odom has taken the same position at The University of Missouri. He will be returning to his alma mater where he played linebacker for four years (1996-99) and coached in a variety of positions for nine years.
Odom said in a press release he’s happy that he helped leave Memphis football in good shape.
"It's always tough to leave a place that's been as good to me as Memphis has, and I can't thank Coach (Justin) Fuente enough for the opportunity he provided for me," Odom said. "Being a part of this building process for the last three years has made me a better coach, and I'm proud to know that it's in better shape now than what we came into.”
In 2012, Odom was hired as defensive coordinator. Under his thumb the defense has steadily improved. The defense went from ranked 117th nationally to 50th in one year.
This wasn’t the first time that Odom came close to leaving. Last summer, he was close to taking the defensive coordinator position at the University of Arkansas before deciding to remain in Memphis.
Odom’s defense was a big part of the Tigers successful 2014 season. The defensive unit was ranked 11th nationally and first in the American Athletic Conference in scoring defense at 17.1 points per game and 22nd in total defense at 343.3 yards per game. The defense had improved every year under Odom.
The Tigers are not only losing their defensive play caller, but several key players on defense. The two leading tacklers from last season, seniors Harris and Jakes, senior interception leader Bobby McCain and the school’s all-time sack leader senior Martin Ifedi will all be graduating this year.
Several positions that were once held by seniors will now be held by underclassmen with less experience for the first time in several seasons.
Sophomore linebacker Jackson Dillon and junior linebacker Leonard Pegues are going to be the two players tapped to replace leading rushers Harris and Jakes. Junior defensive back Reggis Ball will attempt to replace the big play ability of McCain in the secondary, which is a tall order.
Dillon proved himself to be a capable replacement in the U of M bowl game against BYU where he put on a defensive clinic with 11 tackles and 2 sacks. He has big shoes to fill, but Dillon will be up for the challenge.
The Tigers have yet to experience turnover like this in their three seasons under Coach Justin Fuente. This will be a learning experience for the players and coaching staff.
