Making the Case For Mike Norvell

Mark BlankenbakerNovember 30, 2018

Mike Norvell
Age: 37
Current Job: Head Coach University of Memphis
Record: 26-12
Bowl Record: 0-2
Current Salary: $2.6M
Current Buyout: $500,000

Why He Can Succeed At Louisville

Mike Norvell comes from Texas and played football at Central Arkansas (ironically same college as Charlie Strong). Norvell GA’d at Central Arkansas and Tulsa before being elevated to WR’s coach at Tulsa and then was hired away by Pittsburgh to become Co-OC and WRs coach for the Panthers in 2011. Mike was then followed Todd Graham to Arizona State from Pitt in 2012 and was the Offensive Coordinator there from 2012-2015. In 2016, Norvell earned his first head coaching position at Memphis and for the last 3 seasons the TIGERS HAVE SCORED POINTS and they’ve won a lot of football games.

In 2016 Memphis was 8-5, followed by a 10-3 2017 season and then Norvell convinced Brady White to come from Arizona State to Memphis as a graduate transfer to play QB. Memphis was 8-4 in 2018. Here are some notable games:

2016: Win over #18 Houston 48-44
2017: Win over #25 UCLA 48-45
2017: Win over #25 Navy 30-27
2017: Win over Houston 42-38
2017: Loss to #12 UCF 62-55 2 OT (UCF went undfeated in 2017)
2018: Loss to #10 UCF 31-30 (UCF remains undefeated through 2 seasons)
2018: Win over Houston 52-31

Concerns

It’s normal for Group of 5 teams to not be high in recruiting rankings. Memphis was 81st last season. Louisville and Memphis are exactly congruent recruiting regions (Memphis relies on Western Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi) and Norvell has been a southern midwest flavor for much of his career.

I think Norvell will be a successful coach. But he’s very young still and I’m not entirely sure on fit for UofL.

Why He Might Be Attainable

Memphis is Group of 5. Norvell makes $2.6M per year. Louisville provides an upgrade in both of those categories for Norvell.

Why He Might Not Be Attainable

I see no reason why Norvell would be apprehensive about coming to Louisville. But I’m not entirely sure what interest there is from Vince Tyra at the moment.