John Chavis

Working on four decades as an SEC defensive coach, the man known as The Chief is one of the most respected teachers in the conference. He currently is the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M.

Known as ‘Chief Chavis’ during his time in Baton Rouge, LSU’s veteran defensive coordinator took over play-calling duties on his side of the football in 2009 and promptly led Patrick Peterson and Morris Claiborne to Thorpe awards in consecutive years. Under Chavis’ tutelage, the Tigers have consistently hovered around the Top 10 nationally in total defense and scoring defense and spit out NFL prospects.

Prior to his arrival at LSU, Chavis spent 14 seasons as the defensive coordinator at Tennessee, first starting in Knoxville in 1989 as the Volunteers’ defensive line coach. The South Carolina native played guard for the Volunteers from 1976-78 before early-career stops at Alabama State and Alabama A&M in the 1980s prior to joining the SEC’s coaching ranks.