Report: Arkansas zeroing in on Tulane's Chris Hampton as new defensive coordinator

Arkansas is looking to New Orleans to fill a key staff position, zeroing in on Tulane defensive coordinator Chris Hampton to take the same role with the Razorbacks, according to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. The previous Arkansas DC, Barry Odom, recently took the head coaching gig at UNLV.

Under Hampton in 2022, the Green Wave finished in the Top 50 nationally in both scoring defense (tied for 25th) and total defense (33rd). Now, according to Feldman, “Hampton has emerged as a strong candidate for the Arkansas defensive coordinator job” because of his work at Tulane.

Hampton has been a long-time member on staff at Tulane, coaching in his sixth season there in 2022. He started as defensive backs coach before bumping up to defensive coordinator in 2021.

Prior to Tulane, Hampton was a defensive assistant at McNeese State and Arkansas State, plus had several graduate assistant gigs.

He played college football at South Carolina, where he was a safety.

UNLV hired previous Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom

Odom spent three seasons in Fayetteville under Sam Pittman.

Odom was last a head coach for the Missouri Tigers, originally hired before the 2016 season and made it through 2019. Much of his coaching career has been spent in that part of the country and heading out West should present a new challenge for Odom.

In three seasons with Arkansas, Odom has been a vital member of the Razorbacks’ turnaround alongside Pittman. Impressive players have gone through the system and will make their way to the NFL, mainly the likes of Bumper Pool, Drew Sanders, and even Jalen Catalon.

Arkansas was one of the top pass-rushing teams in the country this season and led the SEC in sacks with 39. Many teams could not handle the pressure Odom and the Razorbacks sent their way on a consistent basis.