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Memphis (2-0) coach Ryan Silverfield made one thing clear: His team’s Week 3 road trip to Florida State (0-2) isn’t about Ryan Silverfield vs. Mike Norvell. This might be the first time that the two former co-workers have faced off as head coaches, but it isn’t some Hollywood flick where the protégé becomes a master by getting the best of his former mentor.
Silverfield maintains a great relationship with Norvell, who hired him to guide the offensive line on his inaugural staff at Memphis in 2016. By doing so, Silverfield was provided his first on-field assistant coaching role at the FBS level.
It was Silverfield that was hand-picked as Norvell’s successor when Norvell left for Florida State in 2019, inheriting a Memphis program in the midst of its golden era as a 39-year-old, first-time head coach. No matter what past the two might share — one that stretches even further back than Memphis to Arizona State in 2015 where then-Sun Devils offensive coordinator Norvell identified Silverfield as an offensive assistant — Silverfield referred to the Tigers’ game at Doak Campbell Stadium as a “business trip.”
“Mike and I worked literally a foot away from each other for four straight years,” Silverfield told CBS Sports. “We know everything about one another. But this is about Memphis vs. FSU and the opportunity to go out there and win the next game.”
Though Norvell, who won 38 games in four years with the Tigers, took Memphis to heights previously unseen, Silverfield has an opportunity to push the envelope even further. Memphis is being mentioned in the same breath as other Group of Five College Football Playoff contenders, all vying for one of five conference champion auto-bids in the 12-team format.
The Tigers already jumped an…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/memphis-ryan-silverfield-focused-on-bigger-picture-as-showdown-with-mike-norvell-florida-state-awaits/
Author : Will Backus
Publish date : 2024-09-13 16:55:12
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