Why Memphis athletic director Ed Scott brought back Penny Hardaway

Scott discussed Hardaway’s return to Memphis basketball next season and more on the “Gary Parrish Show” Tuesday. (Image Credit: Memphis Athletics)

Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway and athletic director Ed Scott spent more than 10 hours together over the past week—whether it was in Hardaway’s home dining room or Scott’s hotel room in Birmingham, Alabama.

Scott asked Hardaway two big questions following Memphis’ loss to Tulane in the American Conference tournament opener last Wednesday, which concluded one of the worst seasons in program history.

“I asked him, ‘Do you wanna come back, because this season has obviously been a grind on you. I can see it wearing on you mentally and physically. Is this something you still wanna do? Do you still have the passion?’” Scott told Grind City Media host and CBS Sports personality Gary Parrish on Tuesday. “When he said yes, my next question to him was, ‘Do you have a plan for us to get better, because if you don’t, then we have a bigger problem.’”

Scott, tasked with deciding Hardaway’s fate for next season, not only considered the eighth-year coach’s plan, though. He also consulted with numerous people both locally and nationally, and evaluated Hardaway’s entire tenure thus far rather than just this year’s 13-19 campaign—the worst since 1969-70 (6-20).

Scott factored in Hardaway’s three NCAA Tournament appearances and one tournament win over the four seasons before this year as well, along with his two National Invitation Tournament (NIT) bids and one NIT title over his first three seasons.

Hardaway’s status as a Memphis legend—arguably the most famous alumni in school history—and the repercussions that could come with not giving him every possible opportunity to right the ship played a role, too.

“I thought it was the right thing to do to assess the whole body of work,” Scott said. “After taking all of that information in is where I came to the decision for this next year it was best to bring Penny back.

“He said, ‘Look, I don’t wanna go out like this. It’s one thing if we don’t make the tournament, but it’s another thing to have this kind of season.’ That’s something that would stick with Penny forever.”

Scott acknowledged, however, that pride can only get Hardaway so far. Next year must be vastly different for the Tigers, who currently face a $1.2 million deficit in ticket sales and consistently scarce crowds at FedExForum.

So, what is Hardaway’s plan for his do-or-die season?

It already started Monday, when he dismissed assistant coaches Mike Davis, Jermaine Johnson and Roy Rogers, along with strength coach Todd Forcier.

His next task is to hire new assistants, including an associate head coach, and the program’s first-ever general manager. Scott told Parrish that Memphis has talked to five GM candidates so far, and he expects that hire to be completed within the next seven to 10 days.

“‘Ed, I need help,’” Hardaway told Scott.

Scott wants that fast decision-making to extend to Hardaway’s roster-building as well.

The second-year AD specifically pointed to Hardaway’s choice to wait for former Memphis stars PJ Haggerty and Dain Dainja to return to the Tigers rather than find immediate replacements in the transfer portal as a hindrance for this year’s team that cannot be replicated.

The Division I men’s basketball transfer portal opens on April 7, one day after the national championship game, and closes on April 21.

“I think if you would’ve asked Penny if he would do the same thing all over again, I think his answer would be no,” Scott said.

Scott believes in Hardaway’s plan to not just fix things in 2026-27, but also live up to the program’s yearly standard of making the NCAA Tournament. He now aims to give Hardaway the tools he needs to carry it out this offseason.

Hardaway will construct his team with the American’s best revenue sharing budget yet again, according to Scott. He’ll have the most staff support in his tenure thus far.

And for the time being, he still has Scott’s goodwill, too.

“We’re gonna find out if my decision is right,” he said. “We’re gonna find out if Penny’s plan is right.”