Tigers’ Matt Barnes hired as Mississippi State Co-Defensive Coordinator

After serving as Memphis Football’s defensive coordinator for the last two seasons, Matt Barnes is headed to Starkville, Mississippi as the Co-Defensive Coordinator in first-year HC Jeff Lebby’s inaugural staff. First reported by FootballScoop.com, Barnes will leave Memphis to specifically handle coaching duties for the Bulldogs’ defensive secondary.

Prior to Memphis, Matt Barnes spent three years in Columbus, Ohio as the Buckeyes’ Special Teams and Secondary Coach. In 2021, former Ohio State DC Kerry Coombs was stripped of defensive play-calling duties after a difficult start to the season. Ohio State HC Ryan Day proceeded to name Matt Barnes as the interim Defensive Coordinator, where he served until he was hired by Ryan Silverfield following the 2021 season. A former linebacker at Salisbury University, Barnes has coached in the college football ranks since 2009.

In his final season at Memphis, the Tigers’ defense finished the 2023 regular season nationally ranked 110th in total defense, 90th in scoring defense, 30th in turnovers gained, 67th in first down defense, and 17th in third down defense. His defensive units at Memphis will be known for their opportunistic play and the ability to make plays when it mattered most. Still, Ryan Silverfield will undoubtedly search for more consistent play on the defensive side of the ball when making his third defensive coordinator hire in five seasons as the Tigers’ Head Coach.

Look for either Assistant HC and DB coach Charles Clark or LB coach Jordon Hankins to take over defensive play-calling duties in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on December 29th. Hankins spent three seasons as UT-Martin’s DC from 2017 to 2019. During that time, Hankins’ teams finished nationally ranked in the Top 25 in a variety of defensive categories, including scoring defense (2017), total defense (2017, 2018), third down defense (2017, 2018), and sacks (2019).

Last offseason proved to be a successful hiring job by Ryan Silverfield. Following the 2022 season, the Tigers’ HC made staff changes at STC, WR coach, and OL coach. Each area of play seemingly improved to varying degrees during the 2023 season. Now, whether initially expected or not, Silverfield will need to address an area that often served as the Tigers’ achilles heel in 2023. Stay tuned in with us at Bluff City Media for continuing coverage of the first coaching search of the Tigers’ offseason.

If you aren’t already, join us in the BCM Discord to check out some names that are already being floated around throughout the Memphis fanbase.