CCU coach Jamey Chadwell addresses rumors he’s a potential candidate at South Carolina
Coastal Carolina’s rapid rise into the national top 25 this season was sure to bring speculation about head coach Jamey Chadwell becoming a candidate for head coaching jobs at larger programs.
With South Carolina’s firing on Sunday of head coach Will Muschamp, the speculation has already begun.
Chadwell’s name has been thrown into the mix of possible replacements for Muschamp.
He addressed the rumors Wednesday during his weekly press conference that he is a candidate for the job, and that he will potentially be a candidate for other positions that open up later this season and after the season.
“I have not [thought about it], and I think anytime you speak on a rumor obviously they’re rumors for a reason because there’s not much truth to them,” Chadwell said. “I think anytime that happens that’s more just a compliment of your players and the coaches and the things they’ve been able to accomplish. I told the team that the other day, I said, ‘These are rumors and if there’s something true with it I’ll tell you.’
“. . . We’re more focused on our team and us hopefully trying to play our best this weekend and the next weeks we have after that.”
Coastal is 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the Sun Belt Conference and has spent five consecutive weeks in the national Associated Press Top 25 Poll, currently sitting at No. 15, which is the highest ever ranking for a Sun Belt program. The Chants have a big game against Appalachian State (6-1, 4-0) at noon Saturday at Brooks Stadium, and at least three games remaining this season thereafter.
Chadwell is under contract for two more seasons through June 2023. His salary is $375,000 this season and increases $25,000 in each of the next two years.
Chadwell can hit performance bonuses this season totaling $1.25 million, however, if the Chants continue to win, with an additional $150,000 in academic success bonuses possible. Chadwell would be owed 50 percent of all of those bonuses with the other half going to others in the program including his staff.
Muschamp’s salary this season was $4.4 million, and USC is on the hook for a buyout of 75 percent of his remaining salary paid throughout the life of his agreement, which totals $13.2 million over four years beginning Jan. 1, less what Muschamp makes at a new job in those seasons.
If Chadwell leaves for another FBS program, the buyout amount owed to Coastal from the other institution is merely $150,000, per Chadwell’s contract that was updated in April 2019.
CCU senior linebacker Teddy Gallagher said Wednesday the rumors are not impacting the Chants’ focus or preparation for the task at hand this season.
“We couldn’t care less about what’s going on in Columbia,” Gallagher said. “Coach Chadwell is here, coach Chadwell is our guy and we don’t really care about that at all.
“. . . He’s meant everything [to this season’s success]. He changed the culture from when we first got here and just the love everyone has for each other, the love the coaches have for the players and the players have for the coaches, all I think stems from the culture coach Chadwell has brought here.”
Successful coaches from programs in Group of Five Conferences – which Coastal is as a member of the Sun Belt – are often the target of teams from Power Five Conferences when they’re looking to fill a head coaching vacancy.
That’s why four-time reigning Sun Belt champion/co-champion App. State is on its third coach in three years, as Scott Satterfield was hired by Louisville of the ACC following the 2018 season, and Eli Drinkwitz was hired by Missouri of the SEC following the 2019 season.
The Chanticleers have had losing records in each of the past three seasons as they transitioned to the Football Bowl Subdivision from the Football Championship Subdivision beginning with the 2016 season.
Chadwell was the head coach for two of those. In his first season at CCU in 2017 – CCU’s first in the Sun Belt though it still wasn’t a full FBS member – he was elevated from offensive coordinator to interim head coach just before the start of fall training camp when Joe Moglia took a medical sabbatical for the season. The team went 3-8.
The Chants went 5-7 last year under Chadwell after Moglia stepped down following a 5-7 record in the 2018 season, during which Chadwell was the offensive coordinator and associate head coach.
Prior to his four seasons in Conway, Chadwell had success at three previous head coaching stops.
The Tennessee native and graduate of East Tennessee State went 35-14 in four seasons at Charleston Southern (2013-16), with Big South Conference titles the last two years. He came to CCU with a 60-36 record over eight seasons with stints at Delta State (2012) and North Greenville (2009-11), where he went 20-6 in his final two seasons.
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 12:38 PM with the headline "CCU coach Jamey Chadwell addresses rumors he’s a potential candidate at South Carolina."
