Tommy West Fired as Memphis Tigers Head Football Coach

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Tigers head coach Tommy West held a fiery speech Monday at a University of Memphis press conference announcing that he had been fired.

Athletic Director RC Johnson began the press conference saying that it was time to take the football program "in another direction."

Johnson wished West the best in his future endeavors, saying, "West is class, dignity and style."

The search for a new head coach will begin immediately; however, West will coach for the remainder of the season, ending his 9 year tenure for the Tigers. Johnson stated that he had already been contacted by several sources that were interested in the head coaching position.

West then took the podium, starting off by saying "This is not a good day at the office."

West continued with an impassioned plea for support for the Tigers football program. "We've got to help this football program… or do away with it."

West is 49-58 in his ninth season as head coach. He led Memphis to five bowl games in the past six years, and he was one of only four coaches in school history with four winning seasons while coaching at least five seasons with the Tigers.

The firing comes on the heels of Saturday's woeful showing against the Volunteers, assuring Memphis (2-7; 1-4 Conference USA) of its second straight losing season and third in the last four years.

West's overall record is 84-93, including coaching stints at Tennessee-Chattanooga and Clemson.

Besides a 35-20 win over UTEP on October 10, the only other Memphis victory this season was 41-14 over Tennessee-Martin of the Football Championship Subdivision.

West was named the Tigers defensive coordinator in 2000, and a year later became head coach, replacing Rip Scherer. He led Memphis to three consecutive winning seasons from 2003-05 and his fifth bowl was last year's St. Petersburg Bowl.

But in recent years his teams struggled early in the season and rallied down the stretch to become bowl eligible. This year, they never recovered from a poor start and have lost three straight by wide margins.

The worst may have been a 38-19 loss to East Carolina on Oct. 27. Not only did the Tigers perform poorly on the field, but a rainy night resulted in only a couple of thousand people in the stands at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in a nationally televised game.

That, followed by Tennessee's thumping of the Tigers Saturday, apparently proved too much.

Johnson encouraged fans to come out to support West on Senior Day this Saturday at the Liberty Bowl, when the Tigers will play UAB at noon.