The Cotton Bowl confetti hadn't hit the ground yet after Penn State beat Memphis when FSU announced the hire of Tigers Defensive Back coach T.J. Rushing.
Newly minted head coach Ryan Silverfield will search the nation for a replacement. It is not known if it will be a quick hire or if he'll take his time to fully vet all candidates. There's no need to make a rush hire due to recruiting needs since Memphis already signed the majority of its class in the early signing period.
It's important to make sure this hire is a right hire. Memphis' pass defense went from 89th in 2015 to 22nd this year. There's the AFCA conference in Nashville in a couple weeks.The American Football Coaches Association annual convention is the premier networking event for coaches from all around the country.
Here are some names that would be on our short list
De Smet Head Coach Robert Steeples
Former Tiger Robert Steeples (stltoday.com)
De Smet head coach Robert Steeples is a name Memphis fans should remember. He transferred to Memphis from Mizzou for the 2012 season. As a defensive back at Memphis he finished his senior season with 42 tackles, 5 pass break ups, and 3 fumble recovers with 1 of them for a touchdown.
His De Smet team went undefeated this year and won the Missouri 6A State Championship. They were 9-3 and made a deep run in the playoffs last year.
He knows the St. Louis area well and there's no doubt he could get a few recruits in that talent rich area. He has a relationship with Coach Silverfield. Both of them spent time with the Minnesota Vikings.
Austin Peay Co-Defensive Coordinator Dominique Bowman
Co-Defensive Coordinator Secondary Coach Dominique Bowman (Tyler Davis/Austin Peay Athletics)
Bowman is a native Memphian. He played his college ball at Lambuth under then head coach Hugh Freeze. Bowman has worked with Memphis running backs coach Anthony Jones before. Bowman was the defensive coordinator at Cordova (TN) when Coach Jones was the head coach.
Bowman jumped to the college ranks and has worked at Arkansas-Monticello, UT-Martin, and now Austin Peay. Austin Peay's defense was ranked 12th in the FCS. They were 58th last year before Bowman got there.
Memphis would love to build a wall around the city of Memphis and keep the top talent home. Having another Memphian on the staff like Bowman would help do that.
Former USF defensive backs coach Steve Ellis
Steve Ellis (gousfbulls.com)
Coach Ellis came to USF after spending 10 years at MTSU. He immediately improved the Bulls secondary. USF were 35th in the nation in pass defense in 2018. Ellis got them to 14th this season. That wasn't enough to save head coach Charlie Strong's job though. USF let Strong go and Ellis wasn't retained by new head coach Jeff Scott. In his 10 years at MTSU the Blue Raiders went to a bowl game 7 times.
Other names to consider-
Brandon Cooper- Co-Defensive Coordinator/Safeties at Charlotte
Matt Birkett- Cornerbacks Coach at James Madison
Damon Magazu- Oklahoma Graduate Assistant
Bryn Renner- Cornerbacks Coach at FIU
Newly minted head coach Ryan Silverfield will search the nation for a replacement. It is not known if it will be a quick hire or if he'll take his time to fully vet all candidates. There's no need to make a rush hire due to recruiting needs since Memphis already signed the majority of its class in the early signing period.
It's important to make sure this hire is a right hire. Memphis' pass defense went from 89th in 2015 to 22nd this year. There's the AFCA conference in Nashville in a couple weeks.The American Football Coaches Association annual convention is the premier networking event for coaches from all around the country.
Here are some names that would be on our short list
De Smet Head Coach Robert Steeples
Former Tiger Robert Steeples (stltoday.com)
De Smet head coach Robert Steeples is a name Memphis fans should remember. He transferred to Memphis from Mizzou for the 2012 season. As a defensive back at Memphis he finished his senior season with 42 tackles, 5 pass break ups, and 3 fumble recovers with 1 of them for a touchdown.
His De Smet team went undefeated this year and won the Missouri 6A State Championship. They were 9-3 and made a deep run in the playoffs last year.
He knows the St. Louis area well and there's no doubt he could get a few recruits in that talent rich area. He has a relationship with Coach Silverfield. Both of them spent time with the Minnesota Vikings.
Austin Peay Co-Defensive Coordinator Dominique Bowman
Co-Defensive Coordinator Secondary Coach Dominique Bowman (Tyler Davis/Austin Peay Athletics)
Bowman is a native Memphian. He played his college ball at Lambuth under then head coach Hugh Freeze. Bowman has worked with Memphis running backs coach Anthony Jones before. Bowman was the defensive coordinator at Cordova (TN) when Coach Jones was the head coach.
Bowman jumped to the college ranks and has worked at Arkansas-Monticello, UT-Martin, and now Austin Peay. Austin Peay's defense was ranked 12th in the FCS. They were 58th last year before Bowman got there.
Memphis would love to build a wall around the city of Memphis and keep the top talent home. Having another Memphian on the staff like Bowman would help do that.
Former USF defensive backs coach Steve Ellis
Steve Ellis (gousfbulls.com)
Coach Ellis came to USF after spending 10 years at MTSU. He immediately improved the Bulls secondary. USF were 35th in the nation in pass defense in 2018. Ellis got them to 14th this season. That wasn't enough to save head coach Charlie Strong's job though. USF let Strong go and Ellis wasn't retained by new head coach Jeff Scott. In his 10 years at MTSU the Blue Raiders went to a bowl game 7 times.
Other names to consider-
Brandon Cooper- Co-Defensive Coordinator/Safeties at Charlotte
Matt Birkett- Cornerbacks Coach at James Madison
Damon Magazu- Oklahoma Graduate Assistant
Bryn Renner- Cornerbacks Coach at FIU
