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Report: Tulane DC Chris Hampton to accept Oregon position-coach job

Screen Shot 2024-05-28 at 9.09.17 AMby:Kaiden Smith•01/15/23•

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Brian Murphy | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Tulane defensive coordinator Chris Hampton will be joining Oregon‘s coaching staff as a position coach according to a report from ESPN’s Peter Thamel.

Hampton assumed the role as Tulane’s defensive coordinator two seasons ago, transforming a defense that gave up 34 points per game in 2021 to one that ranked second in the American Conference just giving up 20.5 points per game. He made stops at Central Arkansas, McNeese State, Tulane, and Duke as a defensive backs coach before become the Green Wave’s defensive coordinator, and played safety at South Carolina from 2004-2007.

He will likely fill the role of former Oregon safeties coach and Co-Defensive Coordinator Matt Powledge, who returned to Baylor as the Bears defensive coordinator this offseason.

More on Hampton

During Hampton’s collegiate player career at South Carolina, he was a four-year letter winner, a two-year starter, and won the Harold White Award, which is given to the player with the highest grade point average. He transitioned from playing to coaching in 2008 when he became a graduate assistant at Arkansas State, followed by a two year stint as a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech.

Hampton got his first coaching job at Central Arkansas as a defensive backs coach, and was there for one year before spending four seasons at McNeese State. He made his first FBS coaching debut in 2016 when he joined Tulane’s coaching staff, spending another four seasons with the Green Wave between 2016-2019.

During his first stint with Tulane, Hampton led one of the American Conference’s most consistent secondary units, coaching a multitude of all-conference defensive backs during his tenure. 2018 was Hampton’s standout season, helping lead a secondary that lead the nation in passes defended up with 88. That year he was recognized by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) with the 35 Under 35 Award.

Hampton spent one season with Duke before returning back to Tulane in 2021 as their defensive coordinator, playing a role in their historic turnaround from a 2-10 season in 2021 to a 12-2 year capped off with a Cotton Bowl victory over USC. He inherits an Oregon secondary that ranked seventh in the Pac-12 in passing yards allowed per game with 260.6.