CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – Coastal Carolina football head coach Jamey Chadwell announced the additions of former Furman defensive coordinator and safeties coach Chad Staggs, former Georgia State defensive line coach Skylor Magee and former Cartersville High School head coach Joey King to the Chanticleers football staff. Chad Scott joins the program from Charleston Southern as the director of football speed, strength and conditioning.
Staggs will coach the linebackers, Magee will serve as the defensive line coach and King will coach the wide receivers.
Chadwell also announced that offensive line coach Patrick Covington has been promoted to assistant head coach, while Willy Korn will transition from wide receivers to quarterbacks and will serve as the co-offensive coordinator along with running backs coach Newland Isaac.
More on the new staff members:
Chad Staggs – Linebackers
No stranger to coaching in the state of South Carolina, Chad Staggs, who from 2013-16 headed up some of the nation’s top defensive units at Charleston Southern under coach Chadwell, joins the Coastal football staff as the linebackers coach.
Stagg comes to Coastal after two years as Furman’s defensive coordinator and safeties coach.
“Coach Staggs comes from Furman where he was the defensive coordinator and helped lead them to the FCS playoffs and to a Southern Conference regular-season championship the last two years. He has been a defensive coordinator for the last 10 years and he’s done a great job. Coach Staggs will coach our linebackers and will be a huge asset as we make a transition defensively here with some different schemes. He is well regarded in the state of South Carolina as he grew up here, played high school football here and with the exception of one year has coached most of his career in the state so that will definitely help us in recruiting. I know he has a heart for young people and serving and loving them and he will fit into the philosophy and the culture that we’re trying to build here.”
In 2018, Staggs helped the Paladins earn a share of the 2018 Southern Conference championship, the program’s league-best 14th title, going 6-2 in league play and winning six of their final seven games.
He mentored freshman bandit Adrian Hope in 2018, who finished the regular season with 32 tackles, 16.5 tackles-for-loss and 15.0 sacks for losses of 65 yards. His sacks total, the most-ever by a Paladin freshman and third-highest season tally in program history, led the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) nationally.
Hope was a finalist for the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award, which is presented annually to the top freshman player in the FCS, and the Blanchard-Rogers Award, given each year by the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame to the Palmetto state’s top player.
Hope was also named a second-team Associated Press All-American, a 2018 HERO Sports FCS All-America third team member and garnered HERO Sports FCS Freshman All-America honors.
Hope (media first team), defensive lineman Jaylan Reid (media second team) and defensive back Aaquil Annoor (media second team) all earned Coaches All-Southern Conference second team honors in 2018 under Staggs’ leadership.
With only one senior in its two-deep in 2017, Staggs led a reinvigorated unit that produced a league-leading 34 sacks that helped key the Paladins to an 8-5 record, the program’s first FCS playoff berth since 2013, and a consensus No. 20 final ranking. Annoor earned consensus All-SoCon honors after totaling 64 tackles, two interceptions, and three pass breakups.
Prior to his two years at Furman, Staggs served as the defensive coordinator for four years at Charleston Southern, which included two seasons of work with the program’s linebackers and the last two with the defensive backs. His defenses played a major role in the Buccaneers winning 35 games, claiming two Big South Conference Championships, and earning Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoff berths in both 2015 and 2016.
In 2016, he mentored a unit that led the Big South and ranked seventh nationally in total defense (294.1 ypg). The Buccaneers also finished among the nation’s best in passing defense (third – 158.8 ypg) and sacks (18th – 2.6) and produced seven all-conference performers led by All-America defensive end Anthony Ellis.
CSU finished the 2016 season ranked 14th in the final FCS poll, extending its streak of top 25 rankings to a school record 22 weeks.
In 2015, CSU ranked fourth nationally in passing defense (144.9 ypg), ninth in total defense (292.0 ypg), and 16th in third-down percentage defense (32.4%).
