Memphis head coach Charles Huff does not allow music during college football practice. His policy is actually in direct contradiction of the Navy SEALs despite what he thinks about their preparation.
Just ask Robert O’Neill!
There is a method to Huff’s madness. However, there seems to be a small disconnect between his approach to college football and the United States military.
Charles Huff does not allow music at Memphis football practice.
Huff was hired to replace Ryan Silverfield as the new head football coach at Memphis in December after just 363 days at Southern Miss. The 42-year-old is considered one of the best up-and-coming coaches in the sport after an impressive three-year run at Marshall and two seasons as the associate head coach under Nick Saban at Alabama.
It could be a tremendous hire for the Tigers if he can replicate or exceed the success of his predecessor There is no reason to believe he can’t.
A large part of what makes Charles Huff such a good coach is his no-nonsense approach to the sport.
Memphis recently started its first spring practice with the new regime in place. The Tigers are not allowed to play music once they step onto the field. The policy presents a stark contrast to most other FBS programs. They are at least allowed to listen to music during warmups.
Huff recently revealed that his unusual policy is based on the military. If the Navy SEALs don’t listen to music before they go into battle than neither will his football team.
Memphis’ practices don’t include music.
— Jonah Dylan (@TheJonahDylan) March 28, 2026
Why?
Charles Huff: “When the Navy SEALs get ready to go on a mission, they’re not listening to Lil Baby.”https://t.co/ZDmZYX2M0h pic.twitter.com/LO5kV6nddX
There is just one problem with this explanation. It is not quite true.
Navy SEAL Team Six listened to rap.
Robert O’Neill publicly identified himself as the shooter who fired the fatal shots to kill Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011 during a raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The former member of U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6 shot the founder of al-Qaeda twice in the forehard.
By Charles Huff’s logic, O’Neill went into Operation Neptune Spear with a clear head. He, like Memphis during college football practice, did not listen to music before he took down one of the most infamous terrorists in world history.
Except… that isn’t true.
O’Neill revealed to TMZ that he actually did listen to music before the historic killing of bin Laden. The legendary Navy SEAL was bumping ‘Red Nation’ by The Game, featuring Lil Wayne before he stormed into the Waziristan Haveli compound.
I get where Huff is trying to do. His track record speaks for itself. What he does works
It still does not make sense to ban music from practice because of the Navy SEALs because O’Neill listened to music before he killed bin Laden. Maybe Huff will change his policy to allow The Game.