- Chris Scelfo
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Chris Scelfo Sport(s) Football Current position Title Tight ends coach Team Atlanta Falcons Biographical details Born September 30, 1963 Place of birth Abbeville, Louisiana Playing career 1981–1984 Northeast Louisiana Coaching career (HC unless noted) 1986–1987
1988–1989
1990–1992
1993–1995
1996–1998
1998–2006
2008–presentNortheast Louisiana (GA)
Oklahoma (GA)
Marshall (OL)
Marshall (OC/OL)
Georgia (asst. HC/OL)
Tulane
Atlanta Falcons (TE)Head coaching record Overall 37–57 Bowls 2–0 Statistics College Football Data Warehouse Accomplishments and honors Championships 1998 Conference USA Championship (HC for one game) Chris Scelfo is an American football coach, currently serving as the tight ends coach for the Atlanta Falcons. He served as head coach at Tulane from 1998 to 2006, including in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and amassed a 37–57 record. Scelfo is the only Tulane head coach to have won two bowl games. He previously held assistant coaching positions at Marshall and Georgia.
Contents
Early life
Scelfo was born in Abbeville, Louisiana on September 30, 1963.[1] A native of New Iberia, Louisiana, he attended New Iberia High School.[1] He went on to college at Northeast Louisiana University.[1] He played football in high school and college, and was a three-year letterwinner at both institutions.[1] In college, he also served as the team captain.[1] Scelfo graduated with a bachelor's degree from Northeast Louisiana in 1986 and received a master's degree from there in 1988.[1]
Coaching career
Scelfo gained his first coaching experience as a graduate assistant at his alma mater from 1986 to 1987, and then in the same position at the University of Oklahoma from 1988 to 1989.[1] He then served as the offensive line coach at Marshall University from 1990 to 1995, and also held the position of offensive coordinator in his last three seasons there.[1] Scelfo then spent three seasons at the University of Georgia as its assistant head coach and offensive coordinator.[1]
Tulane University in New Orleans hired Scelfo to replace Tommy Bowden as its 36th coach mid-season on December 7, 1998.[1] The only game he coached that year was the Liberty Bowl, where he led the Green Wave to victory over Brigham Young.[1] With the win, Tulane finished the season with a perfect 12–0 record and the Conference USA championship.[2] In 2002, Scelfo led Tulane to the 2002 Hawai'i Bowl, where they defeated June Jones' high-octane Hawaii Warriors.[3] The Green Wave surprised observers by recovering an onside kick on the first play of the game, and went on to win, 36–28.[4] The victory made Scelfo the only Tulane coach in history with two bowl game wins.[1]
After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in August 2005, the Tulane football team was forced to play all 11 of its games on the road, each in a different city, which may have contributed to the Green Wave's 2–9 record.[5] Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron contacted a Tulane assistant about players transferring in the wake of the hurricane.[6][7] Scelfo accused Ole Miss of tampering and said:
"In the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States, you've got to stoop pretty low to do that. You're lower than dirt ... I'm not going to tolerate that. There's people in our business that don't belong in our business."[6][8][9]
The Southeastern Conference investigated the matter and exonerated Ole Miss of any wrongdoing.[7]
After failing to compile a winning season since 2002, Tulane fired Scelfo on November 29, 2006.[5] His final record at Tulane was 37–57.[10] In January 2008, the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL hired Scelfo as its tight ends coach.[11]
Head coaching record
Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP° Tulane Green Wave (Conference USA) (1998–2006) 1998 Tulane 1–0* 0–0 1st W Liberty 7 7 1999 Tulane 3–8 1–5 T-6th 2000 Tulane 6–5 3–4 T-5th 2001 Tulane 3–9 1–6 9th 2002 Tulane 8–5 4–4 5th W Hawai'i 2003 Tulane 5–7 3–5 8th 2004 Tulane 5–6 3–5 6th 2005 Tulane 2–9 1–5 6th/West 2006 Tulane 4–6 2–5 6th/West Tulane: 37–57 18–39 Total: 37–57 National Championship Conference Title Conference Division Title #Rankings from final Coaches' Poll.
°Rankings from final AP Poll.Personal life
Scelfo is married to wife Nancy née Caldwell, with whom he has a son and a daughter.[1] His brother, Frank Scelfo, served as his offensive coordinator at Tulane.[12] His nephew, Anthony Scelfo, played as a quarterback at Tulane.[12]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Player Bio: Chris Scelfo, Tulane University, retrieved June 27, 2010.
- ^ Tulane Game by Game Results, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved June 27, 2010.
- ^ Mel Kiper, Can Tulane slow high-octane Hawaii?, ESPN, December 25, 2002.
- ^ FOOTBALL: COLLEGE ROUNDUP; All-Around Effort Helps Pitt Stop Oregon State, The New York Times, December 27, 2002.
- ^ a b Tulane's rebuilding in football to go on without Scelfo, ESPN, November 29, 2006.
- ^ a b Orgeron defends conversation with Tulane aide; Mississippi coach discussed possible transfers from New Orleans school, MSNBC, November 28, 2005.
- ^ a b Ole Miss' Ed Orgeron defends conversation with Tulane coach about possible transfers, The Tuscaloosa News, November 29, 2005.
- ^ Tulane at end of the road; Katrina forced Green Wave into 11-stadium fall tour, The Dallas Morning News, November 25, 2005.
- ^ INSIGHT BID ENDS RUTGERS' DROUGHT, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, November 29, 2005.
- ^ All-Time Coaching Records By Year, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved June 27, 2010.
- ^ Falcons hire Scelfo to coach tight ends, Sporting News, January 30, 2008.
- ^ a b Spring wrapup: Taking stock of football landscape, USA Today, May 10, 2007.
Tulane Green Wave head football coaches T. L. Bayne (1893) • Fred Sweet (1894) • T. L. Bayne (1895) • Harry Baum (1896) • John Lombard (1898) • H. T. Collier (1899) • H. T. Summersgill (1900–1901) • Virginius Dabney (1902) • Charles Eshleman (1903) • Thomas A. Barry (1904) • John F. Tobin (1905) • John Russ (1906) • Joe Curtis (1907–1908) • R. M. Brown (1909) • Appleton A. Mason (1910–1912) • A. C. Hoffman (1913) • Edwin Sweetland (1914) • Clark Shaughnessy (1915–1920) • Myron Fuller (1921) • Clark Shaughnessy (1922–1926) • Bernie Bierman (1927–1931) • Ted Cox (1932–1935) • Red Dawson (1936–1941) • Claude Simons (1942–1945) • Henry Frnka (1946–1951) • Raymond Wolf (1952–1953) • Andy Pilney (1954–1961) • Tommy O'Boyle (1962–1965) • Jim Pittman (1966–1970) • Bennie Ellender (1971–1975) • Larry Smith (1976–1979) • Vince Gibson (1980–1982) • Wally English (1983–1984) • Mack Brown (1985–1987) • Greg Davis (1988–1991) • Buddy Teevens (1992–1996) • Tommy Bowden (1997–1998) • Chris Scelfo (1999–2006) • Bob Toledo (2007–2011) • Mark Hutson # (2011– )
Pound sign (#) denotes interim head coach.Categories:- 1963 births
- Living people
- Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football players
- Tulane Green Wave football coaches
- Oklahoma Sooners football coaches
- Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football coaches
- Marshall Thundering Herd football coaches
- Georgia Bulldogs football coaches
- Atlanta Falcons coaches
- People from Abbeville, Louisiana
- People from New Iberia, Louisiana
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