Q & A With Larry Porter: Challenges for a New Coach

by: Michael Parker
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One of the challenges facing the University of Memphis when they fired Tommy West as their football coach was finding a replacement who could take Memphis to the next level. West made strides, taking the Tigers to fi ve bowl games in his nine years as head coach, but this past season was a disappointment as Memphis finished 2-10. An obstacle Memphis has always faced is that the college is in the heart of SEC territory. Memphis was an independent for years and for the last 15 seasons has been a member of the less-glamorous Conference USA. Over the years many blue chip high school players in the Memphis area have ended up at Tennessee, Ole Miss, or Arkansas.

So, the Tigers were looking for someone who could unite the Memphis community, recruit more effectively and put together a coaching staff that would be able to get the most out of the talent on the team. Shortly after the end of the season, Memphis announced they had gotten their man. They quickly moved to get LSU Assistant Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator Larry Porter. A former running back for the Tigers, Porter is coming home.

Porter inherits a Tiger program that has had the occasional outstanding player (like Isaac Bruce and DeAngelo Williams) but has seldom been able to translate that into good teams. To put Memphis’ history in perspective, there were only two bowl appearances by the Tigers before Tommy West was named head coach in 2001. And no head coach in the last 30 years has fi nished his tenure at Memphis with an overall winning record. Porter has a national reputation as a great recruiter and a great teacher. In fact, he was named College Recruiter of the Year twice. One of the leading rushers in Memphis history, Porter is now assembling his staff. He visited with AFM about his new job.

Q: Tell us about the hiring process. What made you so appealing to Memphis?
A: First, I’m an alum, and people in this community as well as this university have followed my career, and I’ve always been in position to stay connected to this community and university. So there was some familiarity with me in general. Second, throughout the course of my career, my career path has really put me in a position to have some success and put myself in a position to be a head coach.

Q: Why do you feel Memphis is a good job in general and for you in particular?
A: This job is the perfect fi t as well as the perfect place for me. I understand the Memphis brand and I believe in it unconditionally. Coach [Tommy] West did some great things here. He took this program to a level of success that they hadn’t experienced before in terms of consecutive bowl games and things of that nature. So he has laid a good foundation here in terms of the future.
What I have to do is come in here and build upon that. Sometimes we’ve let one bad season cloud the vision of the legacy that Coach West built for himself here. He deserves a lot of credit. This job is also – in my opinion – a diamond in the rough. You are in a city that really has enough players to create a foundation to allow you to build a championship level program. That’s why, in building this program, we’re going to build it starting inside-out with the kids in this city, this county, and in West Tennessee. And we will expand from that point.

Q: What steps are you taking now leading up to signing day?
A: First, you have to assemble a great staff, and I’ve been taking my time to make sure that I get the guys that are not only great coaches, but really want to be here.
Next, those guys that I bring in need to be very well informed on what Memphis has to offer as a university as a whole, so that they can convey that to prospective student-athletes and their parents with conviction and a passion that allows them to believe in my vision.

Q: What are your thoughts about hiring a staff?
A: Your staff is critical. So, you defi nitely need to take your time to make sure that it’s a fi t. Staff chemistry is just as critical as team chemistry. Everybody has to be on the same page, and everybody has to be sharing the same vision and working toward that vision. And as I move forward and hire my staff, that’s what I want to do and that’s why I’m taking my time. It’s that critical.

Q: Newly hired head coaches always speak of ‘laying a foundation for success.’ What have you done since arriving at Memphis to make sure you are laying a good foundation for success?
A: The first thing you’ve got to do is change the culture. That is, you’ve got to think like a champion. You’ve got to act like a champion. You’ve got to walk like a champion. You’ve got to talk like a champion. And because the people of this city… they are walking like champions, and talking like champions, and acting like champions because the only thing they’ve asked me is ‘How can I help?’ And with that type of support, it just gives you great encouragement in terms of where this program can go. The people of this city in every way are willing to do whatever it takes to get this program to a championship level program. And that’s how we’re going to live around here. We’re going to live like champions, and that feeling has to get through to everyone that is part of this university and this program.

Q: What does it take to win at this high level when there are high expectations?
A: Recruiting is certainly a factor. But it’s not the be-all and end-all.
When you are talking about putting a championship program together there are other elements outside of talent that give you a better opportunity. Things like making sure that the development of your program as far as leadership development, attitude development, character development, chemistry development…those are things that put you in position to win at a high level. That’s because your team starts to act as a team and believe as a team and work like a team. And you have to have those same elements in your coaching staff as well. You have to have chemistry and the right attitude. Your coaches have to be men of high character.

Q: What do you like most about being a coach?
A: The fact I have a direct impact on young men and their lives. My whole thought process is that if a kid leaves me a better football player than he is as a person, then I have failed him as a coach. It’s our job to produce responsible leaders who can have an impact on their families and their communities, as well as their workplace. That’s who I am and that’s what I love about coaching – having that impact.

Q: You’ve coached some players who’ve had great individual seasons throughout your career. How have you been able to create the kind of relationship with them you need to get them to perform?
A: There’s an old saying that I believe is so, so true. ‘Players don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.’ That’s part of it.
The other thing is, I approach every kid as if he were my own son.
So, I’ve looked at him unconditionally, with every concern of making him better in every aspect of his life. And I’ve given myself to him because so many times as coaches you ask him to give himself to you. So you have to reciprocate that.

Q: What advice do you have for coaches who want to get where you are now?
A: I think every day you have to present yourself like a professional in every way. I think you have to be a sponge is this business. Take everything in, learn from it, and allow yourself to grow from it.
I think one thing that we have to always remember is if it weren’t for the players, there wouldn’t be any reason for us to be here. And so we must always keep the best interests of the kids at hand. And as long as you remember that you can have an impact on a kid’s life, be it elementary school, or even on the professional level, then you’re in this business for the right reason. Sometimes we all seek to be at the pinnacle of our profession – and that should be a goal – but along the way, no matter what happens, we should always remember that the kids should come first.

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