SHOWBOATS ADD MAZZONE AS NEW OC

Memphis Showboats interim head coach Jim Turner has added Noel Mazzone to the team’s coaching staff with immediate effect.

With the team still coming to terms with former head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s decision to step away from the role on a permanent basis, Turner will be guiding Memphis through the end of the season, and Mazzone’s appointment — in which he will serve as the Showboats’ offensive coordinator and QB coach — is designed to ease that transition.

“I brought Noel in because of his wealth of knowledge and experience,” Turner said. “He has coached at every level, including the NFL and major college football, for more than 40 years. That is the type of experience we needed to point our offense in the right direction.”

Memphis currently sits at the foot of the UFL’s USFL Conference with an 0-3 record despite having been competitive in each game to date. The offense, meanwhile, is not the worst in the conference — Houston has accrued only 33 points in three games — and the Showboats’ 41-point haul only trails reigning champion Birmingham by a single mark, but Turner clearly feels that it needs to be turned up a notch if he is to bring Memphis back into playoff contention.

Mazzone served as an assistant coach in the NFL as wide receivers coach of the New York Jets from 2006-08, but brings experience as an offensive coordinator and position coach from numerous college football programmes, including Arizona, Texas A&M, UCLA, Arizona State, Ole Miss, North Carolina State, Oregon State and Auburn. He mentored Philip Rivers during his time at NC State, prior to Rivers’ becoming the #4 overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. His most recent coaching stint came as the offensive coordinator of the New Orleans Breakers during the 2022 USFL season.

Mazzone will be on the Showboats’ sideline for Friday night’s matchup with the Michigan Panthers at Ford Field in Detroit.