Early on a late-November Sunday morning, Memphis Tigers athletic director Ed Scott learned for certain that head football coach Ryan Silverfield was leaving to take over the top job at Arkansas.

Five days later, Scott’s decision on Silverfield’s successor was approved.

Yet Scott’s choice — former Southern Miss and Marshall head coach Charles Huff — didn’t learn he was the guy until the next day.

Until after much of the rest of the college football world already knew.

Memphis interim head coach outlines coaching roles for bowl game

How did the Tigers’ search, which Scott himself calls “unconventional,” unfold? Who was involved in selecting the Tigers’ 26th head football coach? Which member of Memphis’ influential Smith family was involved? How did Scott get the job done in less than a week? And why did it take Huff so long to find out?

Here’s the anatomy of the hire, as laid out partly by Scott, a bit by Huff and from other sources as well:

Sunday, Nov. 30 — Silverfield leaves Memphis

Once he was formally informed Silverfield was headed for Arkansas to replace the fired Sam Pittman, Scott got his executive team — deputy athletic directors Tim Duncan (senior deputy AD), Katherine Sulentic (regulatory affairs) and Cooper Jones (chief revenue officer) — together on a call.

Scott was preparing to make his biggest hire so far as the Tigers’ athletic director, and his first in a revenue-producing sport at Memphis.

He knew he needed to nail it.

“I said to my wife ... ‘You know, when I think about it, if we get this right, the impact that we have on the city will be felt long after us,” Scott said. 

A plan was put into place to conduct initial interviews over the ensuing two business days.

Scott acknowledges that an outside entity — Georgia-based Parker Executive Search — was hired to help with the process. It’s the same firm the University of Memphis used when, in 2024, it hired Scott away from the University of Virginia, where he was a deputy AD, to replace Laird Veatch, who left Memphis to become athletic director at Missouri.

“I know a lot of you were trying to figure out if we used a search firm,” Scott said, “and we did.”

It’s not yet known how much Memphis paid the search firm.

As it turns out, though, Scott had someone in mind long before Parker got involved.

Tigers AD on Ryan Silverfield departure: ‘We lost some meaningful games, and he moved on.’

“I first saw Huff two years ago at the Fiesta Summit,” Scott said, referencing a gathering for up-and-coming ADs and coaches that, according to linedrivemarketing.com, is a meeting of “conference commissioners, ADs, coaches, rights holders, and others affiliated with college athletics across the country.”

“So he was on my radar then.”

The event is put on by the organization that runs the Arizona-based Fiesta Bowl and, according to the marketing firm website, “takes place in one of our local resorts and is driven by the right balance of fun, relaxation, and topically relevant programming.”

Scott took Duncan to the summit’s June gathering and asked him to listen to the now-new Tigers coach speak there.

“I said, ‘Hey, there’s this guy Huff out here I want you to watch.’”

Ed Scott
University of Memphis athletic director

“I said, ‘Hey, there’s this guy Huff out here I want you to watch, and tell me what you think,’” Scott said. “And Tim came back and said, ‘He’s a lot like you.’”

Confident and comfortable behind a microphone. Convincing. Armed with conviction too.

“So,” Scott said, “we had been tracking Huff and a bunch of other coaches throughout the season, in anticipation that if Ryan (Silverfield) left, we have to move quickly.”

Offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey leaving Memphis

Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 1-2 — Early interviews begin

Preparing for Silverfield’s exit began long before he actually left, leaving behind a clean program’s 50-25 record and six bowl bids, including one that has Memphis playing North Carolina State on Friday, Dec. 19, at the Gasparilla Bowl in Florida.

“We knew Ryan had a lot in the cupboard — right? — and we knew that Ryan would be coveted, if he continued to do what we thought he would do,” said Scott, who has called a 2025 Memphis regular season that included a win over Arkansas, an upset loss to UAB in Birmingham and three straight losses to close, and that produced no American Conference title and no College Football Playoff appearance, “disappointing.”

“And even at 8-4 (this year),” Scott added, “you can see what it led to for Ryan.”

Scott and his team began an initial round of about 12-to-14 interviews — virtually, not in person.

Scott said he wanted candidates with either head coaching experience or coordinators from Power 4 programs.

Huff was head coach at Southern Miss this season and at Marshall for four prior seasons.

He also spent four seasons under James Franklin as special teams coordinator and running backs coach at Penn State from 2014-17, one under Joe Moorhead as associate head coach/running backs coach at Mississippi State in 2018 and two under Nick Saban as associate head coach/running backs coach at Alabama from 2019-20.

What Charles Huff said about his search for an offensive coordinator

Reporters worked their sources trying to learn who really was in the running as the search progressed, but even afterward Scott wouldn’t disclose who else interviewed or name his finalists.

“But I will tell you this: I wanted somebody who wanted to be in Memphis,” Scott said.

Is Memphis football the best non-power conference job on the market?

It’s now known that LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker, then-Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner and Kennesaw State head coach Jerry Mack also were among those prominently in the mix.

