Eric Mathies

Biography

Eric Mathies comes to Memphis after spending the 2025 season as the defensive line coach at Southern Miss. Helping the Golden Eagles to a 7-5 regular season and bowl eligibility, Mathies coached a defensive line that held opponents to under 150 yards on the ground per game during the 2025 season – good for third best in the Sun Belt. The Southern Miss defense ranked as one of the best in the country with a red zone defense that ranked 10th in the country. In route to helping turn the program around completely, Mathies’ defensive line room saw Brodarius Lewis earn Sun Belt honorable mention postseason honors. Lewis tallied 53 tackles (15 solos), which also entailed two tackles for loss, four pass breakups and four quarterback hurries. He notched at least two tackles in 11 games during the year, including a season-high 11 at South Alabama. Lewis finished second on the Golden Eagles defensive line in tackles. Prior to Hattiesburg, Mathies spent the 2024 season as defensive line coach and run game coordinator at Eastern Kentucky. Prior to his stint at EKU, Mathies worked at Long Island University where he spent four seasons as the assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator. At LIU, he helped transform the program from a Division II program into a formidable FCS program in the Northeastern Conference. In his first season there, he coached and developed the NEC Freshman of the Year, Eric O'Niel, who was also named an FCS Freshman All-American and a Jerry Rice Award Finalist