The 2020 college football season is almost in full swing, with the Mountain West Conference as one of the leagues to open play this weekend. With that, former ASU head coach Todd Graham’s head tenure at Hawaii officially begins when his squad takes on Fresno State.
As Sun Devil fans watch games across the college football nation and eagerly anticipate the start to the Pac-12 Conference season, names and faces in virtually every conference can be seen on sidelines on game day that jolt thoughts of ‘I remember him!’ from time spent in Tempe during Graham’s days in charge of the Arizona State program.
In total, on his year one staff at Hawaii, Graham has five members that worked for him at some point at Arizona State with a sixth, safeties coach Laiu Moeakiola, who played for Graham from 2012-16.
Added to that, a total of six former staff members under Graham at ASU currently hold Division 1 head coaching positions: Chris Ball (Northern Arizona), Chip Lindsey (Troy), Billy Napier (Louisiana), Jay Norvell (Nevada), Mike Norvell (Florida State), Ryan Silverfield (Memphis).
What else has become of Graham’s staff members – including coordinators, assistants, graduate assistants, analysts, and other staff – since they resided in Tempe?
In this edition of Sun Devil Science, I locate all known coaching staff members from Graham’s six seasons at Arizona State University to see just where the branches of Graham’s coaching tree are now.
The Coordinators
Mike Norvell (Offensive Coordinator, 2012-15): Memphis Head Coach (2016-19), Florida State Head Coach (2020-Present)
An assistant coach under Graham at Tulsa from 2007-2010 and Graham’s Co-Offensive Coordinator at Pittsburgh in 2011, Norvell made his way to Tempe in 2012 as ASU’s lone Offensive Coordinator through the 2015 season. With quarterbacks Taylor Kelly and Mike Bercovici and skill players like D.J. Foster, Marion Grice, Demario Richard, Kalen Ballage, Jaelen Strong, Devin Lucien, and Chris Coyle, Norvell helped guide ASU to back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2013-14 and a division title in 2013.
When Justin Fuente was hired away from Memphis to Virginia Tech after the 2015 season, Norvell capitalized on the opportunity and accepted his first college head coaching position. In four years at Memphis – largely assisted by the play of quarterback Brady White, who followed Norvell after the 2016 season as a transfer from ASU to Memphis – Norvell put together a 38-15 combined record, including two double-digit win seasons that also resulted in top-25 finishes.
Norvell’s 2019 season at Memphis likely can be considered the best in school history, as the Tigers set a program record with 12 wins, claimed the American Athletic Conference championship, appeared in a New Year’s Six Bowl at the Cotton Bowl and finished the year ranked No. 17 in both the AP and Coaches Polls, the highest final ranking in Memphis history. Prior to Memphis’ bowl game, Norvell accepted the head coaching job at Florida State and 2020 marks his first season in charge of the Seminoles.
Chris Ball (Co-Defensive Coordinator, 2012-15): Memphis Defensive Coordinator (2016-18), Northern Arizona Head Coach (2019-Present)
Wildly popular with his players and in recruiting Ball coached defensive backs and served as Co-Defensive Coordinator during his four years in Tempe. During his time at ASU, he mentored multiple standout players in the secondary such as Osahon Irabor, Keelan Johnson, Deveron Carr, Robert Nelson, Alden Darby, Damarious Randall, Jordan Simone, Kareem Orr, Lloyd Carrington, Kweishi Brown, and others.
Ball joined Norvell’s initial staff at Memphis in 2016 as Defensive Coordinator and maintained that role for three seasons before returning to the state of Arizona as head coach at Northern Arizona University. In his debut season of 2019, Ball’s Lumberjacks finished with a 4-8 record.
Paul Randolph (Co-Defensive Coordinator, 2012-13): ASU Senior Associate Head Coach/Defensive Ends Coach (2014), ASU Associate Athletic Director for Championship Life (2015), Memphis Defensive Line Coach (2016-18), Texas Tech Defensive Line Coach (2019-Present)
A member of Graham’s coaching staff at each collegiate stop prior to Arizona State, Randolph was an assistant on the Rice, Tulsa and Pittsburgh staffs from 2006-11. Randolph joined Ball as Co-Defensive Coordinators in 2012-13 before he was shifted to Defensive Ends Coach in 2014. In 2015, Randolph was moved to an administrative role in ASU’s student-athlete development department.
