Vance Vice joined the Memphis football staff in December of 2011 as the offensive line coach. Vice and U of M head coach Justin Fuente have a long history together as Vice coached the offensive line at Murray State in 1999 when Fuente was a senior quarterback, and the two worked together on offense at Illinois State from 2001-04. Vice, a 20-year coaching veteran, spent the last three seasons as the offensive line coach at the University of Louisiana-Monroe. Under Vice's guidance, ULM's offensive line experienced unprecedented success since moving to the FBS level. In two of the three seasons, Vice's offensive lines have paved the way for over 20 rushing touchdowns and nearly 4,700 yards of total offense. The 392.3 yards per game recorded by ULM in 2009 was the most since joining the FBS. In 2009, behind the Vice-led offensive line, the Warhawks rushed for a ULM Sun Belt-era record 21 touchdowns -- they also set the single-game record during the SBC era scoring five times on the ground against Texas Southern. The Warhawks tallied the fifth-highest yard-per-game average (392.3) in school history and the highest since moving to Division IA in 1994. ULM finished the season 28th in the NCAA in sacks allowed after yielding just 16 all season long. The Warhawks averaged 183.9 yards per game on the ground in 2009, good for third in the Sun Belt and 31st in the NCAA. Running back Frank Goodin finished the season with 1,126 yards and 13 touchdowns -- fourth and second best in ULM history. Two of Vice's linemen were named All-Louisiana for the first time in their careers -- in fact, Mitch Doyle was named to the All-Louisiana team as an offensive lineman after switching from tight end in the spring. In the 2009 season opener the ULM offensive line did something that only two other teams had done in the previous 40 games -- hold the Texas defense without a sack. The unit also paved the way for ULM running backs to tally 101 yards rushing against a Texas team that allowed just 83.5 yards per game on the ground the previous season -- third best in the nation. Vice's 2010 linemen helped pave the way for quarterback Kolton Browning to tally the third most total yards in the NCAA by a freshman and the second most total yards in ULM history. Vice joined the ULM staff after four seasons at Utah State (2005-08) in a similar role. He guided a pair of players at Utah State who played in the NFL. Guard Shawn Murphy was a fourth round pick by the Miami Dolphins in the 2008 NFL Draft and Donald Penn was a 2005 free agent signee of the Minnesota Vikings and currently plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During Vice's four seasons with the Aggies, four offensive linemen earned All-Western Athletic Conference honors and Ryan Tonnemacher was a two-time selection to the Rimington Trophy Watch List, which is awarded annually to the nation's top center. Under Vice's guidance, Murphy was invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game in addition to being selected in the NFL Draft. He became the first Utah State player selected to the Shrine Game since 2002, and the first Aggie offensive lineman chosen to the all-star game since center Tim Ruiz in 1986. Vice came to Utah State after spending the previous five seasons coaching the offensive line at Illinois State (2000-04). He was promoted to assistant head coach prior to his final two seasons with the Redbirds. At Illinois State, three of his linemen earned All-America honors and eight garnered Gateway Conference honors. In 2003, the Redbirds established a school record with 248.1 yards per game rushing and allowed just five sacks on 367 pass attempts. Vice started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Georgia from 1990-91 before working at Hart County (Ga.) High School from 1992-95. He returned to the collegiate level coaching tight ends at Clemson from 1996-98 and then spent one year at Murray State as the offensive line coach - where his offensive line protected quarterback Justin Fuente in 1999. Vice was a defensive lineman and tight end at Oklahoma State, where he participated in three bowl games on teams that featured Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders. The three-time academic all-Big Eight selection graduated from Oklahoma State in 1990 with a degree in secondary education. He earned a master's degree in education administration from Georgia in 1993 as well as an EdS degree from Clemson in 1999. He and his wife Kerry have two daughters, Savannah and Sydni, and a son, Brock.
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Memphis Tigers
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