In 2014, Staggs’ defense carried CSU for much of its 5-0 start to the season, and ended the year as the Big South leader in total defense (325.7 ypg), rushing defense (140.6 ypg), and pass defense (185.1 ypg). In addition, the Bucs held opponents to just a 32.2 percent third-down success rate, good enough for 19th in the FCS, and ranked 18th in turnover margin.
In Staggs’ first season as defensive coordinator in 2013, the Bucs posted a 10-3 record and a No. 22 final national ranking. Fueled by improved defensive play under his guidance, CSU won its first seven games, highlighted by a 27-24 road triumph over FBS transition Appalachian State.
Staggs served as defensive coordinator at Delta State for the 2012 season after working in the same capacity at North Greenville for three years from 2009-11. In his third season on the Crusaders’ staff, he added the title of assistant head coach and was a central figure in North Greenville’s 11-3 campaign and run to the 2011 NCAA Division II playoff quarterfinals.
He had a brief stint at Charleston Southern in 2008, coaching the Buccaneers’ secondary while also assisting with special teams.
He spent five seasons as a graduate assistant at South Carolina (2003-07) under former national championship head coaches Steve Spurrier and Lou Holtz, working with the secondary and linebackers, as well as the scout team. During that span, South Carolina played in both the 2005 Independence and 2006 Liberty Bowls.
Staggs began his coaching career as an assistant at Lexington (S.C.) High School (2000-02).
He graduated from USC Upstate in 2000 with a degree in math education and also holds a master’s degree in hotel, restaurant and tourism management from the University of South Carolina.
He and his wife, Kelli, have two children, Gracie and Jack.
Skylor Magee – Defensive Line
Skylor Magee joins the Coastal Carolina football staff as the defensive line after two seasons in the same capacity at Sun Belt Conference foe Georgia State.
Prior to his time in Atlanta, Ga., Magee coached the defensive line under coach Chadwell at Charleston Southern (2013-16) and Delta State (2012).
“Coach Magee is a highly-respected defensive line coach that comes to us from Georgia State where he coached for the last two years. He’s coached at different levels from the high school level, NCAA Division II, FCS and on up to the FBS level in college football. He is a young coach that has ties in the state of South Carolina. Although he is originally from Mississippi, Coach Magee has coached a lot in the state of South Carolina and does a great job with working with the defensive front. He was an All-American in college himself playing that defensive line so he knows that position intimately. He is another person that will fit our philosophy of serving and loving our players. He is not only a great coach but an even better person and I’m 100 percent confident that he will make not only make our players better players but more importantly better men.”
At Georgia State, Magee helped coached a defensive unit that set GSU season records for fewest points per game (24.75), fewest rushing yards per game (136.4), fewest yards per rushing attempt (4.13) and most sacks (24). Senior nose guard Julien Laurent and junior defensive end Marterious Allen earned All-Sun Belt Conference honors under Magee in 2017.
Laurent was a first-round selection in the 2018 CFL Draft, while defensive end Mackendy Cheridor signed an NFL free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons.
In his four seasons at Charleston Southern, Magee helped the Buccaneers to back-to-back Big South Conference championships and FCS playoff berths while featuring one of the nation’s top defenses. CSU averaged nine wins per season in his four years there.
Magee’s defensive line was the foundation of a Charleston Southern defense that led the Big South and ranked among the FCS leaders in total defense his last three years on the staff.
In 2016, Magee’s line helped CSU rank seventh nationally in total defense, allowing just 294.1 yards per game. The unit was particularly strong in the playoffs, allowing just 185 total yards and 2.9 yards per rush to Wofford, the nation’s third-best rushing team. CSU defensive end Anthony Ellis earned All-America honors and was named the Big South Player of the Year.
In 2015, the Charleston Southern defense finished No. 10 in the nation, helping the Bucs to their first outright Big South title and FCS playoff berth. In 2013’s 10-3 campaign, CSU led the Big South with 27 sacks.