Randolph then joined Norvell at Memphis from 2016-18 before relocating to Texas Tech, where he is the Defensive Line Coach.
Keith Patterson (Co-Defensive Coordinator, 2014-15; Defensive Coordinator 2016): ASU Linebackers/Defensive Special Teams Coach (2017), Utah State Co-Defensive Coordinator (2018), Texas Tech Defensive Coordinator (2019-Present)
A former college teammate of Todd Graham and an assistant coach under Graham at Allen (Texas) High School, Tulsa, and Pittsburgh, Patterson rejoined his longtime friend in Graham’s third season at ASU. Patterson shared Defensive Coordinator duties with Chris Ball in 2014-15 and then solely held the title in 2016 before being reassigned to Linebackers and Defensive Special Teams Coach in 2017.
Chip Lindsey (Offensive Coordinator, 2016): Auburn Offensive Coordinator (2017-18), Troy Head Coach (2019-Present)
Following a two-year stay as the Offensive Coordinator at Southern Miss from 2014-15, Lindsey was hired to replace Norvell at ASU after he took the head coach position at Memphis. Lindsey stayed just the one season at Arizona State, as he moved on to be Auburn’s Offensive Coordinator for 2017-18.
Lindsey then took the head coaching position at Troy after Neal Brown moved on to West Virginia. In 2019, Lindsey and company finished 5-7 – a notable drop off from the three consecutive double-digit win seasons Brown engineered from 2016-18.
Phil Bennett (Defensive Coordinator, 2017): No information available
Bennett’s lone season at ASU marked his 40th season in coaching, with all but one (1983) spent at the college level. No records of Bennett having coached anywhere beyond the 2017 season are available and an Arizona Republic report from December of that year mentions that Bennett was welcome to return to ASU in the transition from Graham to Herm Edwards but left for “personal reasons, including health issues.”
Rob Likens (Co-Offensive Coordinator, 2017): ASU Offensive Coordinator (2018-19), Miami (Fla.) Wide Receivers Coach (2020-Present)
After spending the 2015-16 seasons as Offensive Coordinator at Kansas and the two before it at California, Likens joined the staff at ASU in 2017 and was tabbed as a Co-Offensive Coordinator for the Sun Devils.
Likens was retained by Herm Edwards and served as the program’s coordinator for 2018-19, and though he helped coach consecutive first-round picks in N’Keal Harry and Brandon Aiyuk, record-setting rusher Eno Benjamin and freshman phenom quarterback Jayden Daniels, Likens was relieved of his role shortly after the 2019 season concluded. Likens currently is the Wide Receivers Coach at Miami (Fla.).
Billy Napier (Co-Offensive Coordinator, 2017): Louisiana Head Coach (2018-Present)
Though he was just 38 years old when he coached at ASU, Napier had nearly 15 years of major college coaching experience, including a four-year stint coaching wide receivers at Alabama. Napier spent the 2017 season as Offensive Coordinator for ASU, sharing duties with Co-OC Rob Likens.
When Graham was dismissed as head coach, Napier was the preferred pick to remain on Herm Edwards’ staff as a coordinator but less than two weeks after Edwards was hired at ASU, Napier took the head coaching gig at Louisiana.
Through two-plus seasons at Louisiana, Napier has been a tremendous success as his debut season resulted in a 7-7 finish – a tie for the most wins in a season for the program since 1993 – and an appearance in the Sun Belt Conference championship game.
His ascent continued in 2019 as he set a program record with 11 wins, and earlier this season, he guided Louisiana into the Associated Press Top-25 for the first time since November 1943. Likely on a trajectory similar to – and possibly greater than – Norvell, it should come as no surprise if Napier is a head coach in a conference such as the ACC or SEC soon.
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Other Assistant Coaches
DelVaughn Alexander (2012-16): Notre Dame Wide Receivers Coach (2017-Present)
Alexander spent his first four seasons as ASU’s wide receivers coach and his fifth coaching tight ends. During his days in Tempe, Alexander guided the likes of Jamal Miles, Rashad Ross, Jaelen Strong, Cameron Smith, D.J. Foster, Devin Lucien, Tim White, and Kody Kohl. Since 2017, Alexander has served as Wide Receivers Coach at Notre Dame under Brian Kelly, where he has helped to produce NFL Draft picks at wide receiver in each of the past three years.
