Lamb adds first two assistants with Mercer

Bobby Lamb finally has some company. And in eight days, he and his new co-workers will officially be on the payroll as Mercer took another step forward with Lamb introducing Carroll McCray and Jeff Farrington as his first two assistant coaches.

“I’ve been knowing these two men for a long time,” Mercer’s head coach said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference. “Very fortunate to get them to come down here to Mercer with me.

“When you’re trying to hire a staff, there are a lot of things you look at. First of all, you’re looking for somebody that’s loyal. Secondly, you’re looking for men of integrity. Third, men with communication skills, because in this business, you’ve got to be a people person.

“And last, you’ve got to have somebody with experience.”

There’s certainly plenty of the latter, including 53 years worth on the college level.

McCray also brings head coaching experience. He was the boss at Austin Peay for four seasons. Lamb was in the hunt for an offensive line coach and was surprised to get a call from McCray.

“Got him down on an interview Sunday afternoon, offered him the job Sunday night,” Lamb said. “He took it the next day.”

McCray (hired as the offensive line coach and assistant head coach) joined Lamb at Furman before the 2007 season.

McCray was a graduate assistant at Appalachian State, where he earned his master’s after playing at and graduating from Gardner-Webb.

He was a full-timer at Appalachian State, then at South Carolina, Samford and Mississippi State before taking over the Governors.

Back then, Austin Peay was in the Pioneer Football League, which will be Mercer’s home in 2013.

“We transitioned from the Pioneer league to the (Ohio Valley Conference),” McCray said. “That transition was something I had not done. I enjoyed that, enjoyed watching the program move.

“I think this going to be fun.”

Farrington (defensive coordinator) played defensive back at The Citadel, where he began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 1982. Stints in the same role followed at East Carolina and Florida State. He began his full-time coaching career at ECU in 1985.

He moved to Lenoir-Rhyne, Presbyterian and West Georgia before joining the staff at East Tennessee State, serving as defensive coordinator at the latter three schools.

Farrington left ETSU after the 2001 season, less than two years before the school announced that it was dropping football after the 2003 season, and started his long run with Lamb at Furman.

Neither was on the new staff of head coach Bruce Fowler, Lamb’s successor at Furman, and didn’t really have Mercer on their radar for a month or two during their job searches.

“You’re always in the back of your mind, you think, ‘Wow, man, it’d be great to have an opportunity to have a chance to work with Coach Lamb again,’ ” Farrington said. “Little did I know it would happen so soon.

“Mercer, I think, is a great fit for him.”

Lamb took the Mercer job in mid-January and said Farrington and McCray were unofficially on board with him since around the start of April.

“They went through the job process in the offseason, which in football, the coaches’ season starts in January and runs through March,” Lamb said. “They had several opportunities to go certain places. I sat down with them before I left to come down here, and said, ‘Listen, you’re my two top guys. I hope it works out.’

“They called back and said they were ready and committed. We have a ton of relationships throughout the southeastern United States. It’s a great fit.”

This story was originally published June 23, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Lamb adds first two assistants with Mercer."