Memphis Roar

In the light of Memphis’ current 1-3 football season record we should take a moment and review College Football Coaching. What are the qualifications for a good head coach? Does our current head coach have those qualifications?

Myth Number 1 – You have to have brilliant football mind to be a successful head coach. It certainly does not hurt to have mad football skills but it is not absolutely required as long as you can surround yourself with good football minds. One of the key things is to get a good staff and learn how to use them effectively. Hard work and being willing to think outside the box are also essential. Learning and adapting to your current team’s strengths is key.

Myth Number 2 – You have to have great recruits to be a successful head coach. It does certainly help to have great football talent. Take some of the teams in the Mountain West Conference and Western Athletic Conference, for instance. Boise State is currently ranked 5th in the AP Poll. Boise State rarely gets a recruit that is listed in recruiting services as a 4-star. They never get the elite 5-star recruits. BYU and Utah are also teams that do not generally get top recruits and are not located in fertile recruiting ground. Both have quite successful football programs. The reverse is also true. Take Clemson as an example. They are often in the top 20 in recruiting but their record has certainly not been top 20.

Myth Number 3 – You have to pay a coach a lot of money to get results. Kirk Ferentz is the Iowa football coach whose salary of $3M a year makes him one of the top 10 highest paid coaches in the country. When was the last time that Iowa played for a national championship or even beat Ohio State? On the other hand, Bronco Mendenhall, BYU’s coach, makes a paltry $700K a year. Ferentz over his coaching career has won 53% of his games. Mendenhall has won 76% of his.

Myth Number 4 – You have to be a super-salesman (think used cars) to be a successful head coach. This one is actually not a myth. You have to be able to sell your university to kids. You have to be able to sell the boosters and fans on your team. You have to be able to sell the administration on your football program. A coach does not have to be a liar and a cheat to be a salesman. Think of a football version of Josh Pastner. This is far and away the most important thing that any coach can have.

A coach does not have to be a brilliant football mind. He does not have to be a great recruiter. He does not have to make a lot of money. He does have to be a salesman. If you lack one of these four things, you can make up for it as long as you excel in another one. If you lack two of these qualities, trouble starts to set in. If you lack in all four, then it is time to do something else.

Tommy West would rank something like this:

1. Brilliant Football Mind – Grade = D; West has, in the past, exhibited some rather innovative plays. Pooch punting by the quarterback and use of the Wildcat formation were being done at Memphis long before other schools. Recently Tommy has fallen back a bit. His play calling is currently uninspired and predictable.

2. Great Recruiter – Grade = D -; Recruiting has not been good. It consists mostly of mid-level players, JUCO guys and hardship transfers. Rarely has a top local recruit chosen or even considered Memphis. An over reliance on JUCO players means that you have to recruit nearly twice as many players since JUCO guys only stay around for 2 years.

3. High Paid – Grade = C; Tommy West is currently ranked 70th as the highest paid coach in the country and is the 5th highest paid coach in Conference USA. Results have been okay. He’s been to 5 bowls in the last 6 years. There are much higher paid coaches with worse results and lower paid ones with better results.

4. Great Salesman – Grade = F; This has been Tommy’s biggest failure. He has not been able to sell Boosters or the Administration on the need for better facilities. He has not been able to sell recruits on coming to play at Memphis. He has not been able to sell fans on why they need to come and watch this team play.

Tommy West is a good man. Who can forget Tommy when Taylor Bradford was killed? He acted like Taylor was one of his own sons. Who can forget Tommy West standing up and saying the John Calipari wasn’t going to have press conference on the Memphis campus to talk about his new Kentucky gig? Who can forget the DeAngelo years?

It seems somewhat inevitable that this will be Tommy West’s last year as the Memphis football coach unless some dramatic turnaround happens. Even if a miraculous turnaround did happen, there would still be so much negativity about him that our program would be further hurt. It is time to man-up. Support the team even if you think the coach is bad. At this point, our football program needs someone to sell it. Give it marketability. Donate. Join the Highland Hundred. Quit the booing in the stands. Be Proud, Be Loud, Wear Blue, and when the opportunity presents itself, give a good and hearty, “Go Tigers!!!”.