Larry Porter Larry Porter ( born April 28 , 1972 ) is the former head coach of the Memphis Tigers football team . Porter was named the new head football coach at the University of Memphis on November 29 , 2009 replacing Tommy West . A former running back for the school when it was known as Memphis State University , Porter was formerly an assistant head coach , chief recruiter , and running backs coach at Louisiana State University under Les Miles . On November 27 , 2011 , Porter was fired after completing a 2 – 10 season with only having won three games during his two - year tenure . Playing career . Porter lettered four years ( 1990 – 93 ) at Memphis , serving as co - captain of the 1993 Tiger squad . He closed out his career with 2 , 194 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns , ranking seventh in school history in yardage and tied for fifth in touchdowns . As a freshman in 1990 , Porter rushed for 206 yards against Arkansas State , the highest single - game total for a freshman in school history . In his first game , he replaced injured starting tailback Marvin Cox and raced 53 yards for a touchdown against Arkansas State on his first college carry . Porter had a total of six 100 - yard games during his career , a figure that ranks tied for fifth in Memphis history . Porter graduated in 1996 with a bachelor ' s degree in education . Coaching career . Porter began his coaching career at Wooddale High School in Memphis , Tenn . , serving as head track and field coach , while assisting with the running backs and secondary on the football squad . After two years at Wooddale , Porter moved to the collegiate ranks , coaching the running backs at Tennessee - Martin in 1998 . Porter then spent three years at Arkansas State , where he coached Jonathan Adams to back - to - back 1 , 000 - yard seasons . Adams rushed for 1 , 004 yards and six touchdowns in 2000 and followed that with another 1 , 004 yards and five scores in 2001 . Under Porter ' s tutelage , Adams capped his career as the second - leading rusher in Arkansas State history . In 2002 , Porter was hired by Oklahoma State coach Les Miles as Running Backs coach . At OSU , Porter ' s stable of running backs continued the tradition of " Tailback U . " , as he coached 1 , 000 - yard rushers for three straight seasons . In 2004 , Vernand Morency earned second - team All - Big 12 honors after rushing for 1 , 474 yards , which ranked eighth in the nation , and 12 touchdowns . Morency was a third round pick of the Houston Texans in 2005 . A year earlier , Tatum Bell earned first - team All - Big 12 honors with 1 , 286 yards and 16 touchdowns . Bell and Morency combined for 2 , 204 yards and 24 TDs for the Cowboys in 2003 . Bell then went on to become a second round draft pick by the Denver Broncos in the 2004 NFL Draft . In his first season at OSU , Porter guided Bell to a 1 , 096 - yard , 11 - TD season for 8 - 5 Oklahoma State . In 2005 , Porter joined coach Miles at LSU . He has coached LSU running backs while also holding two key roles on staff - assistant head coach and chief recruiter . Porter was elevated to the position of assistant head coach during the spring of 2006 . He was twice ( 2007 and 2009 ) named as the National Recruiter of the Year by Rivals . com making him one of the top all - around assistant coaches in college football . In three of the last four seasons ( 2006 - 09 included ) , the LSU rushing unit has averaged over 165 yards a game , including a high of 214 yards per game in 2007 . That squad closed out the season ranked 11th nationally in rushing . From 2005 - 08 , the Tigers totaled 108 rushing touchdowns , including 35 in 2007 . As LSU ' s running backs coach , Porter has helped developed some of the finest players at that position in LSU ' s history . From 2005 - 08 , LSU produced a 1 , 000 - yard rusher twice - Jacob Hester 1 , 103 yards in 2007 and Charles Scott 1 , 174 yards in 2008 - as well as having two players ( Hester and Joseph Addai ) selected in the NFL Draft . In 2008 , LSU again had one of the top running games in the SEC as the Tigers rushed for 166 . 8 yards per game with Scott getting the bulk of the carries ( 1 , 174 yards on 217 attempts ) . Scott , who earned first - team All - SEC in 2008 , and Keiland Williams ( 417 yards , 2 TDs on 83 attempts ) gave the Tigers one of the top 1 - 2 rushing punches in the league last year . Porter and the Tigers had a running back - by - committee approach during the national championship season in 2007 with Hester leading all rushers with a career - best 1 , 103 yards and 11 TDs . Hester , who was a second - team All - SEC selection , had four 100 - yard rushing games , including a 120 - yard effort against Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game . Williams was second on the squad with 478 yards and six scores , while Trindon Holliday was third with 364 yards and two TDs . As a unit , LSU rushed for 214 . 1 yards per game and 35 touchdowns . The 214 . 1 yards per game and 35 rushing touchdowns both ranked second in the SEC . Another impressive feat for the Tiger running backs was the fact that they combined for 432 carries in 2007 with just one lost fumble , which came against Tennessee in the SEC title game . Following the 2007 season , Hester was picked in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers . Hester became the fourth running back coached by Porter that has been selected among the first three rounds of the NFL Draft since 2004 . In 2006 , Porter juggled running backs as the Tigers started four different players , including two true freshmen , at tailback . In 13 games , the Tigers had five different running backs lead the team in rushing . Hester led the Tigers in rushing with 440 yards and six scores . Hester added another 269 yards and three touchdowns on 35 receptions , which ranked as the third - highest total for a running back in school history . A pair of true freshmen in Scott and Williams also burst onto the scene during the 2006 season , giving the Tigers a glimpse of the future as they combined for 713 yards and 10 TDs . Williams capped his first season with the Tigers in a big way , rushing for 107 yards and a pair of scores in LSU ' s 41 - 14 win over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl . As a unit , the Tigers ranked second in the SEC in rushing in 2006 with 165 . 8 yards per game . The Tigers also had 25 rushing TDs , a figure that ranked No . 2 in the league . In his first year with the team in 2005 , Porter made an immediate impact on LSU ' s running game as the Tigers , despite losing perhaps the top runner in the SEC in Alley Broussard to a knee injury in mid - August , still managed to rush for 1 , 951 yards and 21 touchdowns . LSU ' s rushing offense ranked fourth in the SEC , while the 21 rushing TDs was the second - highest total in the league . Addai had his best year in a Tiger uniform , rushing for 911 yards and nine touchdowns ; while Justin Vincent added 488 yards and five scores . Addai had five 100 - yard rushing games , capped by a 130 - yard , one - TD performance in LSU ' s 40 - 3 win over Miami in the Peach Bowl . He went on to become a first round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2006 NFL Draft , becoming the first LSU running back taken in the first round of the NFL Draft since Harvey Williams was the 21st overall pick by the Chiefs in 1991 . Addai was a finalist for NFL Rookie of the Year in 2006 and played a key role in the Colts ' Super Bowl victory over the Chicago Bears . On February 10 , it was announced that Porter would take the position of running backs coach at Arizona State University . The move comes after former coach Chris Thomsen left to coach the offensive line at Texas Tech . On January 1st of 2013 , Porter accepted the running backs coaching position at the University of Texas . Personal . Porter and his wife Sharmane have three children , Brandon , Omari and Olivia .