Chad Staggs
Chad Staggs is an American college football coach who is currently the defensive coordinator at East Tennessee State University in the Southern Conference. He also served as the interim head coach for Coastal Carolina for the final game of the 2022 season after Jamey Chadwell resigned.
Staggs began his coaching career in 2000 at Lexington High School in South Carolina, working as an assistant and coaching track. He then joined the University of South Carolina staff as a graduate assistant from 2003 to 2007, focusing on defensive backs and linebackers. In 2008 he coached defensive backs and special teams at Charleston Southern. He moved to North Greenville, where he was the defensive coordinator from 2009 to 2010 and then the assistant head coach/ DC in 2011. In 2012 he was the defensive coordinator at Delta State, and from 2013 to 2016 he returned to Charleston Southern as defensive coordinator. When Chadwell became Charleston Southern’s head coach in 2013, Staggs followed as defensive coordinator. He also filled in on the sidelines during Chadwell’s one-game suspension in 2016.
Staggs spent 2017–2018 as Furman’s defensive coordinator and safeties coach. In 2019 he joined Coastal Carolina as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, later adding safeties duties while continuing as DC. He served as Coastal Carolina’s interim head coach for one game in 2022. He then spent 2023 as Georgia State’s defensive coordinator and 2024 as a senior defensive analyst at Western Kentucky. In 2025 he became the defensive coordinator at East Tennessee State.
Education credits:
- USC Upstate: Bachelor of Science in math education, 2000
- University of South Carolina: Master of Science in hotel, restaurant, and tourism management, 2002
Personal life:
He is married to Kelli, and they have two children.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 04:29 (CET).