Chad Staggs

Western Kentucky has hired Chad Staggs as its new inside linebackers coach, head football coach Tyson Helton announced Thursday.

Staggs comes to WKU from Coastal Carolina, where he had coached since 2019, including serving as the team’s defensive coordinator the past two seasons.

“I’m grateful to coach Helton and coach Summers for trusting me with this opportunity to be part of the incredible program they have built here at WKU,” Staggs said in a news release. “This has been one of the top defenses in the nation the past few years, and I look forward to helping the great young men in this program maintain that high standard. I’m excited for what the future holds and can’t wait to get to work.”

At Coastal, Staggs helped mentor three All-Americans on defense in Tarron Jackson (2020), C.J. Brewer (2020) and Josaiah Stewart (2021). In his four-year stretch in Conway, S.C., he helped the Chanticleers go 36-14, including consecutive 11-win seasons in 2020-21.

One of the highlights from his time at Coastal was the team’s victory over No. 8 BYU after being featured on ESPN’s College Gameday. The Chanticleers’ defense held the Cougars’ dynamic offense to just 17 points in order to pull off the upset.

Before arriving at Coastal Carolina, Staggs spent two seasons at Furman where he served as defensive coordinator and safeties coach. In 2018, he helped the Paladins earn a share of the 2018 Southern Conference Championship. The year before, his leadership earned Furman an 8-5 record and subsequent appearance in the FCS playoffs. Staggs also served as defensive coordinator at Charleston Southern for four seasons before moving on to Furman.

Staggs’ college coaching career started at South Carolina, where he spent five seasons working as a graduate assistant under championship head coaches Steve Spurrier and Lou Holtz. At South Carolina ,he worked with both the secondary and linebacker units. His time in the SEC led to his first full-time coaching role as the secondary coach at Charleston Southern in 2008.

Between stints at Charleston Southern, Staggs spent three seasons as defensive coordinator at North Greenville, and one year as the defensive coordinator at Delta State.

Staggs earned a degree in math education from USC Upstate in 2000, and also earned a master’s degree from South Carolina in hotel, restaurant, and tourism management. He is joined in Bowling Green by his wife, Kelli, and two children, Gracie and Jack.