Mercer University Men's Football

Lamb led the Bears into the Southern Conference in 2014, a familiar league for the 27-year veteran of the coaching ranks as he is fifth on the conferences all-time wins list. Despite featuring a roster of primarily underclassmen, Lamb helped Mercer to a 6-6 campaign in its first year in one of the nations oldest and most prestigious conferences, including the programs first SoCon victory in a 27-24 triumph at VMI. Boasting one of the SoCons most dynamic offenses and a defense that ranked among the nations leaders in forced turnovers in 2014, Lambs team once again was well represented in both conference and national postseason awards. The Bears had seven players garner all-conference recognition, including first team selections Chandler Curtis and Alex Lakes. The freshmen duo were each named Jerry Rice Award finalists, joining 2013 honorees John Russ and Payton Usher on a list of four Bears who have received the honor in the last two years alone. Curtis honors did not stop there, as he became the first player in program history to garner FCS All-America honors while also receiving College Football Performance Awards FCS Returner of the Year recognition. In 2013, Mercer ranked second in the FCS in rushing, using a balanced attack to pour in 277.9 yards rushing per contest. The Bears had three players gain over 750 yards on the ground, led by freshman John Russ. The dual threat quarterback was named to a Jerry Rice Award finalist and an All-PFL Second Team selection following an impressive year that saw him compile 1,916 yards through the air and 903 yards on the ground to go along with 33 total touchdowns. Lamb guided the Bears, who were picked to finish 11th in the Pioneer Football League Preseason Coaches Poll, to a 6-2 record in conference play en route to a third-place finish in the league. For his efforts, he finished third in the PFL Coach of the Year voting and ranked among the top 11 finalists for FCS National Coach of the Year. The Bears showed immediate success in the classroom as well under Lamb, compiling a team grade-point average above 3.0 during both semesters in 2013-14. The team featured 46 players on the Pioneer Football Leagues Academic Honor Roll for the 2013 fall semester, while Caleb Brown, Rob East and John Russ were named Academic All-PFL. Lambs Furman teams posted outstanding academic credentials. In the seven seasons since the NCAA instituted the Academic Progress Rate (APR) monitoring system which tracks eligibility, retention and graduation Furmans program produced the highest APR scores among Southern Conference schools. Likewise, Furman football had the SoCons top results on the NCAAs Graduation Success Rate (GSR) with a score of 97 percent in 2009-10. During his tenure guiding Furmans program, Lamb had a 67-40 record (.626) as its head coach. He led the Paladins to winning records in eight of his nine seasons and made four trips to the NCAA I-AA (now Football Championship Series) playoffs, reaching the quarterfinals in 2004 and the semifinals in 2005. His 2004 squad won the SoCon championship and Lamb was tabbed as the leagues Coach of the Year. He also produced three runner-up, two third-place and two fourth-place SoCon finishes during his tenure. Lambs Paladins achieved national rankings of No. 5 in 2004 and No. 3 in 2005. Including his 16 seasons as an assistant coach where he spent the majority of his time as the passing game coordinator and working with quarterbacks Lambs Furman teams compiled a composite record of 193-105-3 (.646) in 25 seasons. When you factor in Lambs four seasons as a quarterback for the Paladins from 1982 to 1985, when Furman was 39-10-1, his aggregate won-loss record jumps to .667. In 29 seasons on the collegiate gridiron, Lamb has only been involved with three below .500 campaigns. As a player at Furman, Lamb was a part of three SoCon championship teams and three NCAA I-AA playoff berths. As a senior, he was the SoCon Player of the Year, the NCAA I-AA passing efficiency national leader and led the Paladins to an NCAA I-AA national runner-up finish. He is also a member of Furmans Athletics Hall of Fame. I have been very impressed with President Underwood and Athletic Director Jim Cole and the vision and leadership they are providing at Mercer, said Lamb of his decision to come to the Macon institution. One of the qualities that most attracted me to Mercer was their emphasis on the true student-athlete. I have spent the past 29 years at an institution with very similar expectations. Sometimes the term student-athlete is used nonchalantly. People forget that it is student first and athlete second. I have always stressed the importance of academics before athletics as a player, coach, and father. I believe my philosophy for building strong men who will become leaders in their communities, will be a perfect fit with Mercer. God has provided this tremendous opportunity for me to assist in the reinstatement of football at Mercer. I look forward to leading Mercer football to the top. Lamb is a 1982 graduate of Commerce (Ga.) High School and went on to earn his B.A. in health and exercise science from Furman in 1987. He also earned his M.Ed. degree from Furman in health and exercise science in 1992. Lamb, who was born on Christmas Eve in 1962, is married to Allyson Acker. The couple has two children: a daughter, Sallie (24), and a son, Taylor (22).