bobby lamb

Bobby Lamb enters his second season as head coach of Mercer football after an incredible 2013 campaign that saw the Bears set a NCAA Div. I record for wins by a first-year program with 10 victories.

Named the 19th head football coach in program history in 2011, he eclipsed 10+ wins for the third time in his career with 2013’s 10-2 mark and will enter his 11th season as a head coach with a 77-42 overall record. The 2013 win total also set a school record for victories, surpassing the previous mark of seven wins by Lake Russell’s 1931 and 1932 squads.

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 the Eddie Robinson Award, the FCS’ National Coach of the Year.

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.

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 League’s Academic Honor Roll for the 2013 fall semester, while Caleb Brown, Rob East and John Russ were named Academic All-PFL.

Bobby Lamb - Head Coach

@bobby_lamb

Born in Augusta, Ga., and raised in Commerce, Ga., Lamb joined the Mercer coaching ranks after nine successful seasons as head coach at Furman University and a 29-year overall relationship with the Paladins’ football program as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

During his tenure guiding Furman’s 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 league’s Coach of the Year. He also produced three runner-up, two third-place and two fourth-place SoCon finishes during his tenure. Lamb’s Paladins achieved national rankings of No. 5 in 2004 and No. 3 in 2005.

Lamb’s 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 – Furman’s program produced the highest APR scores among Southern Conference schools. Likewise, Furman football had the SoCon’s top results on the NCAA’s Graduation Success Rate (GSR) with a score of 97 percent in 2009-10.

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 – Lamb’s Furman teams compiled a composite record of 193-105-3 (.646) in 25 seasons. When you factor in Lamb’s 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 Furman’s Athletics Hall of Fame.

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 and a son, Taylor.