Assistant Coaches
JOHN FLOWERS DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL OPERATIONS
THE FLOWERS FILE Personal Born: Fillmore, Illinois Birthdate: 12-7-54 College: Southern Illinois (1976) Athletics: 4 year football letterman at defensive end & linebacker Wife: LuAnn Flowers Children: Brittany & Brooke
Experience Univ. of Memphis (1985-present) Lincoln High School (1978-84)
John Flowers, who came to Memphis in 1985, is in his 20th season as a member of the football staff. He serves as Tommy West's director of football operations and oversees the day-to-day running of the football office as well as the coordination of all team travel. Since his arrival in Memphis, Flowers has worked under head coaches Rey Dempsey (198485), Charlie Bailey (1986-88), Chuck Stobart (198994), Rip Scherer (1995-2000) and Tommy West (2001-present). Most recently, Flowers has been involved with the renovation of Murphy Athletic Complex and the new addition to the complex which includes football locker rooms, coaches locker rooms and meeting rooms, video rooms, media interview rooms, as well as training rooms, equipments rooms and locker rooms for other sports. The new addition, which began construction in January of 2002, also has a large Hall of Fame area that will highlight the careers
of numerous Tiger football greats. Flowers is responsible for the movement of the Tiger football team at both home games and road contests. He works hand-in-hand with hotel management in arranging player and staff rooms, as well as team meals. During Tiger home games, he can be found setting up and hosting the Memphis football recruiting area and welcoming visitors to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Flowers serves as a guest speaker for Tiger football around the Mid-South and often fills in when head coach Tommy West is unavailable. Flowers came to Memphis after serving in the high school coaching ranks for seven years in the state of Illinois. A graduate of Southern Illinois University, Flowers played for the Salukis in the 1970s and received his degree from SIU in 1976. As a player, Flowers was nominated for UPI Lineman of the Week after registering 18 tackles, six sacks, one pass break up and a blocked punt against the University of Northern Illinois. He lettered for four years for the Southern Illinois defense. He entered the coaching profession as an assistant coach at Lincoln High School (IL) and became the head coach in 1983. His 1984 squad posted a 9-2-0 record and appeared in the state playoffs. A graduate of Nokomis High School, Flowers signed with SIU in 1973. He lettered for four years as a linebacker and received the Star Lineman Award as a senior. Flowers was selected to the Tri-State (Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana) first team. Flowers spends his free time with his family and also enjoys hunting, fishing and playing golf. John and his wife, LuAnn, have two daughters, Brittany and Brooke. Brittany and her husband, Judd Rhodes, have two children, daughter, Olivia, age 21 months and Gracie, who was born in May of 2004.
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Brooke will graduate magna cum laude in December of 2004 from the U of M. She was recently presented the award for the top senior student in the department of education.