Chris Thomsen (2012-16): TCU Offensive Line Coach (2017-19); Florida State Deputy Head Coach (2020-Present)
Thomsen spent five seasons coaching ASU’s offensive line under Graham, helping to produce All-Pac-12 honors recipients such as Jamil Douglas, Evan Finkenberg, Nick Kelly, Christian Westerman, and others. After three years at TCU, Thomsen reunited with Mike Norvell at Florida State for the 2020 season where he was named Deputy Head Coach – a title famously issued by Graham to Norvell in Tempe – as well as the team’s Tight Ends Coach.
Chip Long (2012-15): Memphis Offensive Coordinator (2016), Notre Dame Offensive Coordinator (2017-19), Tennessee Offensive Quality Control Analyst (2020-Present)
During his four years in Tempe as ASU’s Tight Ends Coach and Recruiting Coordinator Long helped develop Chris Coyle into a First-Team All-Pac-12 tight end and statistically one of the most accomplished players at the position in school history, while helping to construct the nation’s No. 21 signing class in 2014 and the No. 20 class in 2015.
After the 2015 season, Long joined Ball, Randolph, and others in following Norvell to Memphis, where he was the team’s Offensive Coordinator for the 2016 season before spending the 2017-19 seasons as Notre Dame’s Offensive Coordinator. Long was relieved from his position at Notre Dame in December 2019 and currently is an Analyst for Tennessee.
Jackie Shipp (2012-15): Missouri Defensive Line Coach (2016), Trinity Valley CC (2018), Nevada Defensive Line Coach (2019-Present)
Bo Graham (2012-14): Louisiana Offensive Quality Control (2018), Hawaii Running Backs Coach (2020-Present)
Joe Lorig (2012-13): Utah State Assistant Coach (2014-15), Memphis Assistant Coach (2016-18), Penn State Assistant Coach (2019-Present)
Larry Porter (2012): Texas Running Backs Coach (2013), North Carolina Running Backs Coach (2014-16), Auburn Assistant Coach (2017-Present)
Shawn Slocum (2015-17): ASU Assistant Coach (2018-Present)
The Pro Model before the Pro Model was a thing at ASU, Slocum came to Tempe in 2015 after spending the 2006-14 seasons in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers. Slocum was retained by Herm Edwards and enters his third season under Edwards and sixth season overall at Arizona State, where he currently holds the title of Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator.
During his time at ASU, Slocum has helped coach specialists such as 2016 Lou Groza Award winner Zane Gonzalez, now kicking for the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins punter Matt Haack as well as 2019 First-Team All-Pac-12 punter Michael Turk.
TJ Rushing (2016-17): Memphis Defensive Backs Coach (2018-19), Texas A&M Defensive Backs Coach (2020-Present)
John Simon (2016-17): Memphis Assistant Coach (2018-Present)
Jay Norvell (2016): Nevada Head Coach (2017-Present)
Norvell came to ASU with 30 years of coaching experience, with his most recent previous stops at the time coming at Texas, Oklahoma and UCLA. Norvell spent just one season at ASU as the program’s Passing Game Coordinator and Wide Receivers Coach, where he helped mentor true freshmen such as N’Keal Harry and Kyle Williams as well as Tim White in his senior season.
Norvell became Nevada’s head coach prior to the 2017 season and in three seasons has an 18-20 overall record, with 15 of the 18 wins as well as back-to-back bowl game appearances coming in the 2018-19 seasons. Norvell’s eight-win 2018 season marked the highest single-season win total for the program since its 13-win 2010 campaign.
Joe Seumalo (2016): San Jose State Defensive Line Coach
Rob Sale (2017): Louisiana Offensive Coordinator (2018-Present)
Michael Slater (2017): Texas Southern Defensive Line Coach (2018)
Graduate Assistants and Other Staff Members
Aaron Pflugrad (2012-14): Northern Arizona Offensive Coordinator
One of the most notable fan favorites during his time as a wide receiver at ASU during the late Dennis Erickson years, Pflugrad returned to Tempe the year after finishing his playing career to serve as a graduate assistant under Graham from 2012-14. In 2015, Pflugrad was hired at Northern Arizona as the program’s Wide Receivers Coach and in 2018 was promoted to Offensive Coordinator.
