GEORGIA-SOUTHERN

Former Georgia Southern head football coach Chad Lunsford returns to coaching

Savannah Morning News

Former Georgia Southern head football coach Chad Lunsford has officially landed on his feet, as Florida Atlantic University made the expected hiring official Saturday that he is the Owls' new special teams coordinator and tight ends coach.

Georgia Southern had fired Lunsford on Sept. 26 after an 1-3 start to the 2021 season and 28-21 record over parts of five seasons, which included three straight bowl appearances and two victories from 2018-20.

Lunsford, 45 on Feb. 24, was paid by Georgia Southern the remainder of his contract through 2021 — an annual base salary of $680,000 plus incentives — and then was to receive a buyout of $800,000 paid by private donations through the Georgia Southern University Athletic Foundation. Athletics director Jared Benko said on Sept. 27 that the buyout, spread out over 12 increments from January through December 2022, could be affected if Lunsford gets another coaching job and noted that all contracts are unique.

Chad Lunsford was a coach at Georgia Southern for two stints over 13 seasons, including the head coach for parts of five seasons from 2017-21.

In an interview with the Savannah Morning News on Feb. 8, a day after a report that FAU planned to hire Lunsford as an assistant coach, Benko said Georgia Southern had not at that time been notified of the contract, but the original $800,000 payout would be offset by his earnings elsewhere as a coach in 2022.

"His contract calls for any sort of outside employment, in the case obviously as a football coach, we would have mitigation related to what's owed to him," Benko said on Feb.8. "It would offset it by his annualized salary for that same time period."

The announcement of Lunsford's hiring was made with the additions to head coach Willie Taggart's staff of safeties coach Derrick Gibson, a former Florida State standout and Oakland Raiders defensive back; and director of high school relations Shane Marinelli, an FAU graduate.

"I'm happy that Chad, Derrick and Shane are joining us in Paradise," Taggart said in a press release, adding that they "bring tremendous and diverse experiences to our staff."

Lunsford's experience includes two stints at Georgia Southern, including as a special teams coordinator (2016-17) and a tight ends coach (2014-16 seasons). When he was special teams coordinator in 2016, Lunsford was nominated for the Broyles Award as college football's top assistant coach. The Eagles blocked seven kicks that season and featured Younghoe Koo, a Lou Groza Award finalist and future Pro Bowl kicker for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons.

Lunsford had been a GS assistant in various capacities from 2003-06 and from 2013 until he became interim coach in 2017. He was named the 10th full-time head coach in the modern era of the program on Nov. 27, 2017.

Review:Current and former Georgia Southern players voice opinions on coach Lunsford's firing

The Elberton native also has worked at Georgia Military College, Appalachian State (tight ends coach), Griffin High School and Auburn University, where he was director of scouting (2009-12) and director of player personnel (2013) before returning to Statesboro as a wide receivers coach for the 2013 season.

Lunsford's Georgia Southern squad defeated Taggart's FAU team 20-3 on Dec. 5, 2020 in Statesboro, then lost to the host Owls 38-6 on Sept. 11, 2021 in Boca Raton, Florida.

Georgia Southern running backs coach Favian Upshaw watches as the team runs drills during practice in 2021.

Lunsford's hiring is the latest for former Eagles coaches from the 2021 staff. On Friday, Tulane head coach Willie Fritz announced Favian Upshaw as the Green Wave's new offensive analyst.

"It is great to have Favian rejoin our program," Fritz said in a press release. "I had the pleasure of coaching Favian as a quarterback at Georgia Southern. He did a fantastic job for us previously as a graduate assistant and now holds a degree from Tulane. Favian will be a be a great help to us on the offensive side of the ball."

A former star quarterback at Georgia Southern, Upshaw was the running backs coach under Lunsford and interim head coach Kevin Whitley last season, when the Eagles averaged 193.5 rushing yards per game, 32nd in the county. A 2016 Georgia Southern graduate, Upshaw was a graduate assistant coach at Tulane in 2018 and 2019.

Fritz, a former Georgia Southern head coach (2014-15), this offseason also has hired 2021 Eagles assistants Geep Wade (offensive line) and Derrick Sherman (wide receivers) to serve as OL and running backs coaches, respectively.

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Former Georgia Southern defensive coordinator and safeties coach Scot Sloan (2018-21) is expected to be part of Jeff Monken's staff at Army. Monken is a former Georgia Southern assistant (1997-2001) and head coach (2010-13).

Joe Graves, who spent one season with Georgia Southern as the tight ends coach and special teams coordinator, has stayed in the Sun Belt Conference. In January, Graves became tight ends coach at ULM, where he had been an assistant from 2018-20 (including the last two seasons as a running backs coach).

Nathan Dominitz is the Sports Content Editor of the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow.com. Email him at ndominitz@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @NathanDominitz