John Chavis (Photo and biographical info courtesy of LSUsports.net.)
Chavis received the award at a luncheon at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Tuesday, December 6, where he and his fellow nominees were honored. The Broyles Award winner receives a large plaque, a watch, a custom-made sport coat, and a personalized Broyles Award Trophy valued at more than $5,000. The winner and his spouse are also flown to Orlando to represent the award at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show which will be broadcast on ESPN.
The Broyles Award is named after Frank Broyles and honors outstanding assistant coaches, with 20 percent of the finalists and winners going on to become head coaches. Former Broyles assistant coaches who have become head coaches have gone on to coach in 20 percent of all Super Bowls and win almost 15 percent of all Super Bowl titles, plus five national collegiate championships, more than 40 conference titles, and more than 2,000 games.
Chavis is in his third year as defensive coordinator and the Tigers have thrived under his coaching. The Tigers rode a dominant defense to a 13-0 record and a No. 1 national ranking this season.
Chavis is a native of Dillon and graduated from Dillon High School before attending college at Tennessee. He played middle guard for Tennessee from 1976 to 1978 and was a graduate assistant coach in 1979, the year he graduated. From 1980 to 1988 he coached defense at Alabama A&M and Alabama State, then returned to Tennessee from 1989-2008.
Under Chavis, Tennessee made five appearances in the SEC Championship Game, winning the title in 1997 and 1998 and receiving three BCS bowl game invitations. Four of his linebackers were named first-team All-American, with all four selected in the NFL Draft. In 2006, he was named American Football Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year.
In 2009, Chavis signed with LSU. His coaching has helped produce two back-to-back Thorpe Award winners with Patrick Peterson in 2010 and Morris Claiborne in 2011. He also coached Bednarik Award winners Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu. The Bednarik Award is given to the nation’s top defender, while the Thorpe Award is given to the nation’s top defensive back. Peterson and Mathieu were also named SEC Defensive Players of the Year in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Peterson was also picked fifth overall in the NFL Draft.
This season the Tigers are second in the nation in scoring defense and total defense, third in the nation in rushing defense, and ninth in passing defense.
Chavis is married to Diane Crisp Davis with two sons, John and Jason.
Other finalists for the Broyles Award included Paul Chryst, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks at the University of Wisconsin; Greg Mattison, defensive coordinator at Michigan; Garrick McGee, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks at the University of Arkansas; and Sal Sunseri, assistant head coach/linebackers at Alabama.
Each NCAA Division I head coach may nominate one of his assistants for the Broyles Award. Every nominated assistant receives a personalized wall plaque. Finalists are chosen by a nine-man panel that includes former Arkansas Athletic Director and Coach Frank Broyles; former Georgia Coach Vince Dooley; former Washington Coach Don James; former Syracuse Coach Dick MacPherson; former Baylor Coach Grant Teaff; Former Brigham Young Coach LaVell Edwards; former Iowa Coach Hayden Fry; former Oklahoma Coach Barry Switzer; former Tennessee and Pittsburgh Coach Johnny Majors; and former Florida State University Coach Bobby Bowden.