He also worked as the defensive line coach at Delta State in 2012 and was the co-defensive coordinator at North Greenville in 2009. In between, Magee spent two years as the defensive line coach at Petal (Miss.) High School, highlighted by a runner-up finish in the MHSAA state playoffs.
Magee began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Steve Spurrier at South Carolina in 2005 and then spent two years as the defensive line coach at Nicholls State in Thibodaux, La.
He was a standout defensive lineman at Southern Miss, where he was a Freshman All-American (2001), a three-time All-Conference USA Academic selection and a CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree.
Magee earned his bachelor’s degree in human performance and physiology from Southern Miss in 2005. He and his wife, Leslie, have two daughters, Kayla and Gabby, and one son, Dax.
Joey King – Wide Receiver
Joey King joins coach Chadwell’s staff after five seasons as the head coach at Cartersville High School in Cartersville, Ga. where he led the Purple Hurricanes to a 67-4 record, two state championships and four state title games.
At Coastal Carolina, King will coach the wide receivers.
“Coach King comes to us from the high school ranks where he was a head coach for the last five years at Cartersville High School in the state of Georgia where he posted a record of 67-4 and won two state championships. He will be our wide receivers coach and is an offensive-minded coach that is highly regarded throughout the state of Georgia where he coached for over 10 years. We are fortunate to have him because he had a lot of opportunities to go some different routes in the college game, but he really believed in the vision of our program and what we are about. He believes in what we are trying to do and wants to be a part of that. Our players will be better with him because of the type of person he is, the way he coaches and because of what he believes in. I’m excited for our wide receivers because he will do a great job of getting them ready to go and also loving and serving them.”
Prior to his five years at Cartersville, where he was instrumental in the development of quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who led Clemson University this past season to an undefeated record and the NCAA national championship one year after graduating from Cartersville, King coached at Carrollton and Sonoraville high schools after beginning his coaching career at Jacksonville State University.
King is a native of Cedartown, Ga. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Carson-Newman University in Tennessee and a master’s degree and Education Specialist degree from Jacksonville State.
King and his wife, Ashley, have three children Jay, Ty, and Jesse.
Chad Scott – Director of Football Speed, Strength and Conditioning
Scott comes to Coastal Carolina after six years at Charleston Southern as the assistant athletic director for student-athlete development and the head strength and conditioning coach.
Scott, who had an important role in the development and implantation of the new Charleston Southern Athletic Performance Meeting Center, will be in charge of the speed, strength and conditioning for the Chanticleers football program beginning in the spring of 2019.
“We are excited about bringing Coach Scott into the fold of our program, as he will continue to develop our athletes in the weight room. I had a great working relationship with him for over four years and I know he will serve and love our players, as well as bring great energy and excitement to the weight room. He will get our guys mentally and physically ready to go and if you talk to any former student-athlete that he has worked with about him, they’d run through a wall for him. I know our team will benefit greatly with him being with our program”.
While at CSU, Scott implemented and oversaw the strength and conditioning program for all 14 varsity teams, working closely with all programs and helping the Bucs to a number of Big South Conference championships including the 2012-2013 and 2014-15 men’s basketball titles, the 2014 softball championship, the 2015 women’s tennis crown, the 2015 men’s golf champion, and the 2015 and 2016 football championships.
Prior to his time at Charleston Southern, Scott spent five years at Eastern Kentucky University as the assistant strength and conditioning coach following his time as a graduate assistant at EKU. He helped fine-tune athletes that combined to win 20 Ohio Valley Conference Championships, including three in football (2007, 2008, and 2011), two in men’s basketball (2005 and 2007), and one in women’s basketball (2005).
A 2001 graduate of Eastern Kentucky, Scott played fullback and long snapper on the football team for four years. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science from EKU, before earning his master’s degree in physical education in 2005.
Scott is certified by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association and is also USA Weightlifting Level 1 Sports Performance Strength Coach certified
Scott and his wife, Elizabeth, are the proud parents of two sons, Gavin and Mason, and a daughter, Arianna.