It’s unclear if then-Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein was considered early on, but Western Kentucky coach Tyson Helton was. Scott did say at least one candidate had local ties — likely a reference to Mack, a Whitehaven High product and Memphis’ receivers coach in 2011.

Not prominently involved, if involved at all, was Dan Mullen, the former Mississippi State and Florida head coach now at UNLV.

Mullen was a popular pick for some Tigers fans and boosters, something Scott readily acknowledges: “There is a lot of people on social media that wanted me to hire Dan Mullen, right?”

But those guessing, and hoping, Mullen was the man were wrong.

Memphis hiring Charles Huff as next head coach

Wednesday, Dec. 3 — Preparation day

Arrangements to interview candidates — and their wives, it turns out — in person were made Wednesday, Dec. 3.

Scott involved a small army in the search.

Also on what Scott called his “advisory committee” were members of the University of Memphis Board of Trustees’ seven-member athletics committee, Willie Gregory and Doug Edwards.

“They were instrumental,” Scott said.

Scott also said University of Memphis president Bill Hardgrave, Scott’s boss, and Cato Johnson, chairman of the school’s Board of Trustees, “counseled” him throughout the process.

“I’ve been through a lot of these processes,” Huff said.

“This was the most thorough, collaborative, involved process I’ve ever been through. … It wasn’t just one or two people who made decisions in this.”

Among those about to hit the road scouting for a new coach was someone Scott colored as a surprising addition to the travel party: Cannon Smith.

Ryan Silverfield posts goodbye message to Memphis

The youngest son of late billionaire FedExCorp founder Fred Smith, Cannon Smith is a former CBHS and Olive Branch High quarterback who later played at Virginia’s Hargrave Military Academy before signing with Miami.

The youngest Smith brother played in one game for the Hurricanes as a freshman in 2008 before later transferring to Memphis, where he appeared in seven games at quarterback for the Tigers in 2010 and 21 as a defensive back from 2011-12.

He’s emerged as something of a conduit between the Smith family money and the Tigers athletic program, which is a big beneficiary of both the FedEx Corp. and the family itself.

Calkins: Huff won the press conference in a rout. Can championships be far behind?

In 2023, about two years before Fred Smith died last June, Fred Smith’s family donated $50 million to the still-ongoing renovation of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, where the Tigers play. Without it, it’s possible no shovel ever breaks ground.

Late in 2023, the Memphis City Council approved the transfer of Liberty Stadium ownership from the City of Memphis to the university — relieving local government of a financial headache. In 2024, shortly before Scott arrived in Memphis, FedEx pledged $25 million over five years to further support the athletic department.

“What a lot of you don’t know,” Scott said, “is Cannon and I have developed a relationship, and he was with me every step of the way throughout this process.”

Buckley: Memphis Tigers have their man. The next step awaits.

Thursday, Dec. 4 — In-home visits

Memphis’ in-person interviews sound more like recruiting visits by coaches than the typical process for hiring a head coach, which often has the prospective coach visiting campus or involved parties meeting at a neutral site, sometimes an airport conference room, so their negotiations are kept secret.

“By Thursday we were sitting in people’s living rooms with them and their spouses, or sitting in their dining rooms,” Scott said, “and some of my team was eating their doughnuts and drinking all their coffee, which was hysterical to watch when you’re interviewing somebody.”

Scott didn’t disclose which candidates were interviewed in-person, and it isn’t known if anyone else was formally offered the job before Huff.

That may be semantics.

But it’s clear the finalists were Huff, Baker and Faulkner.

Even if Memphis was interested, Stein was no longer available by Tuesday, Dec. 2; Kentucky had hired him. Helton eliminated the consideration early, with Scott deciding he wasn’t the right fit.

The next coach at Memphis? We have thoughts.

At one point later in the week Memphis had narrowed in on Huff, Baker and Faulkner, with Mack, who very much wanted the job, a somewhat distant fourth but still under consideration in case each of the Tigers’ top three fell through.

At some time on Thursday, Dec. 4, Faulkner decided to accept an offer to become offensive coordinator at Florida, ultimately leaving him out of the running for Memphis.

Ryan Silverfield takes Memphis personnel to Arkansas

The Thursday meeting with Huff, however, went quite well, according to Scott, who stayed behind to meet privately with each candidate for about 15 or 20 minutes and discuss expectations.

Expectations like being a Top 25 team. Like being a CFP participant. Like competing for, and winning, conference championships.

Scott wasn’t convinced that each man he spoke with throughout the process was open to accepting the job’s demands.

“I can tell you,” Scott said. “Tim Duncan will tell you.

“Cooper (Jones); Kathy (Sulentic); Cannon (Smith); Doug (Edwards); Uncle Willie, as I like to call him, Willie Gregory —they all will, ‘Not everyone we spoke to was willing to embrace that challenge with the same approach and voracity (as Huff).”

As members of the Tigers’ seven-member travel party waited for Scott in their shared vehicle after finishing their doughnuts and coffee, they spoke among themselves.

