Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway announced the layoffs of four staff members on Wednesday, just two months before the start of the season.

Assistant coaches Rick Stansbury, Faragi Phillips and Jamie Rosser, as well as special adviser Demetrius Dyson, will not return to Hardaway’s team this season. Neither Hardaway nor the school gave a reason for the firings.

“I want to thank Rick, Faragi, Jamie and Demetrius for their service to the University of Memphis and our basketball program,” Hardaway said in a statement. “These are fine coaches that I have worked closely with over the past few seasons, but I have made the difficult decision to take our team in a new direction. The timing is not ideal, but I want to give this team the best opportunity to achieve our goals of winning the American Conference and advancing in the NCAA Tournament. With the season quickly approaching, we will move quickly to complete the team.”

With the four coaches no longer with the team, the only ones listed on the program’s website are Dwight Boyd, the team’s chief of staff, and Jordan VerHulst, the team’s director of scouting. Coach Darrell Turner and physical therapist Kevin Olds are also holdovers from last year’s team.

The personnel turnover continues a busy offseason for Hardaway and Memphis, which returns just one player from last season. Seven players transferred out of the program, while David Jones entered the NBA draft early and several players have used up their remaining eligibility.

The Tigers will welcome eight newcomers from Division I, including talented guards PJ Haggerty (Tulsa), Colby Rogers (Wichita State) and Tyrese Hunter (Texas), as well as ESPN 100 rookie Jared Harris.

Wednesday’s announcement adds pressure on Hardaway, who is entering a crucial season with the Tigers. After starting 15-2 last season and ranking as high as No. 10 in the AP poll, Memphis went 7-8 the rest of the season and missed the NCAA Tournament.

Hardaway has only appeared in the NCAA Tournament twice in six seasons at the helm of his alma mater, winning a first-round game against Boise State in the 2022 tournament.

Hardaway’s tenure was also marked by off-the-field problems. There was an 18-month NCAA investigation into alleged violations involving James Wiseman and other recruits. The independent process to determine accountability ultimately concluded that Hardaway did not violate NCAA rules because of his long-standing philanthropy in Memphis.

Last summer, Hardaway was suspended three games by the NCAA for violating head coach responsibility rules in a separate investigation.

Towards the end of last season, senior Malcolm Dandridge missed the team’s final five games as the school conducted an eligibility investigation.