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5 things to know about new Memphis coach Charles Huff, including NFL experience
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- 5 things to know about new Memphis coach Charles Huff, including NFL experience
After a search that lasted less than a week, Memphis football has a new coach .
Athletic director Ed Scott moved quickly to replace Ryan Silverfield after he left for Arkansas on Nov. 30 , hiring Charles Huff as his successor. Huff comes from Southern Miss, where he was the coach for a single season in 2025.
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Multiple sources confirmed Huff's hiring to The Commercial Appeal on Dec. 6. The sources requested anonymity because no announcement has been made.
Huff has a reputation as an elite recruiters who's had success at multiple stops in his coaching career. He'll be expected to position Memphis as one of the top teams in the American Conference right away.
Here are five things to know about Huff.
He's coming off an impressive turnaround at Southern Miss
Huff took over a 1-11 team and turned the Golden Eagles into winners and a bowl berth with a 7-5 record in his lone season in Hattiesburg. He brought in a strong transfer class that included plenty of players from Marshall, including quarterback Braylon Braxton. Braxton will be out of eligibility.
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The Golden Eagles were in the mix for the Sun Belt Conference title game throughout the year, but they lost their last three games.
Huff won a conference title at Marshall
Huff spent four seasons as the coach at Marshall. He led the Thundering Herd to a Sun Belt title in 2024.
He went 32-20 during his four years with Marshall and went to a bowl game every season.
Huff is part of the Nick Saban coaching tree
Before he was a head coach, Huff spent two seasons as the running backs coach and assistant head coach at Alabama . He was part of the 2020 Alabama team that went undefeated and won the national championship.
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Huff has coached plenty of superstar running backs — and has NFL experience
Huff was at Penn State from 2014-17 and spent time coaching Saquon Barkley . He recruited Barkley and helped develop him into a consensus All-American in 2017 and the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
At Alabama, Huff coached Najee Harris , who also became a superstar for the Crimson Tide and a first-round draft pick.
Huff spent 2013 as an assistant running backs coach with the Buffalo Bills and helped C.J. Spiller to a 1,000-yard season.
Huff has ties to Tennessee from the beginning of his career
Huff played college football at Hampton before starting his career as an assistant at Tennessee State.
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He joined the Vanderbilt staff for the 2011 season and served as a quality control coach.
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: 5 things to know about new Memphis football coach Charles Huff
