Memphis coach Charles Huff isn’t hiding from the chatter around his name - but he’s drawing a line on where that conversation happens.
With his team fresh off an overtime win over East Carolina, Huff said he has been talking openly with his players about job speculation tied to several Power Four openings. He said he has not been contacted about any other jobs, and he made it clear he won’t feed the rumors in public.
That message came into sharper focus after Huff spent the day after Memphis’ win in Waxahachie, Texas, watching a potential recruit. That trip sparked speculation that he was interviewing for the Baylor opening, which officially opened when Dave Aranda was fired on Oct.
- Huff even showed his team a photo of himself with Memphis receivers coach Aaron Dobson.
At his news conference on Oct. 27, Huff said the team had already been briefed on the reality of his situation.
"I talked to them probably three weeks ago," Huff said. "I told them, every job that's getting ready to come open, my name's going to be up for. Just like for you, every time you score a touchdown, someone's going to repost your deal."
Huff has been through this before. Memphis is his third school in three years, and several players have followed him from Marshall to Southern Miss to Memphis. He said he has leaned on those players to help explain the situation to the rest of the roster.
He also dismissed the idea that any of this is going to turn into an in-season move.
"Not been called," Huff said. "Not been contacted.
You don't get a job in the middle of the season. The jobs happen at the end of the season."
Huff has been linked to three open Power Four jobs in different ways: Maryland, NC State and Baylor. His connection to Maryland is the most obvious. He is a Maryland native, has deep recruiting ties in the state and worked as an assistant there earlier in his career.
Still, his focus has to stay on Memphis’ season. The Tigers are 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the American Conference, and they need to keep piling up wins if they want a shot at reaching the conference title game.
That push continues Oct. 31 against Army, which comes in at 5-2 and 4-1. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
CT on ESPNU.
"My job is to let them know that I'm the head coach here," Huff said. "And if for whatever reason, (athletic director) Ed Scott comes in and fires me tomorrow, I'm going to tell them.
But like I tell them, no one can control the outside noise, but we can control the volume. So I'm controlling the volume now."
He said he has no plans to discuss the speculation publicly, but inside the building, he will keep the players informed.
"I will never address it publicly, because I don't think that's anyone's business," Huff said. "But I'll always be open and honest with the guys in the building.
Because me not saying anything to you guys is fun. You guys get to write, 'Well, maybe he's going.'
Me not telling them creates anxiety, and that's what I don't want."
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Charles Huff spent part of the week trying to put out the kind of noise that tends to follow a successful coach in November, denying he has had contact with other programs about possible openings even as rumors keep circling around his name. For Memphis, the timing is less than ideal, because the Tigers are trying to keep their footing in a season that still has plenty in front of it while also staring at a roadblock in Army and its stubborn, hard-to-prepare-for option offense.
The focus inside the building, at least publicly, has stayed on the task at hand. Huff has leaned into the challenge Army presents, while quarterback Marcus Stokes pointed to the importance of controlling tempo and matching the opponent's style with a full-team effort after a strong recent showing. For Memphis, the stakes are straightforward enough: stay locked in, handle the pace, and keep the outside chatter from becoming part of the storyline. [Read more 🡒]
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Arkansas is coming off a win over Gonzaga and is expected to be one of the stronger teams in the SEC, which makes this a good chance to see how far Memphis has come and how much of Reids early buzz can carry against a tougher opponent. For a team trying to sort out its identity before the games start counting, it is the kind of matchup that can reveal a lot without officially meaning anything in the standings. [Read more 🡒]
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For Memphis, the broader issue is less about one exhibition and more about what the roster will look like when the regular season arrives. Popovic is dealing with an NCAA eligibility dispute that could affect his availability, and the Tigers are still sorting through a group that includes several new pieces and possible absences. So while Arkansas gets a clean evaluation of its interior defense, Memphis gets one more chance to see how its frontcourt holds up while the larger picture remains unsettled. [Read more 🡒]