Charles Huff aims to be 'combination of' MLK Jr., JFK, Vince Lombardi as Memphis football coach

First-year Memphis head football coach Charles Huff has been making the rounds across Tennessee as he looks to drum up support from boosters and fans alike. And the quite affable Huff is already garnering plenty of attention with some interesting quotes.

Among one of his bolder claims recently was that he anticipates the Tigers formally joining the Power Four ranks by 2028, which he suggested aligns with college sports’ next round of conference realignment.

“Well, you’ve got to understand, … there’s some TV contracts at some of the conferences that are up for negotiation, and that’s when you can (make a) move,” Huff told WMCA News 5. “You can’t just knock on the door of a conference and say, ‘Hey, let us in.'”

Huff added that the entire Memphis administration is “aligning” itself to be in position to be among the next to join the Power Four ranks: “It’s like we tell our players, you’ve got to have a plan, and then you have to speak that plan into existence,” Huff added.

The 43-year-old Huff, who has a career 39-25 record in five years as a head coach, went even stronger with an aspirational affirmation regarding how he hopes to approach his new position at Memphis.

“I think my job as the head coach at the University of Memphis is to be a combination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Vince Lombardi and JFK,” Huff said Tuesday during a Tigers on Tour event in Germantown according to the Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins. “That means I’ve got to be able to be immersed in the issues of our community, I’ve got to be immersed in the issues of our athletic program, and I’ve got to coach football at a high level too.”

Huff, a former head coach at Marshall, left Southern Miss following the 2025 season to become the Tigers’ head man in December, succeeding Ryan Silverfield, who left to join the SEC as the new head coach at Arkansas. And while Huff anticipates Memphis eventually following his predecessor into the Power Four ranks in the next few years, the former Nick Saban assistant also made it clear he’s not in support of further College Football Playoff expansion.

“The competitor in me says if you can’t be one of the 12, then you’re not a national champion,” Huff said Tuesday, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “That’s coming from a person that’s probably in the worst spot as far as trying to get in. Being a Group of Six school, a little bit on the outside, we have an automatic bid but it’s not as guaranteed as some of the others (from the Power Four).

“Win all your games. Win all your games, you’ll get in. It’s just hard for me to see an 8-4 national champion. Are you really a national champion, or did you just survive the longest?”