Defensive Coordinator: Coastal Carolina University
No stranger to coaching in the state of South Carolina, Chad Staggs, who from 2013-16 headed up some of the nation’s top defensive units at Charleston Southern under head coach Jamey Chadwell, joined the Coastal football staff as the linebackers coach in February 2019. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in July of 2019.
In just the first season under Staggs, the defense improved in every area from 2018 to 2019, as the "Black Swarm" defense led the Sun Belt in fewest first downs allowed (241), was third in interceptions (11), fourth in scoring defense (30.5 points allowed per game), fourth in total defense (383.6 yards per game), fourth in rushing defense (160.1 yards per game), fifth in fewest passing yards allowed (223.5 yards per game), and sixth in red zone defense (85.7 percent).
Junior defensive end Tarron Jackson led the Sun Belt and set a new Coastal single-season record with 10.0 sacks on the season and also led the team and ranked fifth in the Sun Belt with 13.0 tackles-for-loss, of which 9.5 came in conference play, Redshirt senior cornerback Chandler Kryst at one point led the nation and finished seventh in all of NCAA FBS with five interceptions on the season.
Three Chants on the defensive side of the ball earned Sun Belt Conference postseason honors, as Jackson was named to the All-Sun Belt first team, becoming only the second Chant to earn first-team all-conference honors since Coastal Carolina joined the Sun Belt in 2017.
