Inside the Headset with the AFCA - Jamey Chadwell, Head Coach - Coastal Carolina

Jamey Chadwell, Head Coach - Coastal Carolina

06/09/22 • 25 min

This week on Inside the Headset, we are featuring Coastal Carolina Head Coach, Jamey Chadwell. In this episode, Coach Chadwell talks about maintaining success with increasing public expectations, details the value of keeping a coaching staff intact, and shares how he approaches recruiting and roster management in the transfer portal era.

Jamey Chadwell is entering his fourth season as the Head Coach of the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. In just three seasons, Chadwell has built Coastal into one of the best teams in the Sunbelt Conference with back-to-back 10+ win seasons and a conference title in 2020. The 2020 season marked Coastal Carolina’s first-ever undefeated regular season and the first time that the Chanticleers were ranked in either the Associated Press Top 25 Poll or the AFCA Coaches Poll. Due to his success in the 2020 season, Chadwell racked up over 10 coach of the year honors including the AFCA FBS Region 2 Coach of the Year and Sun Belt Football Coach of the Year.

Prior to taking over as the head coach of the Chanticleers, Chadwell served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Coastal Carolina. Chadwell came to Coastal after four seasons as the head coach at Charleston Southern. He was named Big South Coach of the Year three times (2013, 2015, and 2016), led CSU to conference titles in 2015 and 2016, and guided the Buccaneers to the NCAA Division I FCS Championship Playoffs in both of his last two years. Chadwell, a former Buccaneer assistant coach, returned to CSU after head coaching stops at Delta State, going 3-8 in his lone season (2012), and North Greenville, going 22-14 in three seasons (2009-11).

[1:47] Start of interview
[2:22] Building a nationally recognized program
[4:45] Maintain success with increasing expectations
[6:34] Transitioning a program from FCS to the FBS level
[10:11] Keeping a coaching staff intact
[15:20] Cultivating a culture of fun
[16:58] Evolving as a coach
[19:35] Finding the right fit in recruiting
[21:31] Roster management in the era of the transfer portal

[1:47] Start of interview
[2:22] Building a nationally recognized program
[4:45] Maintain success with increasing expectations
[6:34] Transitioning a program from FCS to the FBS level
[10:11] Keeping a coaching staff intact
[15:20] Cultivating a culture of fun
[16:58] Evolving as a coach
[19:35] Finding the right fit in recruiting
[21:31] Roster management in the era of the transfer portal

Previous Episode

Jim Catanzaro, Head Coach - Lake Forest College

This week on Inside the Headset, we are featuring Lake Forest College Head Coach, Jim Catanzaro. In this episode, Coach Catanzaro details the value of recruiting multi-sport athletes out of high school, highlights his personal coaching philosophy, and shares the impact that the transfer portal has had at the Division III level.

Jim Catanzaro will be entering his 14th season as the Foresters' head coach and 16th season with the program overall. In addition to being the head coach, Catanzaro also serves as the teams offensive coordinator and was named the Athletic Director of Lake Forest in July of 2021. A two-time Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year finalist and Midwest Conference Coach of the Year winner (2012), Catanzaro was the first coach in program history to lead to Foresters' to the NCAA D-III playoffs (2020,2021). Coach Catanzaro has lead his players to 115 All-MWC selections as head coach and defensive players to 68 honors since joining the staff. The Foresters have broken or tied team records 124 times in the last 12 years.

Catanzaro came to Lake Forest from NCAA Division II Wingate University, where he was the defensive line coach for three seasons and was part of the South Atlantic Conference Coaching Staff of the Year in 2004. Prior to his time at Wingate, Catanzaro was the defensive line coach, recruiting coordinator, and head strength coach for three seasons at Glenville State College. The Pioneers claimed the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in 2001 and he was a member of that year’s WVIAC Coaching Staff of the Year. At the national level Catanzaro has served on the NCAA Division III Football Committee since 2016 and as a Regional Advisory Committee member since 2014. In 2019 he was appointed as one of two NCAA Division III members to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Board of Trustees.

[1:46] Start of interview
[2:05] Playing multiple sports in college
[4:02] Cross training for football
[5:35] Recruiting multi-sport athletes
[9:05] Personal coaching philosophy
[10:36] Value of coaching both sides of the ball
[13:42] Enjoying the process to becoming great
[17:55] Being open to input from experienced coaches
[20:18] Working on the AFCA Board of Trustees
[22:29] Transfer portal impact at the Division III level

Next Episode

Tony Hull, Running Backs - ULM

This week on Inside the Headset, we are featuring the University of Louisiana Monroe's running backs coach Tony Hull. In this episode, Coach Hull talks about coaching in his home state, transitioning from working as an engineer at NASA to coaching, and shares how he puts players in a position to be successful.

Tony Hull, one of the most respected coaches in the state of Louisiana, is entering his second season at The University of Louisiana Monroe and his first season as the team's running backs coach. Hulls first year with the Warhawks he served as the outside receivers coach. Hull returned home to Louisiana after serving for four years as the associate head coach and running backs coach at Kansas (2016-19) and as the co-offensive coordinator and inside receivers coach at Hawai’i in 2020. From New Orleans, Louisiana, Hull coached Pooka Williams Jr., now with the Cincinnati Bengals, to consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons in 2018 and 2019, a feat accomplished only once before in Kansas football history.

Hull joined the collegiate coaching ranks after a distinguished coaching career in the Louisiana high school ranks. In nine seasons as the head coach and offensive coordinator of Warren Easton High School in New Orleans, Hull led the stagnant program into a contender. He arrived at Warren Easton in 2007, the school’s first season playing football following Hurricane Katrina, and guided the Eagles to playoffs in seven of his nine seasons. His resume included a state championship game appearance in 2014 and a state semifinals showing in 2015. Hull developed the Eagles’ players on the field as he mentored 45 players who went on to earn Division I football scholarships. Six of those players earned a nod in ESPN’s Top-300 lists, while one of his athletes was named the 2014 Gatorade Player of the Year and Mr. Louisiana Football.

[1:46] Start of interview
[2:30] Coaching in your home state
[3:32] Transitioning from engineer to football coach
[7:49] Turning a program around
[10:08] Building relationships with your coaching staff
[13:01] Coaching at Hawaii
[19:20] Playing with an underdog mentality
[23:25] Controlling what you can control
[26:06] Putting players in positions to be successful