Rudy Burgess (2012-13): Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro High School Assistant Coach
Dan Lanning (2012-13): Georgia Defensive Coordinator
Lanning has had a meteoric rise since his time at ASU that began as a graduate assistant in 2012, as he took a staff position at Sam Houston State in 2014, then a graduate assistant role at Alabama in 2015 before joining Mike Norvell’s staff as an assistant coach at Memphis from 2016-17.
From there, Lanning was hired as Georgia’s Outside Linebackers Coach in 2018 and the next season added the title of Defensive Coordinator. The 2020 season is his second year in that role for the Bulldogs.
Keola Loo (2012-13): Dixie State Offensive Line Coach (2019)
Travis Dixon (2013): Abilene Christian Cornerbacks Coach
Trent Figg (2013): Hawaii Chief of Staff
Dan Phillips (2014-17): Hawaii Assistant Coach
Ray Brown (2014-15): Troy Cornerbacks Coach
Tanner Antle (2014): Grapevine (Texas) High School Assistant Coach
Matt Butterfield (2014): Colorado Offensive Assistant
Jared Holley (2015-17): Albany Safeties Coach
Kenny Dillingham (2014-2015): Florida State Offensive Coordinator
Similar to Lanning, Dillingham has quickly climbed through the coaching ranks. Dillingham did not play major college football but graduated from ASU in 2012 while he was an assistant coach at Scottsdale’s Chaparral High School. He took on an Offensive Analyst role at Arizona State in 2014-15 and followed Mike Norvell to Memphis. Dillingham began as a Graduate Assistant in 2016 before becoming Quarterbacks and Tight Ends Coach in 2017 and then was promoted to Offensive Coordinator at Memphis in 2018. The next season, he moved on to become Auburn’s Offensive Coordinator before reuniting with Norvell at Florida State as the program’s Offensive Coordinator starting with the 2020 season at barely 30 years of age.
Taylor Kelly (2015): Mater Dei High School Quarterbacks Coach (2019-Present)
One of the most accomplished quarterbacks in Arizona State football history, Kelly returned to his alma mater in a coaching role after completing his college career in 2014. After his one-year graduate assistant tenure at ASU, Kelly moved on to become Quarterbacks Coach at power Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., where he has mentored players including former five-star quarterback prospect J.T. Daniels. Kelly is also a Motion Performance Expert for 3DQB, an organization that helps train quarterback skills.
Brennan Marion (2015): Hawaii Wide Receivers Coach
Ryan Silverfield (2015): Memphis Head Coach
Silverfield spent less than a full season as an Offensive Analyst for ASU, as on Nov. 16, 2015 – five days prior to the annual showdown for the Territorial Cup – it was reported he would take a position with the Detroit Lions. That stop was brief as well, as he joined Mike Norvell’s staff at Memphis as Offensive Coordinator for the 2016 season. Silverfield remained on staff through Norvell’s entire four-year tenure at Memphis and after Norvell took the head coach position at Florida State, Silverfield was promoted to head coach on Dec. 13, 2019.
Sam Bennett (2016-17): Hawaii Offensive Line Coach
Donnie Yantis (2016-17): Highlands Ranch (Colo.) Valor Christian High School Head Coach
Brought to ASU as an Assistant Athletics Director for Football Recruiting prior to the 2016 season, after two years in that role Yantis was elevated to Tight Ends Coach upon the arrival of Herm Edwards. One of the few staff holdovers from the Graham regime to that of Edwards, Yantis held that position for the 2018-19 seasons before returning to the high school ranks in early 2020.
Graham Craig (2016): West Georgia Offensive Coordinator
Andrew Seumalo (2016): Lafayette Defensive Line Coach
Matt Bergeron (2017): Louisiana Graduate Assistant
Dave Christensen (2017): ASU Offensive Line Coach
After joining the Sun Devil program in 2017 as a Non-Coaching Consultant, Christensen was promoted to Offensive Line Coach upon the arrival of Herm Edwards at ASU. The 2020 season will mark Christensen’s third season as an assistant coach and fourth season overall at Arizona State.
Danny White (2017): ASU Football Consultant/Sun Devil Club Ambassador
Arguably the top quarterback in program history and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, White returned to Arizona State in a consulting role in Graham’s final season and has remained involved with he program through the entirety of Herm Edwards’ days at ASU.
