5 things to know about Oregon’s newest defensive coach Chris Hampton
The Oregon Ducks reportedly made a new defensive hire on Sunday afternoon, with ESPN’s Pete Thamel reporting that former Tulane Green Wave defensive coordinator Chris Hampton will be heading to Eugene to take over as a position coach.
One could presume that he will be taking over the safeties position, acting as the replacement for Matt Powledge, who left Eugene this offseason to become the new defensive coordinator for the Baylor Bears.
While Chris Hampton may have been a relatively off-the-radar name for Oregon fans, it is an impressive hire and one that will likely be looked at with a lot of success down the road. Here are some things that you need to know about Hampton and what he brings to the Ducks:
Former South Carolina Safety
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Before starting his coaching career, Hampton was a four-year letterman and two-year starter at safety for the South Carolina Gamecocks from 2004-2007. In his career, Hampton had 106 total tackles, 6.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 3 INT, and two PBU. He also won the team’s Harold White Award, given to the player with the highest GPA on the roster.
Long History Coaching Safeties and Cornerbacks
While Hampton started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Arkansas State in 2008 and eventually moved to a GA position with Georgia Tech from 2009-2010, he quickly found his coaching position on the field.
Hampton spent one year as the safeties coach for Central Arkansas in 2011 before joining the McNeese State staff, where he coached defensive backs for four seasons.
In 2016, Hampton moved to Tulane as the defensive backs coach for three seasons before moving on to become the cornerback’s coach for the Duke Blue Devils in 2020. After that one season, Hampton returned to Tulane to take over as the defensive coordinator.
35-under-35
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After an impressive 2018 campaign at Tulane, Hampton was recognized nationally by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) with the 35 Under 35 Award, which is “aimed at identifying and developing premier, future leaders in the football coaching profession.”
Tulane's 2022 Defense was Impressive
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Under the leadership of Hampton, Tulane’s defense in 2022 was impressive. Ultimately, the Green Wave made it to the Cotton Bowl where they were able to upset the USC Trojans, and while a lot of points were scored in that game, the secondary had a great year.
Tulane gave up just 23.9 points per game last year, which ranks 39th in the nation. Opponents averaged just 6.4 yards per pass against the Green Wave — 15th in the nation — and 5.0 yards per play — 31st in the nation.
2018 was a Great Season for Hamton and Tulane
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If you’re looking for one of the best coaching seasons of Hampton’s career, you don’t need to look past 2018.
The Green Wave was established as one of the top pass defenses in the AAC, leading the nation in pass break-ups with 70, as well as ranking first nationally in passes defended with 88. Hampton’s secondary was also responsible for 12 total interceptions in the 2018 season, which ranked 40th nationally.
Two of the top players from that 2018 team, Donnie Lewis and Roderic Teamer, both went on to play in the NFL, with Lewis getting drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the 7th round, and Teamer signing a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Rams.
