Arizona State's Paul Randolph hired as Memphis defensive line coach
Arizona State associate athletic director for championship life Paul Randolph is the new defensive line coach for Memphis coach Mike Norvell, according to a source.
It’s a reuniting of Randolph and Norvell, who worked together previously as assistants at Arizona State, Pittsburgh and Tulsa.
Randolph moved into his off-field role at Arizona State in March after three season as the Sun Devils’ associate head coach, co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach. Prior to Tempe, he was Pittsburgh’s co-defensive coordinator, associate head coach and defensive line coach for a season.
The 49-year-old Randolph also held those three positions at Tulsa from 2007–10. He was Rice’s defensive coordinator in ’06 after three seasons as Alabama’s defensive ends coach.
Randolph also coached the defensive line and special teams at West Virginia (2002), Toledo (’01) and Illinois State (’00). He has also coached at Valdosta State and his alma mater, Tennessee-Martin.
A highly regarded young offensive mind, the 34-year-old Norvell became Memphis’s coach earlier this month after spending the last four seasons as Arizona State’s offensive coordinator, deputy head coach and quarterbacks coach.
During his tenure with the Sun Devils, Norvell's school record-setting offenses were perennially among the FBS’s highest scoring and most explosive. He replaces Justin Fuente, who left last month to become Virginia Tech’s coach.
Fuente transformed the Tigers from one of college football’s worst programs into a top 25 team with a 26–23 record in four seasons, including a 9–3 mark this season. Memphis plays Auburn (6–6, 2–6 SEC) in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 30.