“We had a large group, right?” Scott said, laughing to himself about the transportation for himself, Duncan, Jones, Sulentic, Smith, Edwards and Gregory. “It was an unconventional search process.

Charles Huff looks to ‘close the gap’ as Memphis football coach

“And I get back in the van, and I sit next to Cannon Smith, and I said, ‘Alright, so what’d you guys think?’ And he said, ‘Oh, we have consensus.’

“I said, ‘Well, who is the heck is ‘we?’ Because I’m the AD, and I didn’t even get any input in this yet.’”

Scott chuckled again as he finished the tale, indicating he heartily agreed with the consensus already reached.

“So I think it was clear to the group,” he said, “that there was an energy level, a desire (on Huff’s part) to be in Memphis.”

Memphis officially announces Charles Huff as football coach

Friday, Dec. 4 — Going to Hardgrave

The decision still wasn’t finalized, but by Friday, Dec. 4, Scott’s picture was becoming quite clear.

“I put some folks in front of Dr. Hardgrave on Friday afternoon,” Scott said, “and then Dr. Hardgrave gave me his blessing on which direction I wanted to go by Friday evening.”

Huff’s candidacy was discussed with Hardgrave, as was, it is now known, that of Baker.

But at some point Baker told Memphis he wasn’t interested in the job. Initial reports during the day that Friday suggested American Conference rival Tulane was close to hiring him instead. But Baker hadn’t made up his mind on where he’d be next season, and former Ole Miss coach Kiffin was working hard to keep him. By the evening, Baker decided to stay at LSU.

And Huff was Memphis’ pick.

But Huff himself still didn’t know that on the night of the 4th, when Mack’s Kennesaw State team was busy beating Jacksonville State in the Conference USA title game, James Madison beat Troy in the Sun Belt championship game and Mullen’s UNLV team lost to Boise State in the Mountain West title game.

Mack didn’t know what was going on as he coached his team, and thought he had a chance. He wasn’t the only one unaware. 

Calkins: Is Charles Huff a wow hire at Memphis? He sure has a wow resume.

“A lot of people assume I knew this was happening,” Huff said.

Not so.

“Friday night I’m sitting there watching the championship games. … My representation called and said, ‘Hey, have you heard anything from Memphis?’” Huff said.

His answer: “‘No, I haven’t heard anything. They said they were going through the process.’”

“He said, ‘OK, hopefully we’ll hear something … in the morning,’” Huff said.

Huff’s response: “‘Well, I’ll go to sleep.’”

Penny Hardaway offers some advice to the Tigers’ new head football coach

Saturday, Dec. 6 — The last to know

The next day was a Saturday, and with Southern Miss not playing again until it faces Western Kentucky in the Dec. 23 New Orleans Bowl, this was going to be the first time in seemingly forever that Huff could sleep in.

“The first Saturday I have nothing to do,” he said.

“It’s about 7 a.m. (for Huff, that is sleeping in), and my wife’s like, ‘You better check your phone; something’s going on with your players, because it keeps going off.’

“So I check my phone, and everybody in the country is congratulating me. ‘You got the job.’ ‘Congratulations.’ You know, ‘Awesome, man.’ ‘It’s gonna be great.’”

Just one problem.

“I ain’t heard from Dr. Scott,” Huff said. “So, I mean, I’ve got 45, 50 texts. ‘Congratulations.’ ‘Man, it’s gonna be great.’ ‘I knew.’ Yada, yada, yada.

“So I called my representation and said, ‘Hey, have you heard from Memphis?’”

His agent’s response? “‘No, we haven’t heard anything.’”

As the minutes pass, crickets.

“So it’s 7:30, 8:30,” Huff said. “I done drank three cups of coffee now.”

By then, word was widespread.

A national college reporter, Ross Dellenger, had the news out shortly before 8 a.m., likely thanks to a planted tip that came from within the Memphis camp.

Memphis Tigers headed to Gasparilla Bowl

“And it’s about 9 o’clock,” Huff said, “and finally Dr. Scott called and I almost said, ‘Hey man, what is going on?’”

Instead, Huff collected himself.

Quick switch.

“But I said, ‘Hey, how are you doing, sir?’” Huff said with a laugh.

Scott was swell.

By the end of their chat, Huff was even better. Four days later, he was formally introduced to Tigers supporters.

Memphis Tigers headed to Gasparilla Bowl

“We had about a 30-minute conversation just about taking the job, and how thorough they went through the process,” Huff said Dec. 10, 10 days after Silverfield left for Arkansas. “It was honestly a really reaffirming moment for me, because after talking to them I just felt like, ‘This is the one.’”

So why was Huff the last one to find out?

Scott doesn’t like to make a final decision before sleeping on it. And Huff naps like a log.

“I don’t get a lot of sleep,” Scott said, “but I get six hours and they’re really good.

“And after those six hours I woke up and it was confirmed to me that our instincts were right and we had the guy, and that’s when I made the call to Huff.

“Plus,” the Tigers AD added, “I wanted to see him sweat a little bit.”