New Memphis coach Mike Norvell to retain interim coach Darrell Dickey
Memphis interim coach, co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Darrell Dickey is being retained by new Tigers coach Mike Norvell, according to a source.
Dickey became Memphis’ interim coach after former Tigers coach Justin Fuentewas hired byVirginia Tech. Dickey will coach Memphis against Auburn (6-6, 2-6 SEC) in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 30.
Dickey’s position under Norvell has not been finalized, according to the source, but Dickey is highly respected in the Memphis area and by Tigers players.
One of college football’s brightest young offensive minds, the 34-year-old Norvell was hired last week as Fuente’s successor after spending the last four seasons as Arizona State’s offensive coordinator, deputy head coach and quarterbacks coach. Fuente transformed Memphis from one of college football’s worst programs into a Top 25 team with a 26-23 record in his four seasons, which includes a 9-3 mark this season.
The 56-year-old Dickey came to Memphis after Fuente was hired in December 2011. Dickey was the Tigers’ offensive coordinator and running backs coach his first three seasons before becoming associate head coach, co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach this season.
This is Dickey’s second stint at Memphis. He was the program’s tight ends coach in 1986, running backs coach in 1987 and offensive coordinator from 1988-89.
Prior to his current stint at Memphis, Dickey was co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Texas State in 2011. He was also offensive coordinator and running backs coach at New Mexico (2009-10) and Utah State (2007-08).
Dickey was North Texas’s coach from 1998 through 2006, compiling a 42-64 record that included Sun Belt titles from 2001-04. He’s also been an assistant at Southern Methodist (1997), Texas-El Paso (1994-96), LSU (1991-93) and Mississippi State (1990). A Galveston, Tex., native, Dickey got his college coaching start as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M in 1985.
He played quarterback at Kansas State from 1979 through 1982. He later signed contracts with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks (1983) and New Orleans Saints (1984).
