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Chris Rumph coached in the SEC for 4 programs beginning with a graduate assistant role at South Carolina in 1997. Now Rumph is reportedly set to join his third NFL team.
The Vikings are expected to hire Rumph from the Chicago Bears as defensive line coach, sources told Matt Zenitz of On3sports. Rumph, a former college assistant at Alabama, Texas, Florida and Tennessee, was the Bears’ defensive line coach last season. He also coached with the Houson Texans earlier in his career.
Rumph was reportedly targeted for a position on Billy Napier’s Florida staff.
Rumph held the same position at Florida from 2015-17, adding a co-coordinator title in 2017. He was Tennessee’s co-defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach for 2 seasons (2018-19). Rumph and Napier also worked together at Alabama in 2011 and ’13.
Rumph also was the defensive line coach at Texas (2014), defensive line coach and later defensive ends coach at Clemson (2006-10), outside linebackers coach at Memphis (2003-05) and defensive backs coach at South Carolina State (2002).
In Rumph’s 18 years at the collegiate level, 25 players he coached were selected in the NFL Draft. At Clemson in 2010, he worked with unanimous All-American defensive end Da’Quan Bowers, who led the nation in sacks (15.5) and was tied for first in tackles-for-loss (26.0). Bowers won both the Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s top defensive player and the Hendricks Award as the top defensive end, the Bears reported when he was hired.
At Alabama, Rumph was part of back-to-back national championship teams in 2011 and 2012. In 2011, the Crimson Tide defense led the nation in points per game (8.2) and total yards (183.6). In the national title game, Alabama blanked top-ranked LSU 21-0, surrendering just five first downs and allowing LSU to cross the 50-yard line just once in the game.
As a player, Rumph was a linebacker for 4 years at South Carolina. He compiled 141 career tackles and helped lead the school to its first bowl victory in the 1995 Carquest Bowl.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.